It isn't easy... to just trust God.  If it WAS easy everyone would be doing it. 

But... it takes the kind of faith that comes from another world to have the kind of faith to get you through this one.  We cannot just HAVE this kind of faith... but if we ASK FOR IT.. God will gladly give it to us.

When we just trust that He loves us..

that He is good

that He will never fail us

that He is in control of all things

that He knows what we are going through

that His answer is on it's way

then life is easy.

Isn't it?

If you don't have that kind of steady faith.... I have found that when I ask for the faith that I need to get me through the life I am living... 

I get it.

Ask for faith.

Admit you don't have it.

Ask for faith.

And you will get it.

As a gift.

The last couple of days I have had a stiff neck that is VERY PAINFUL.  I don't know what caused it but I wish it would go away.  It's difficult to think of anything but how much it hurts to turn my neck.  All of my pillows have become like stone boulders.. nothing is comfortable... and ibuprofen doesn't affect it enough to make a difference.

The pain in my neck is bad enough.. but... did you know that the body often reacts with sympathy pain?  It means that because one little spot in my body - a muscle, a tendon, a nerve - is inflamed or hurting... other areas are hurting also.  My head hurts... but the pull is in my shoulder.. or neck.. or somewhere... 

As I type this, nothing matters more to me than this pain going away.  My entire day is affected by my stiff neck.  It's difficult for me to think about others today.  It's difficult to concentrate on anything but the vice squeezing on my head.  (At least that's what it feels like) All I want is for the pain to go away.  If someone could promise me that the pain would go away, I would pay them anything they wanted......for the pain to go away.   I've had well meaning family and friends say things like, "Do you think you slept wrong?", "Are you sitting at your computer too long?", "Do you remember when you hurt yourself?" 

At this point in time, I don't really care or have the desire or strength to figure out what CAUSED THE PAIN.  

I JUST WANT IT TO GO AWAY AND TO GO AWAY NOW!

MOST PEOPLE YOU MEET are often in severe pain - perhaps physically, emotionally, spiritually. 

The first and most important attribute a healer can have is to understand that the person in pain just wants relief from the pain.  Period.   When someone is in pain, it is NOT the moment to try to help them figure out what caused it.. or that they did something wrong.. or careless.. or stupid and that's why they are in pain.

Sympathy pain means feeling what the person is feeling and understanding that comfort should always come before correction.

When it comes to sympathy pain, Jesus did more than have sympathy - HE TOOK OUR PAIN ON HIS BODY.  He sympathized so much for us and our painful, pitiful lives on earth, that He gave up His own life to heal us.

His followers should be the ones who understand that people in pain are often self-absorbed and just wanting the pain to stop.  If you are not in pain at the moment, if you have a season where you are feeling healthy- then share your strength with someone else. 

Do what you can to take someone's pain away. No matter what they may have done to cause it. 

 (Well, here it is the next day... Saturday morning... and the stiff neck is greatly improved and I am almost without pain.  Thank you to The Healer for healing me.)

.......WHAT I SHOULD HAVE KNOWN THEN... THEN MAYBE I wouldn't be thinking, "Wish I knew then what i know now"

I think about Paul, the Apostle of Jesus, who wrote a great deal of the New Testament. And before he was Paul the Apostle of Jesus, he was Saul of Tarsus and Saul's main goal was to eradicate Christianity.

And THEN... He becomes God's greatest tool to reach the world.  But.. I wonder if there were times he was with a group of Believers.. and maybe he was responsible for the death of some of the family members of the people gathered there.  I wonder how they dealt with this? 

I wonder how the people forgave Paul for being responsible for the death of their father.. or their son.. or their brother?  I wonder how Paul forgave himself for the harm he caused to the Body of Christ?

Evidently, he found a way to be effective and be honest about himself at the same time.  He didn't hide the pride he had - but he didn't let it keep him from moving forward.

We aren't told how Paul dealt with his former, though religiously zealous, mistakes.  He may have gone to people to ask for forgivenes... or not. 

The main thing is that Paul didn't let guilt... or condemnation... or mistakes keep him from completing the life tasks that God had ordained for him. And neither did the people he had hurt.  The Gospel was the most important thing.   They didn't let the humaness of the messenger distract them from the GLORY of the MESSAGE!!!

And neither should we.