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God’s Word and a Scalpel

February 10, 2023 by Lauren 6 Comments

scalpelI had surgery to correct tennis elbow on May 18 of last year. I don’t play tennis. But supposedly many different types of repetitive motion can cause the tendons to fray. The surgeon’s scalpel made an inch and a half long incision, pulled the tendon away from the bone, and shaved the offending frays from that tendon. The doctor then sewed the tendon back to the bone before doing something to cause additional bleeding. This extra bleeding supposedly brings quicker and more complete healing.

 

My elbow hurt more in the days after the surgery than before. I knew that wouldn’t always be the case, but was necessary for healing.

 

God Often Brings Growth through Suffering

 

“Before I was afflicted I went astray, but now I obey your word.” Psalm 119:27 NIV

 

God makes it clear many times in scripture that we will not escape hardship in this life.  Sometimes He allows us to endure pain to teach us obedience.  Natural consequences can direct us to a better way. And suffering can increase our dependence on Him. We won’t always find a lesson in our heartache.  Sorrow, grief and distress are natural ramifications of living in a broken world.  But there would be no demerit systems, school detentions or time outs if discomfort offered no instruction or reformation.

 

God Brings Growth Through Scripture

 

“For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.” Hebrews 4:12 NIV

 

God’s word can be comforting.  We often buy wall art and home decor plastered with passages about God’s love and care for us.  We create or share memes for social media with verses about God’s good plans for us or encouragement to be strong and courageous.  And I would never want to diminish these expressions of God’s great grace and mercy for us.  But we can’t grasp on to the tender promises and ignore the instruction and conviction the Bible contains.

 

You will probably never see Hebrews 4:12 (above) cross stitched on a pillow, but it’s an important precept to understand and follow.  We love to talk about the abundant life we have in Christ, but that requires we walk in righteousness.  God’s word lays out His design for His creation – that’s us.  When we ignore that, we forfeit (at least for the time of disobedience) the blessings of right living.  God overflows with grace and mercy, but He will not allow His people to remain in sin forever.

 

How God’s Word Cuts

 

Not all of God’s word is comforting.  Some of it is cutting and convicting.  But it cuts to heal – like a surgeon’s scalpel.

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How   The cuts my doctor made were so tender after surgery that I held a wide berth around everything on my right side.  I didn’t want to touch anything and I didn’t want anything to touch me.  And I didn’t even want to think about flexing and extending my arm.  But I had full faith that my elbow would heal and return to better function than before.  Closer to God’s design for the elbow.  And heal it has.  I don’t regret the pain of the procedure for a second.

 

That’s the faith I have in God’s convicting and reforming Word.  It cuts straight to the heart if I let it.  It makes sometimes painful corrections to our actions and the thoughts and attitudes that brought about those actions.  But momentary pain, in the hands of our Lord and Savior, molds us more and more into the image of Christ.  God’s design for us.

 

I would love to hear your thoughts on pain and suffering in this world and God’s part in it.  Drop a comment below to join the conversation.

 

And now for this week’s featured post from the link up!

When You Try Trusting God & Things Get Worse.  I’ve definitely felt that.  If you have, this post from Donna Reidland will encourage you.

The Link Up

1. Share 1 or 2 of your most recent CHRISTIAN LIVING posts. (No DIY, crafts, recipes, or inappropriate articles.) All links are randomly sorted.

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Kissing February ’21 Goodbye

February 26, 2021 by Lauren 24 Comments

Have you seen the social media game that asks you to look up the title of the #1 song on the day you turned 21?  That’s how your 2021 is supposed to go.  Mine was “I’ll Make Love to You”  by Boyz II Men.  Uh, love is definitely not the word I use for this year so far.

For the first three days of this month, my husband and I took turns in the hospital with our oldest.  Her spinal fusion surgery on January 28 kept her there for several days.  (You can read a little more about that here.)  And while my husband and I enjoyed hospital food and acting as ships passing in the night (thanks, Covid), we celebrated in being able to come home and be together.  The long days of pain meds and recovery since put our nursing skills and patience to the test, but our sweet girl heads around a metaphorical corner as we speak.

