I recently discovered that the kind of brain atrophy I have will lead to an Alzheimer's like form of dementia. Ultimately it is fatal. Up to that point I had believed that only my speech and short term memory would be impaired. When I found this out, I slipped into a terrible dark pit. I have worked in nursing homes and know only too well how dementia can take the shine out of your golden years. A mixture of fear, dread, self pity and grief combined in a recipe for depression and baked in the oven of my mind. Visions of diapers, choking on my food and drooling swirled through my head.
God allowed me to grieve, but after three days He spoke to my heart and said "That's enough. You have work to do." Suddenly I felt better. That's when I know God has spoken. There is no way I can recover that quickly with just a few words "popping into my head.".
So I got up out of the mud, dusted myself off and life seemed good again. In fact, as I ponder the events of the last few days, I realize that I had been writing about how good God is and how He is so faithful to care for me. When faced with bad news, however, I quickly forgot and lost my joy. Ooops! My bad!!!!!
Seems we are all works in progress and momentary lapses in spiritual judgement are to be expected....but not long tolerated. God understands our human frailties and works with us in spite of them. He loves us too much to allow us to wallow for too long. The key is to train oneself to hear Him when He speaks.
Indeed, living with the diagnosis of multiple sclerosis and now possible/likely dememtia hanging over my head could be very difficult to say the least. But I realized something very important this morning. Most, if not all of the things hanging over our heads are there because we have neglected to cut them down. The devil dangles them there to keep us from focusing on the things of God. How do we cut them down? With the sword of the spirit. Sound too simple to be true? Check out Galatians 6:10-18
10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11 Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. 12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. 13 Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. 14 Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, 15 and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. 16 In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17 Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
18 And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people.
Notice verse 17 speaks of the helmet of salvation and the sword of the spirit (which is the Word of God). The helmet protects the head. I take comfort in the promise that God will protect my head and mind, simply by reading and reciting His Word. I do not need to understand how it works, I just KNOW it does.
Do you have something dreadful hanging over your head? Take out the Sword today and cut it down. Look up verses that apply to your problem. Believe me, every issue that mankind has ever faced can be found in Scripture. Read the verses, out loud if necessary, until your problem loses power over you and you find your peace. When you do, you will be more able to hear the voice of God and your solution will be near.
No comments:
Post a Comment