By Cindy Phillips
Those of you who know me know two things about me. First of all, I rarely get sick. Secondly, when I am going through a trial, I seek to see what the Lord has to show me through it (I don’t want to suffer needlessly :-). Now, don’t misinterpret what I am saying. I am NOT saying God makes us sick to teach us something (sickness is listed as a curse in Deu 28). What I am saying is when I go through a trial, I actively look for the good God is bringing (Rom 8:28).
Both Ed and I caught a cold and fought through symptoms this week. Do I believe God heals today? You betcha! He has proven this to me, personally, many times. Does He heal me exactly when and how I want? Ha! As I told someone recently, God is happy to answer our prayers but we don’t tell Him what do to.
Here are the lessons I took away from this trial.
Day 1. Sore throat. My throat was so sore I carefully chose my words. Yes, I can be a chatter box. But I now see more clearly how we should weight our words every day, not just days it hurts to talk. Ps 141:3; 10:19; 12:14
Day 2. Energy gone. I have often been nicknamed The Energizer Bunny. The Lord has blessed me with a supercharged metabolism and I don’t like to sit still (unless I am in a treestand, but that’s another story). On Friday I was zapped. I had zero energy. I told Ed the Energizer Bunny’s batteries are dead. Yet, I persevered, obviously not in my strength because I had none. I can do all things through Christ Who strengthens me. Phil 4:13
Day 3. Ear Pain. The Eustachian tube in my left ear became clogged (you know, that feeling when you have water in your ears). It hurt dreadfully to swallow. I took a Sudafed and eventually that ear cleared, but an hour later, my right ear clogged. The pain was excruciating! I sat with a hot compress on my ear, leaning to the right, until that ear cleared. Still, the pain in both ears persisted. It was so bad I went to bed with an Advil in my stomach before the sun set! What lesson can I take away here? Take heed what you hear (Mark 4:24).
Day 4. Stuffed Head. I woke up free from ear pain, HURRAH, but with a stuffy head. My nose was running and I could not hear well. Ed suffers from hearing loss and it often frustrates me when I have to repeat myself, repeatedly. I had to laugh as we tried to talk, each saying, “Excuse me, I can’t hear you”. The lesson here was patience. How frustrated would I be if my hearing was impaired like this EVERY SINGLE DAY. I thanked God for my hearing and determined to be more patient with those who are hearing impaired.
I don’t know what God has to show me tomorrow but this one thing I know. He is faithful. That means He will see me through, no matter what. My role in this is to listen, be grateful, and give Him all the glory.