From The Crucible (by Pastor Linda Pugsley)

Forget the sin stuff, give me the healing! Yesterday's comments addressed this attitude a bit. But as I read through the scriptures, I see a trend. Mankind is always addressing his "physical" side and God's answers are always addressing man’s "spiritual" side.

Now that is not to diminish the physical side – no way – that hurts for sure! I broke my wrist a few years ago in a bike accident while training for a triathlon. I love the Lord with all my heart but my wrist was still broken. I didn't get a miraculous intervention with a burst of light coming from heaven aimed at my wrist that automatically healed the bones. Plan B came to fruit and I brandished a cast for 12 weeks. But I still went to the Lord, and out of that pain and inconvenience came many spiritual insights. So many people, especially Christians, seem to concentrate an inordinate amount of time on the physical problems and getting relief from them. It is, of course, necessary to tend to food and housing and transportation and medical needs, etc. But I wonder how many people get so tormented over the many dents banging up their physical world, but don’t ever agonize one bit when it comes to the sin in their lives!

Tons of literature, ministries, TV "church" and the like address physical suffering and what to do about it; how to "ride it through" in Jesus. But how many address the suffering inherent in sin? Do you "suffer" when you sin? Is there any "torment" in your heart when you grieve God?

Jesus was so aware that our spiritual "diseases" have more devastating effect on us than any physical problem! Maybe we could meditate on that a bit and ask God to help us to avoid spiritual disease and injury as much as we do the physical. I grew up hearing "Be careful, you'll shoot your eye out!" But I never heard, "Be careful, you'll shoot your soul out!" Let's keep the seriousness of both on the front burner! Endure the fire...it's producing pure gold!

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