Many of us have struggled with the lingering effects of a winter cold. According to a recent post on WebMD, over the course of a year, people in the United States will suffer 1 billion colds. We all know the signs – for me, it usually comes first with a scratchy throat, followed by nasal congestion, then full-blown upper respiratory distress complete with body aches and possibly even a fever. While most of us do anything that we can to avoid coming down with the winter cold by maintaining good hand-washing procedures, eating healthy and keeping up on immunizations, we still somehow manage to end up with a cold. We are told by our physicians to expect it to last 7-10 days, and that there really isn’t anything that they can do for us to lessen the cold (or the effects of it); most of us just suffer through. This winter, as I endure my annual winter cold, I find myself grounded from my normally active lifestyle and spending much more time at home. And with time on my hands, I find that I have more time to spend on personal reflection, prayer, and devotion. After the usual prayers asking for healing, and to help lessen the symptoms, my thoughts turn to wondering how people in the Bible dealt with suffering. I personally cannot recall any individuals in the Bible who were documented with having the common cold, but we do know that there are many cases of individuals who were sick and in need of healing. Wondering if we just give lip service to the idea that God can heal us or that we should only call out to God for healing when we are experiencing catastrophic situations, I went to the scripture to see what comfort and knowledge would be there for me. In Jeremiah 17:4, I found this scripture “Heal me, O Lord, and I will be healed; save me and I will be saved, for you are the one I praise.” And in Exodus 23:25, I find this promise, “Worship the Lord your God, and his blessing will be on your food and water. I will take away sickness from among you…”. One of my favorite verses also gives me comfort, “And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus” which is found in Philippians 4:19. So, while my cold lingers to day 10 and beyond, I do feel that my body is slowly getting better. Each day I see progress, whether it’s that my cough is less intense, my brain is less foggy, or my energy levels are increasing. But the bigger question is this, am I putting my full faith and trust in God that He will heal me in His timing and trusting that His timing is perfect? So many of us want to have everything on our timeline (me included), and try to say to God – “my cold has lasted 10 days, the doctor said that it should be done in 10 days, and I’m still feeling cruddy – so what’s going on?” Let’s give this a thought – Proverbs 3:5,6 says “Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.” The key word of this verse is TRUST. As I wade through my sea of congestion with numerous Kleenex tissues and cough drops, I WILL trust in the Lord that He has a plan for everything in my life, even this cold. Kandi Johnson has always enjoyed sharing the written word with others - through her contributions to The Writer's Group column at The Spectrum, St. George,Utah; 41 North , (Special Supplement to The Coeurd'Alene Press), Coeur d'Alene, Idaho; and her blog, The Vibrant Author. Kandi embraces holistic living, empowered through a close walk with God, and strives to share this with others through her books, and one-on-one coaching through Brio Health Coaching. When not working on new writing projects, she enjoys her family, participating in community events, playing golf, and other outdoor pursuits in the northern Idaho town where she currently resides. See Kandi's books at https://amzn.to/2RPvBDA
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AuthorTim White splashes wit with wisdom gained from too many mistakes. You are welcomed to enjoy his current blog or view blogs from earlier. Archives
February 2019
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