Good and Perfect Gift

I have learned in the past four days that sickness is an excellent reminder of the blessings of good health.  I have by no means enjoyed the snotting, the coughing, the chest pain, the body aches, or the nights of little if any sleep.  I have especially not appreciated the missed work days and missing the class I am taking.  In these times I feel so useless and broken.  I wonder if I will wake up healed or if the sickness will become worse.  With my wife being pregnant, I do my best not to infect her though I want to hold her and feel comfort by having her close to me.  Needless to say, I do not like being sick.

The thing is though that in my sickness I am dependent upon healing and comfort from God.  Yes we have doctors, medicines, home remedies, and more to help our sickness heal but ultimately our health is in His hands.  This was never more true than last night when I could feel my heart beating out of my chest due to the cold medicine I took.  I had taken this medicine in the hopes that it would give me sleep not keep me awake most of the night wondering if I was going to die.

Now I do have to admit that at times I have hypochondriac tendencies and that in no way helps to comfort your mind as you lay in bed feeling your heart beat through your chest and in your arm.  I finally got up and called the pharmacist to see if what I was experiencing was normal or something that needed medical attention.  He assured me that my symptoms where normal from this drug and that it would stop as the medicine wore off.  Well three and a half hours later at around 2:30 in the morning I think I finally fell asleep only to be awoke at 7:30 for my first full day of work this week.

Last night I had no other option but to trust God with my life.  When we are healthy and life is good, work is going well, and the bills are getting paid, we have this false assurance that we are in control of our life.  It is amazing how a simple cold can remind us of the humbling reality that our lives are in God's hands and that we are fully dependent upon His grace to continue sustaining our lives.  Psalm 39:4-6 is sobering saying,
⁴ 


4 O Lord, make me know my end
    and what is the measure of my days;
    let me know how fleeting I am!
⁵ 5 Behold, you have made my days a few handbreadths,
    and my lifetime is as nothing before you.
Surely all mankind stands as a mere breath! Selah
⁶ 6    Surely a man goes about as a shadow!
Surely for nothing they are in turmoil;
    man heaps up wealth and does not know who will gather!


James 4:14 says, "Yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes." 


I do not speak of these things to be morbid but to remind us of the wonderful blessing of life and health.  Each day we wake up is a blessing from God.  Each day is an opportunity to reach a life for the kingdom.  Each day is an opportunity to praise the one who has given you life.  Though I am still healing from the cold that started a few days ago, I have been reminded to appreciate the blessings in my life.  In James, it speaks of every good and perfect gift coming from God.  This evening the thought crossed my mind that even sickness could be considered a good and perfect gift if it directs your heart back to a love and dependance on the sovereignty of God.  Food for thought. 


Blessings,


Greg