“I have an appointment with my doctor this afternoon,” Stan said as we finished our breakfast.
“Anything wrong?” I asked.
“Just a checkup,” he replied, “but I do know that I haven’t been feeling as well as usual. Definitely not as well as I would like.”
“Good idea to get everything checked out,” I responded. “Sure hope everything is okay.”
“We’ll see,” he said, “but I do know that my checkup with God is a whole lot more important than seeing the doctor.”
“Checkup with God?”
“Yeah,” Stan replied. “If I don’t have a regular checkup with Him to see how I’m doing, I know for a fact that my spiritual health may be going downhill. It has happened too many times in the past when I just didn’t have the same spiritual vitality.”
“How do you have that kind of checkup?”
“It’s just like most things in my relationship with God, it involves choices. Unless I choose to regularly open myself to a full examination by God and unless I’m totally open to His diagnosis and prognosis, I’m in danger of falling into spiritual ill-health.”
“Spiritual ill-health,” I repeated. “What does an examination for that look like?”
“Full confession of all of my sins and repentance to begin with. Then comes the part of being totally — and I mean totally — open to God for Him to tell me everything He sees wrong with my life. Attitudes, activities, thoughts that I allow in my mind, words that I allow to come out of my mouth, and everything else that may be getting in the way of my relationship with Him.”
“Then what?”
“Then, so to speak, God gives me a prescription to be filled. It’s up to me whether or not I get the prescription filled, but my spiritual health is going to continue to deteriorate if I don’t.”
“What kind of prescription?” I asked.
“Depends on God’s diagnosis and prognosis. He will prescribe exactly what He knows I need, but, as I said, it’s up to me whether I get the prescription filled.”
“Why would anyone ignore the advice of the Great Physician, not get His prescription filled, and risk loosing the strength and vitality for the relationship that only He can provide?”
“I think you know the answer to that,” Stan replied. “Self, along with preferring the world, the flesh, and the devil.”
____________________________________
Bible verses to consider
But when He heard this, He said, “It is not those who are healthy who need a physician, but those who are ill. Matthew 9:12.
And hearing this, Jesus said to them, “It is not those who are healthy who need a physician, but those who are sick; I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners. Mark 2:17.
And she (Delilah) said, “The Philistines are upon you, Samson!” And he awoke from his sleep and said, “I will go out as at other times and shake myself free.” But he did not know that the Lord had departed from him. Judges 16:20.
Prayer: Thank you, Father, that you provide all I need for a complete checkup on every aspect of my health. I ask for the wisdom to not ignore everything that I need to be healthy, especially in the spiritual aspects of my relationship with you for as long as you keep me on this side of eternity. Thank you for showing me the consequences of ignoring you, the Great Physician, and your warning signs of ill-health in our relationship. Please, Father, grant me the wisdom and commitment to be yours in every aspect of my being. Lead and help me to follow so I do not fall into the ill-health of self, the world, the flesh, and the devil. Thank you I can and do bring all of these prayers before you in the name of Jesus. Amen.
Think on this: Do you have a healthy relationship with God? If no, why? What does it mean to you to have that kind of relationship with God. Is that what you would like? Why or why not? If you don’t have the relationship with God that you would like, do you know how that can be remedied? Is that something you would like? Why or why not?
Waiting for the Train 