Think about a time in your life when you were taken out of the action. You were sidelined. Maybe it was an injury to your body. Maybe it was a relationship that got fractured. Maybe it was your spirit that was wounded. Maybe your body quit working. Maybe you felt like were losing your mind. Maybe you lost your job. Maybe you lost your desire to live. Maybe your emotions shut down, or they took over, or you couldn’t stop from feeling overwhelmed. Maybe you just shut down after prolonged stress.
When God takes us out of the action, we frequently get angry or discouraged. We lose hope. We look for someone or something to blame. We become anxious, or we lose our peace. It’s hard to keep our heads up when we’ve lost our game. When it gets really bad, we just want it all to be over. We start praying desperately for God to intervene, or we quit praying because we’re so discouraged.
When I lose my chronic battle with allergies, I ask for Jesus to come NOW! He comes to help, to heal, to comfort, and to encourage me. But Jesus doesn’t answer all my prayers. I’m still here writing this blog. After trying everything under the sun to get better, this morning I went to find help again from my friends at Ashland Christian Health Center. My wife was praying and already anticipated me having some God moments as I left the home.
As soon as I walked up the steps to ACHC, the first person I found was a friend who used to work in the factory when I pastored at Pump House. He smiled at me and told the clinic volunteers, “I know him!” I used to think he didn’t like me, til’ one day I was in too much of a hurry and didn’t stop at his work station. He yelled at the top of his lungs, “Hey preacher, aren’t you gonna talk to me.” That was a turning point in my life. That day I learned not to judge people by their appearance. I learned that some of the toughest people on the outside are really searching to be noticed and loved.
Every time I go to ACHC I find my old friends. Courtney and David were volunteering as student nurses. Courtney was full of smiles and shared her testimony with me. David cared for me like Jesus, like I was the only person in the building. He looked at me with compassion. He cared for my needs. He asked me some amazing questions. He set the record for the most time a staff member spent time with a sick patient. My friend, Roger, helped me find a solution for my chronic problem, and my friend, Sharon, got me the medication that I needed. Jesus taught me how important it is to ask for help, to live in community, and love people even when you’re feeling extremely weak and vulnerable.
I don’t really know or understand why God keeps taking me out of the action. Why we each have areas of our life where we’re incredibly vulnerable to attack. But I do know that he loves us. He calls us to pray. He calls us to put on the whole armor of God. For I experienced attacks from my body, my thoughts, and my feelings that seemed to level me. I know Satan was trying to take me out. But thanks be to God, He’s beginning to restore my body. He gave me a day of rest. He replenished me through His Word. And He inspired to write, to thank Him, and to praise Him whether I’m on my game, or when I’m sidelined and out of the action. I think it’s important to keep communicating with my friends even when I’m not okay.
What do you tend to do when you’re taken out of the action?
How does God get your attention?
What’s His desire for you when you’re slowed down?