Jul 24 2008
Spiritual daily to do list
Two weekends ago, the pastor at the church I attend while I’m spending the summer in Chicago talked about Romans 12 being a great guideline for us and how we as Christians should act whether it’s at the office, house, or elsewhere. For me, verse 12 stood out in particular.
Romans 12:12 - “Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer.”
If that doesn’t sound like the perfect daily to do list for a Christian with chronic pain, I’m not sure what is. I certainly believe that there are other verses in the Bible that offer more encouragement to chronic pain sufferers. However, this verse is one I need to be reminded of on a daily basis.
To Do List:
1) Rejoice in hope. Look for the silver lining and take delight in the blessings of life. Even if the outlook doesn’t appear to warrant it, we need to continue to look forward to with desire and reasonable confidence.
Proverbs 18:14 - “The human spirit can endure a sick body, by who can bear a crushed spirit?
2) Be patient in tribulation. When things are going poorly and you are hurting, you wish that it would pass right away, but life doesn’t usually happen like that and we need to learn to be patient without always trying to rush through life and its sour moments.
3) Be constant in prayer. Some of us only tend to turn to God when the going gets tough while others of us turn to Him only in the good times. No matter what (good or bad pain day), we should be praying fervently.
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Three days after writing what you just read, I had to actually stop, remind myself of the verse, and then apply it to my life. Today. I finally was able to read the final denial letter from the external insurance review board (you can read it here). I started crying about halfway through it and couldn’t stop for like an hour. But after talking to my wise mother, I calmed down and remembered how applicable this verse was. When you get bad news, particularly when it seems like one in a string of bad news, it’s a struggle to live out this verse but we still need to do it.
1) Rejoice in hope. Yes another girl got approval for the same surgery, but that gives me some leverage with the review board so there is still a chance at them overturning the decision.
2) Patient in tribulation. This is the hardest of the three for me. I just want them to correct their error right now, but unfortunately these things take time and just need to be patient and wait on God’s perfect timing.
3) Constant in prayer. Whether I’m venting, thankful, or simply confused, I need to voice my thoughts to Him. Constantly. Not just when the timing works for me or when I need something. Pray always!