Today, my eye stung. Thank the Lord, my eye stung. The last few days my mind has been wandering
and I have struggled to live in the moment and to serve in the here and now. I knew intuitively that as my mind traveled
to the future and struggled to grasp my purpose, I was moving out of the will
of God. He calls me into relationship
with Him in the eternal now: walking in love.
There are no rituals I need to perform.
There are no things I need to accomplish. In all things, trust Him, and love others.
This was far easier to do today because I
was in pain. My selfish mind did not
have the luxury to worry about the future but instead was focused on the here
and now, all thanks to a silly stinging eye.
It was a struggle today but my heart was more aligned with His
will. I did not wallow in not being 100%
but focused my energies on teaching the children through my pain. Honestly, I think this was my best day as a
teacher so far at the school. My eyes
were watering and I struggled to focus my vision on anything, and through that
God gave me the strength to teach my butt off.
I remember when I was playing intramural
basketball in college. One game I played
through a mildly sprained foot. Every
step I took, I felt pain. Through it, I
played maybe my best intramural basketball game ever, which is probably not
saying too much, but still. My attention
was so focused on my present pain,that it allowed me to be completely in the
moment.
As I went through my day, I was thinking of
Paul’s teaching in being content with all things and being able to do all
things through Christ who strengthens me (Philippians 4:11-13). I was thankful for just having the energy
and opportunity to teach those children.
For some reason, through pain, it was so much easier to have that
attitude and not succumb as much to selfishness. I think God can use pain for good if you let
Him. What was so inspiring about the life of Paul was not just his amazing
teachings but also the attitude he was able to cultivate through all His
sufferings. As a result, his words had
far more weight to the early church.
He writes of his sufferings:
…In
labors more abundant, in stripes above measure, in prison more frequently, in
deaths often. From the Jews five times I
received forty stripes minus one. Three
times I was beaten with rods; once I was stoned; three times I was shipwrecked;
a night and a day I have been in the deep; in journeys often, in perils of
water, in perils of robbers, in perils of my own countrymen, in perils of the
Gentiles, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the
sea, in perils among false brethren; in weariness and toil, in sleeplessness
often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness – besides
the other things, what comes upon me daily: my deep concerns for all the
churches. (2 Corinthians 11: 23-28)
If you think by following Jesus that the
circumstances of your life will becomes easier, read that paragraph again. If you think following Jesus will make your
life more comfortable, read that paragraph again.
And
He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect
in weakness.” Therefore most gladly I
will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon
me. Therefore I take pleasure in
infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for
Christ’s sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong.(2 Corinthians 12: 9-10)
For I
have learned in whatever state I am, to be content. (Philippians 4:11)
If Paul can learn to be content through all
his unimaginably painful trials, then we certainly can as well in whatever we
face. We can do all things through
Christ who strengthens us. Are you with
me?
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