"For God has not given us a spirit of timidity, but of power and love and discipline. Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, or of me His prisoner; but join with me in suffering for the gospel according to the power of God" (2 Timothy 1:7,8).
"...be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus, and the things which you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses, these entrust to faithful men, who will be able to teach others also. Suffer hardship with me, as a good soldier of Christ Jesus. No soldier in active service entangles himself in the affairs of everyday life, so that he may please the one who enlisted him as a soldier" (2 Timothy 2:1-4).
We did not get the news about my MRI Scan that we were looking for today. In fact, the results are simply "more of the same." We've known that every disc in my lumbar region is damaged to some extent and we were told today that the disc at the L4-L5 level has fully herniated and naturally they want me to see an Orthopedic Surgeon right away. I'm sure I will but there are some things that I just don't feel like having done to my body anymore. One of those is a sixth back surgery. So I just ask you to please pray for now.
I quoted the verses above today because I believe they exemplify what most Christians want people to see in their walk. "Power, love and discipline." I want people to see whatever suffering in my life is in accordance with God's will and I am good with it. I, like any other, want to be recognized, not as a martyr but as a "soldier" for the sake of Christ. If that means ongoing back pain until I meet him face to face, so be it. But it is important, as Paul says here, for the "witness of faithful men."
We have been given the gift of eternal life which cannot be duplicated by anyone other than Christ and what He did at Calvary. So I try to stand tall. You try to stand tall. And then sometimes we just fall from the weight of the load. But we remember first and foremost the suffering was Christ's to bear and ours is only light and momentary infliction.
God knows the level of pain and hurt that we can handle especially in our sin and Paul explains it in First Corinthians 10:13 "No temptation has overtaken you but such as is common to man; an God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also, that you may be able to endure it."
Sometimes all we can do is "cry out to God" and there is no shame in that. In fact, I believe that God waits for those "cries" from time to time so He knows that He has our undivided attention. He has mine, and now you have my thoughts on the subject. I covet your prayers.
Dave
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