Physician, Heal Thyself
I have been sick this month in a way I haven't before. January's deep freeze plus fatigue from too much travel, too little sunshine, and exposure to too many sick people finally did me in.
I won't go into the boring details. Suffice to say that none of the "systems" were operating and I didn't know which part of my body to treat first. Forced to stay home and work...err? rest, I languished between the bedroom and the bathroom with an occasional respite in my "lazy-boy" which served as a temporary office while I waited for the healing process to work itself out.
The saddest thing about all of this was that I fell sick only days after returning from conducting a seminar on "stress" in which I was quick to point out that too much stress could cause the body to fall ill as a form of self-preservation from burn-out? DUH!!
To make matters worse, now that I was sick, my major concern was to get better so I could conduct another seminar in the week to come (good thing I didn't use myself as an example of good stress management at the seminar!)
All of this finally came to a head as I studied the Bible with some Chinese women online and they asked how a Christian should deal with future concerns. I quickly told them that Jesus showed us that we should live one day at a time trusting in God for our needs. It was at this point that I realized my own sin!
I had not only worried unnecessarily about the future (the seminar), I had also neglected to trust the Lord for the care of myself today! I wanted to feel on Monday the way I needed to feel on Thursday, the day I was supposed to leave for the seminar. Of course, the worry over this made me feel worse.
As I prayed about these things I realized that even if my health leaves me for a day or a lifetime, the Lord will never leave me? Hebrews 13:5. In addition to this, His presence will provide for me each day whether I am strong or weak.
I am not all better as I write this article on Wednesday night before leaving but I am well enough to make the 11:40 train to Toronto tomorrow morning. Who knows? The Lord may restore all of my strength in time to start the seminar, or not. Either way, tomorrow belongs to Him, not me.