Many readers of this blog will know these past several days I have been nursing a couple of broken ribs. Wanting to give them the best chance possible to heal I asked my family doctor (among other questions) what would be the best way to position myself for sleeping at night. Her reply was concise and professional: “Whatever is comfortable,” she said. (It was a bit of a “Duh!” moment.)
But she can say that and I can accept that because we both know the value and accuracy of these bodies’ pain signals. The body knows exactly when and exactly where a problem exists. It signals the brain in a most un-ignorable and unpleasant fashion both the seriousness and urgency of the trouble.
Suppose you’ve just brushed past some brambles and gouged your ankle. Immediately the brain commands the whole rest of the body to bring its gifts to bear upon the matter – neck: move head down, eyes: focus upon the right ankle, scan for visible damage, report… hips, thigh, knee: seat the body on the park bench, right thigh, right shin: raise foot to rest on bench, shoulders, arms, hands: pull up pant leg, neck: turn, eyes: assess damage more closely, toes: wiggle… and on it goes.
This is the normal functioning of a body.
We need all its parts working together, using their various gifts. Oh, I suppose I could pull up that pant leg using my left foot, but let’s face it, calling upon the parts best designed to meet the task would prove far more satisfactory! But no parts would be called into service at all without pain’s first alarm.
We need pain. Without pain we would just go on walking on the foot that has a rusty nail stuck in it. We would just go on feeding jalapeno peppers to that ulcerated stomach… Gruesome stuff.
But look a little deeper — what is true of your body is also true of your soul. Is your soul is in pain now? For many There is an inner angst… a fear of death. We sense inherently that death is wrong. It ought not be there… and we are correct. Do you feel it?
This pain in your soul is telling you that something is wrong… something needs your attention… What are you to do? — You can’t Photoshop real things away!
You need to see the Doctor. This is far more serious than broken ribs! In fact, you need major surgery… you need a new heart. The new heart is ready (given by a living donor, the Surgeon’s Son, at the cost of His life)… the Master Surgeon awaits….
The response is simple: agree with the diagnosis, recognize you cannot fix this yourself, believe the Master Surgeon can, then lay helpless on the table and submit to His touch….
He will do all the rest.
More tomorrow…
Note: Because of my condition I was unable to attend church this past Sunday, but will listen online and comment Tuesday. You can listen too at the Lincoln Baptist Church website, look under ‘Media.’
thebrokenrunner 
2 thoughts on “Monday, 4/8/19 – Pressing on…”