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Sick Bed

             The Lord himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.” (Deuteronomy 31:8)

 This wasn’t my planned post for the day, but as I took myself to my “sick bed” for a nap this afternoon, I invited Jesus to visit. Then I immediately began whining and moaning, because, after all, I’m sick. What else is one supposed to do? Of course, part of my complaint was about not feeling well, but another half had to do with guilt about what a big baby I’m being about a “stupid head cold” and how I should be up doing things.

Then He asked me, “Do you really think you’re keeping Me from doing something more important?”

The point isn’t that I’m important, but that He is God, and can spend a leisurely afternoon holding my hand while I feel miserable without neglecting the excitement of one particular electron so that it moves out into the outer shell and can therefore somehow bond or be exchanged or whatever is necessary for some bit of quantum physics or chemistry to take place or the  arrangement some matter of international relations to suit His purposes. He has all day to spend with me, whether I’m sick or taking on the universe. Sad to say, I’m more likely to invite Him to my sick bed than to my universe bashing. And He can spend the day with you without missing any of the rest.

We think too small when we imagine what God can do. It’s like we’re playing two dimensional chess on a four dimensional board that adds up and down and now and later to the mix.

Of course, the problem with illness is that we want to be God, which means never getting sick. Or if we get sick, we want a miraculous cure. What if Jesus just wants to sit by your bedside and hold your hand? We don’t have time for that. We have things to do that won’t get done while our sinuses ache from inflammation and our backs and ribs ache from having coughed too many times. As tears fall because it’s Christmas time and I can’t sing the songs I’ve waited the year to sing, He says to listen to the angels sing, and to listen to Him sing. None of these things will cause Him to forsake us. He has all day, and all eternity.

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