“Yet God, in his grace, freely makes us right in his sight. He did this through Christ Jesus when he freed us from the penalty for our sins. Romans 3:24(NLT)
Peas and Jesus
I must admit I’ve never imagined writing these words but here we go: I’ve spent the day walking around with “peas in my pants.” Yes, you read that correctly, peas in my pants.
I awoke morning before last and when I tried to get out of bed, pain seized me with a tight grip in my low back. I laid there for a few moments trying to catch my breath and then very gingerly eventually made it up. And now, I’ve had a “hitch in my giddy-up” ever since. Thus, the bag of frozen peas stuffed in the waistband of my pants that I’ve alternated with the heating pad hoping for relief.
Here’s the thing, when I rewind my day to before the pain started I can’t find one thing I did that should have resulted in this discomfort I’m experiencing. Sweeping the floor? Watering the flowers? Surely not! The truth is though, more and more I’m finding that these days it just doesn’t take much to put my back out of alignment. One of my praying friends said teasingly that she’d ask the Lord to straighten me out. In reality that’s exactly what I need but and not just for my spine I’m afraid.
Unfortunately, as I think back it hasn’t taken much to find myself misaligned in my relationship with God either. Maybe you know this kind of pain, too. iPad before Bible. Sleep before prayer. Comfort zone before service. Complaints before praise. My list could go on and it makes me pretty uncomfortable. You too? I’m afraid a bag of frozen peas doesn’t help us in this misery does it? Thankfully though, there is a Remedy….grace.
“So then, since we have a great High Priest who has entered heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to what we believe. This High Priest of ours understands our weaknesses, for he faced all the same testings we do, yet he did not sin. So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most.”
Hebrews 4:14-16 (NLT)
We don’t have to “hope” for spiritual relief; it’s offered to us abundantly through Jesus. Will it come over night? Like my back, it’s not a quick fix, but just as I am regularly doing stretches to help strengthen those weak muscles, we must exercise our faith daily, depending on God’s strength to “straighten us out” over time. It takes patience for both. There’ll be good days and bad days but peas and Jesus will help eventually get me where I need to be. And friends, Jesus will get you there too!
“I don’t mean to say that I have already achieved these things or that I have already reached perfection. But I press on to possess that perfection for which Christ Jesus first possessed me. No, dear brothers and sisters, I have not achieved it, but I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus is calling us.”
Philippians 3:12-14
This post was inspired by the prompt “Rewind” over at http://www.fiveminutefriday.com Click over to read more offerings.