The Schooling of Sickness

Well it finally happened. The COVID bug caught up with me. It wasn’t fun…it assaulted my respiratory system, gave me some chills (called night sweats), and diminished my energy levels. God was gracious and I am well on my way back to normal.  Thanks for your prayers.
 
My sickness brought to mind a few scriptural considerations:

• Psalm 39:4: “Lord, make me to know my end and what is the extent of my days; let me know how transient I am.”

• Psalm 90:12: “So teach us to number our days, that we may present a heart of wisdom.”

When you peruse the Scriptures, you find a number of ways God describes the fragility of human life. He calls our “days as handbreadths” (Ps. 39:5); “my lifetime is nothing in Your sight” (Ps. 39:5); “every man at his best is a mere breath” (Ps 39:5, 11; Job 7:7); “a cloud” (Job 7:9); "His days are like a passing shadow" (Job 8:9, Psalm 102:11; 144:4); “like grass that fades and withers away” (Ps. 90:6; Isa. 40:7); “we are dust” (Ps. 103:14; 104:29; Ecc. 3:20); “like water spilled on the ground which cannot be gathered up again” (2 Sam. 14:14); “we are just a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away” (Jam. 4:14).
 
We are into years, but God is into days (Ps. 90:12). Life is designed by God to be lived one day at a time.

• Jesus said, “So do not worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own” (Matt. 6:34).

• Hebrews 3:13: “But encourage one another day after day, as long as it is still called ‘Today,’ so that none of you will be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin.”

• Hebrews 3:15: "Today if you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts, as when they provoked Me ."

• Luke 11:3: “Give us each day our daily bread.”

Always remember as David did “my times are in Your hand” (Psalm 31:15) and that’s the best place to be.

Pastor Jeff