I'm Sick

I have had the flu bug for over a few weeks now and am ready to get well. I don’t like being sick nor making an excuse that I can’t do something or be somewhere because of not feeling good. I don’t really like canceling events but sometimes you don’t have a choice. I figured with it being our anniversary and Anne was really sick that we would cancel our normal Tuesday night dinner and study. It’s not that we didn’t end up still doing something with a few of our kids.

I know that there is a huge tension in the church of today over whether God’s will is that no one should ever get sick, have diseases or _______. I know as I picked up one of our kids for tutoring last night I told their step dad that I had the flu bug but was getting better. He proceeded to tell me that he would rebuke the flu and it would be gone. I too believe that it is possible for God to intervene in any situation to restore me to wholeness. Yet, my comeback, I admit, was that Paul the super Apostle said that when he was the weakest he was more apt to trust God and actually be stronger.

I know as I listened the step-dad, talk about his faith walk I was slow to say something that would have been misunderstood. I don’t know him but it is clear that he has some type of physical impairment that he was born with that makes it difficult for him to walk and one of his arms is semi-crippled. If he really had a faith that was capable of moving mountains why hasn’t God healed him of this obvious malady? I know that so often there are many in today’s church that would almost give this man a guilt trip for not being restored to complete health and that it was obviously a lacking in his faith not the power of God that had caused his present circumstance.

I mention this not to make excuses about my flu or cold. I need to fess up to the fact that I burn the candle at both ends too often, need more rest and be better at getting away. I’m improving in this area but the reality is that we get sick or I should say I get the flu or cold on occasion. My choice isn’t to pretend that I’m not sick but honestly to express the fact that I too am human and need God’s blessing. Too often I may be viewed by some as being different or above the cut, but I’m not.

So I need my shepherd’s gentle but firm hand at times to lead me back to my bed, office to be more strategic in how I order my day. I am thankful that I’ve had good health most of my life. I understand that Scripture commands me to count my days which is simple sense is to appreciate, value or make count the time God has given me. I’m not superman nor am I the savior, but just a fellow servant of Jesus, who wants to see lives transformed, family life improved, and a neighborhood in South Phoenix revitalized.