Ouch!

Friday, February 04, 2011
Ouch! This morning when I was getting dressed and was bending over to put on my socks I managed to bring my elbow into contact with the corner of my footboard on my bed. It brought a serious, life changing question to mind in an instant: Why on earth do they call it a funny bone? I mean, really, when you hit it there’s nothing funny about it. It hurts – and if you hit it just right and just hard enough – it hurts really badly!
I’ve never been really good at any of the physical sciences, but it’s my understanding that there’s a nerve that runs through the area near your elbow. When you hit your “funny bone,” it’s not a bone at all really. You’re hitting a nerve. And boy does it ever smart.
Have you ever had one of those moments with God when He sort of “hit a nerve” with you? Maybe it’s some area you’ve been struggling with in your life and you’ve all but given up on securing victory in it. At just the right time you hear a message or read a Scripture that speaks to that exact thing, and it hits a little too close to home for you. Your “spiritual funny bone” has been tapped.
The truth is that so many of us don’t spend much time in the Word. Actually, many of us don’t spend any time at all in the Word. And the enemy of our souls, satan (whose name will not be capitalized in any of my writings for obvious reasons) loves it when we choose not to get into the Word at all. God says His Word is “sharper than any two edged sword, piercing deeper than bone and marrow.” It can divide the sin in our lives from who we really are meant to be. That’s powerful, and that will lead to growth in Him that our enemy is terrified of.
That’s why it’s so easy for us to neglect the Word. If we get into it, it is going to change us with time – mark that down. And so if satan can keep us from the Word, he’ll do everything he can to do so. And we will continue to live our lives in spiritual defeat, wondering why it’s just so hard to live for Christ every day. When we are spiritually weak, it will be hard because the battles will be such an uphill climb without the strength that a growing relationship brings. And we need the Word for that.
Many of us push the Bible aside because we know, deep down inside, that reading it will hurt a little. We know God will have a thing or two to say about our life and the choices we’re making in it. And so we have our excuses. We say things like “I’m just too busy,” or “I don’t understand it,” or better yet “I go to church on Sunday and that’s good enough.” If eating one good meal a week is good enough to sustain our physical bodies then maybe I’ll agree. The truth is you and I both know we need more physical food than that to be healthy. And so it is with our spiritual lives as well.
So today, this blog may have hit your spiritual funny bone. Maybe you can feel something right now. I’m sorry to tell you this, but it’s not me. What you feel is the Holy Spirit speaking to your heart, and simply saying, “I want to spend time with you. The Father wants to speak to you. Open up the Word for a bit and see what He’s saying.” As I’ve already said, it may be painful at times, but sometimes growing brings growing pains. And after the discomfort they bring fades, you’re a stronger, more Christ-like person. And that, my friends, is well worth the temporary ache.



That’s just a thought, and I welcome yours.
Until next time,
blake

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