On Wednesday of this week I was in a bike accident with a pick-up truck. The truck won and my body was pretty banged up. I am thankful for the protection the Lord provided. It could have been far worse.
Now I am in the healing phase. My body wants to get well. I can tell that by the heat that is generated in the bruised area. The process I am committed to includes taking antibiotics and pain pills and putting ice on the bruised area. The ice reduces the swelling and when I take the ice away my blood carries out the damaged tissue. God is the one who ultimately brings the healing to my body but the more I join Him in the process the faster I will heal. If I decide I don't want to join God in this process, scar tissue will appear and hamper my future health.
Our spiritual bodies want to get well too. The sickness of sin has damaged all of our spiritual hearts. The spiritual disciplines are the ice that brings the healing to our damaged hearts. God has reserved for Himself things that only He can do and we can't. And He has reserved for us only things we can do that He won't do. He won't force us to put "ice" on.
Salvation in us is totally His work; we can't contribute to our salvation. But once His salvation is in us, it is our responsibility to work out that salvation. This is where we join Him in the healing process.
The spiritual disciplines of daily Bible reading, prayer, confession, listening prayer, journaling, solitude and mediation are our responsibilities.
Summer time is usually a time when we get lazy in our disciplines. But I want to encourage you to keep putting the "ice" on. If you have not engaged with God in the healing of your heart recently, there is no better time than today. In fact, I challenge you to take your spiritual exercise regiment to an even higher level this summer.
May this summer be the best summer of engaging God that you have ever had.
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