|
"Now if any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God—who gives to all generously and ungrudgingly—and it will be given to him."
(James 1:5, CSB)
This week, I want to share a few random circumstances from my life and what they taught me about my personal relationship with God! Why do I want to share this with you, and why will this week be titled "CIRCUMSTANCES"? Great question! Let me tell you why!
One of the best faith definitions that I have ever heard is: "Faith is choosing to live as though God's word is true regardless of CIRCUMSTANCES, emotions, or cultural trends." I don't know about you, but I face a lot of different circumstances, emotions, and cultural trends that, if left unchecked, will negatively impact my personal relationship with Jesus. If I have not done anything about those circumstances, emotions, or cultural trends, then I have let them affect me in my day. So this week, as you go through life's circumstances, what does God's word say about them? How can you ground yourself in Scripture and let it inform your faith in circumstances that may be trying, mundane, really significant, or anything in between? The first circumstance I want to talk with you about was a doozy for me: Strep and Appendix removal!
Last month, I went down with strep throat on a Wednesday night. After I finished preaching at our youth group, I thought, "Man, I am warm!" Well… it turned out I had a fever. I am not really one to go to the doctor, but wisdom told me to get checked out, so I did. When I got checked out, they told me I had strep. I got on medicine, and I thought I was turning a corner until Friday night happened. I came out of my fever sleep and started to feel a little better, so I had dinner with the fam and went back to quarantine because I didn't want to be a strep super-spreader! After dinner, around 6:00, my stomach was really bloated and hurting; well, fast forward seven hours, and my stomach was still bloated and hurting, and I couldn't go to sleep. It was so annoying and painful. I prayed it would go away, and then I thought, God, would you give me wisdom if I need to do something serious about this? It got to the point that I got in my car and told my wife Kyndall that I was going to the only place open right now (the emergency room). As I got in the car and drove to the hospital, I thought it was so silly and pathetic. I was going to the emergency room (for the very first time) because I was bloated and my stomach was in pain. I got to the hospital around 1:00 a.m., and long story short, I was prepped for surgery and had my appendix taken out at 12:00 p.m.
Why am I telling you about these circumstances? Well, James 1 says that if we ask for wisdom, God will give it to us. In my moments of pain in the belly, I asked that God would give me wisdom on what to do. I didn't get a text from God, a pigeon from God, or a supernatural message. I thought, "I need to go to the doctor now," which meant going to the only doctor open at 1:00 a.m.: the emergency room doctor. I truly believe God gave me that wisdom. Sitting in the emergency room, and eventually the normal hospital room, I thanked God for giving me the wisdom to go to the emergency room as this could have played out much worse than what did end up happening. Here is what I encourage you to do today: when you feel like you need wisdom from God, believe James 1:5 and ask your Good Father for wisdom in the situation. When He gives you wisdom, thank Him, and let it grow your faith in Him! Now, I will say that I hope your wisdom result does not end in appendix surgery like mine!
|
Apple
Spotify
Deezer
YouTube
