I received some good questions the other day on my post about taking care of self. Truly, they were thought provoking. So I went to the Lord and asked Him to give me an answer, and in the next few posts I will share with you what I believe He revealed to me.
Taking Care of Self
In the post I’ll Take Care of Myself, Awareness of Self, I said: “One of the greatest tests about God’s Lordship is with our health.” Nothing gets my attention more than a forty-foot brain tumor (wink). Physical suffering and the fear of death can make us hysterical and send us into panic mode. I know so many people who self-diagnose with all kinds of life-threatening diseases when anything physical goes awry. I myself can be tempted to freak out over my health, and off we go to the races! Fix it, fix it, fix it to save my life.
Here’s a comment from Tammy: “I’m hoping you will be sharing with us some of the practical ways this [God in charge of our health/bodies] might manifest in our lives. I believe He’s shown me this message in my own health and I think I understand – but this dumb sheep needs more please.”
Ownership versus Stewardship
I will give some examples of this, but the bottom line name of it is ownership. I am not the owner of my body or life; I am merely the steward. I don’t have the right or the ability to care for myself. I can try, but because I am not my own, my assumed rights are illegitimate. This is a hard row to hoe. We can feel imprisoned by our physical circumstances and fixing them seems logical and justified. It is not!
As an example, I witnessed Martha go through this. She became ill and lived this reality out before me. Here is what happened. We were on a ministry trip and something was obviously wrong with her. It was not an easily pinpointed issue; there was just something bad wrong. It was one of those illnesses which can make your mind race off the rails. “Is it this… or is it that?”
I am sure most would have immediately gone to the hospital, but she instead asked the Lord. He was her Physician, and He asked her to wait. Yes, she waited under the weight of “what if.” It almost seems cruel but that’s an incorrect way of looking at this. He is the holder of her health and only He knew what the issue was and how to deal with it. When we are sick, there is no crisis other than His ownership of us. In the face of pain and suffering, the main assault is against our rights and His Lordship.
The Lord’s Prescription
Martha followed the Lord’s prescription and waited, surrendering to His care, and she did this while continuing to minister. It was over a year later that the issue was miraculously resolved and all the medical community could do was affirm God’s handiworks—not solve it. It was a scary yet glorious time. He was Lord of her health and body because she allowed Him to direct her care. We all are sheep, not just Martha. And we each have a Shepherd who must care for our needs.
Casting all your care upon Him; for He careth for you.
1 Peter 5:7 KJV
In my next post I will continue with another example.
It is so easy to self diagnose, and self treat. You should try being a nurse and have something go wrong with your body. Ha Ha Thank you. I must remember this body is now His and not my own, so whatever He does with it is His business, not mine. Love to all
I don’t know what would be worse, the fear of the unknown in ignorance or the fear of the possible with knowledge of what could be. WOW! Regardless the course is the same, we are His! Love you Wanda!