 

Several sweet friends provided meals and gift cards for meals as we settled in back home.  One even sent her housekeeper over to clean for us!  This completely made up for the week of hospital food.  We thank God for His generous people.

 

Just a week and a half after Shelby’s surgery, our youngest underwent surgery to correct a deviated septum she sustained the day of her leg surgery last year.  She passed out and took a nose dive into the tile, breaking her nose.  Last March with the leg to deal with, we kind of forgot about the nose after the swelling and bruising went away.  The lingering repercussions reminded us months later.

 

Allie’s turn under the knife wasn’t as serious but did entail a week out of school and a trip to the ER to remove a nasal stent that became unstitched.  Once she could feel it poking the back of her throat, she and her dad made the pilgrimage for care – returning home at 2:00am.  The stitch came out of the other one the next day.  After watching the ER doc, her dad felt sure he could pull this one with jewelry pliers – and did!

 

For Valentine’s Day we experienced a winter weather catastrophe here in the Dallas area that lasted for a week.  130 car pile up on black ice came first, then temps in the single digits and millions of homes without power and water.  For days.  And as I write this a week later, the thermometer touched 80 degrees!  Please pray for those still trying to get power or water back and those whose homes or businesses sustained damage.  Once again, my family thanks God for His generous people who put us up so we could stay warm and entertain my daughter with Mickey Mouse Clubhouse.

 

At the beginning of this week, my incredible husband celebrated a low-key birthday, followed by my youngest turning Sweet 16 the next day.  We gave her 16 bags with different little gifts instead of one big one.  Many of them were gift cards for fast food and coffee shops she likes.  Those were probably her favorite.  We let her pick out the restaurant for dinner and had a Dairy Queen Blizzard cake waiting until we could sneak her 4 besties in to surprise her.  Was a nice day.

 

In the midst of all this chaos, I indulged in a little low-brow comfort TV.  Framing Britney Spears on Hulu (what?  I was curious!), and the teeny bopper To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before, Always and Forever on Netflix.  The Super Bowl, Ted Lasso on Apple+ (entirely too much language for me), WandaVision on Disney+ (part of the Marvel universe), and For All Mankind on Apple+ ( fascinating reimagining of our space program) rounded out viewing for the Sparks brood.  My husband and I tried Four Weddings and a Funeral on Hulu, but we turned it off almost immediately.  The first 6 words spoken started with an F.  We also tried The Mindy Project – on Huluas well.  My husband didn’t care for it but I think I may continue it on my own.

 

Well, I’ll wrap up this 14th month of 2020 by saying, “I love you.  I thank you, and I hope March treats you well.

 

Now, for this week’s featured post!

 

Did He Really Say…?  from Kim Hood of  embracethisseason.com brought a recent conversation with a loved one racing back into my heart.  I believe this article highlights the number one technique satan uses to place doubt in believers about God’s Word.  It’s subtle, it’s slippery and we have to be diligently on the lookout for this weapon in our own lives and the lives of our loved ones.  See what Kim has to say.

 

 

 

 

Grace and Truth_Rules

1. Share 1 or 2 of your most recent CHRISTIAN LIVING posts. (No DIY, crafts, recipes, or inappropriate articles.) All links are randomly sorted.

2. Comment on 1 or 2 other links. Grace & Truth linkup encourages community.

3. Every host features one entry from the previous week. To be featured, include this button or link back here on your post (mandatory to be featured, but not to participate).

 

Grace Truth_Button

Grace and Truth_Meet Hosts

We encourage you to follow our hosts on their blogs or social media.

MAREE DEE – Embracing the Unexpected
Blog | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Pinterest

HEATHER HART & VALERIE RIESE – Candidly Christian
Blog | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Pinterest

LAUREN SPARKS
Blog | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Pinterest

LISA BURGESS – Lisa notes
Blog | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Pinterest

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About Me

I love Jesus, my husband and caffeine. The order of these can change depending on how tired I am. When my two daughters, stepson, and 4 grandchildren get to be too much, I practice yoga. God graciously allows me to share our adventures, victories and flub-ups from my laptop. May He be glorified here.
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