BACK TO THE CLOSET

The fever raged on throughout the night, climbing to 103. It started with a small cough. Later that night a slight fever. Since I don’t get fevers it was a little alarming. With wash cloths on my forehead, back of my neck, and wrists, nothing would stop the battle that was going on inside my body. I got all the shots, vaccines, vitamins, exercise, healthy eating but I was really, really sick. Later the next morning the fever had finally subsided. Whatever I had my body had fought vigorously to keep it from taking over. It was as if my white blood cells had been in training for this battle, and, when the enemy came, they were ready. They fought the good fight and won. After going to the doctors she tested me for the flu and yes, that was what I had. After thirty five years of not having the flu, I got it. She said that starting in January the flu epidemic has risen 600 percent. Why? When Covid came the body had forgotten what the flu looked like and people were getting very, very sick. But, she said, because I had done all the preventative work I didn’t end up in the hospital. I see another battle raging on and many are not prepared for it. The enemy has not been as obvious, but instead, has allowed harmless distractions to mask what is coming. I didn’t see it at first, just like having a small cough. But it had been there all along….on my chalkboard. The prayer requests. One after another was prayer for marriages, relationships, families in crises, children gone astray…distractions. It was time to get back into the closet, my prayer closet. A friend of mine had been sharing this very point…that is, bringing God back to the center of your life and from there the battle is fought and won. Without God in the center decisions made can lead to paths of regrets. And how do we do that? Getting back to what we know works. To be on the offensive rather than the defense. Daily time in the Bible, prayer, communing with other believers, accountability, a resolve to follow what we already know is right. I didn’t know that after so many years I was going to get the flu but, I had already been actively preparing for a possible illness and that was what kept me from going into the hospital. For those of you who are in the midst of a marriage or family crises or trying to make some lifelong decisions, go back to your prayer closet and bring Jesus to the center of it. He will make your paths straight, give you wisdom, guidance, and peace of heart. Keep true to what you know is right and God will bring you through victoriously. May God show you this week His purpose and hope for your life.