Car accendent

A week ago Monday I was driving home on a absolutely beautiful spring day praising the Lord for his creation and thinking about all the things I needed to do when I got home. Then in a split second my stopped car was rushing forward and I was propelled in a forceful jerk forward and then backwards, slamming my head against the back of my seat. I couldn't believe it! Out of nowhere I had been hit from behind. I pulled over and dealt with the situation, then got back into my sad looking car and drove home to call insurance. I began to feel strange and not be able to focus and was wondering what sort of internal damage had been done to me, when there was no outward physical damage. The doctor said I had sprained my neck and my back in two places along with a concussion. Some strong meds and a lot of sleep later I am starting to recover, slowly. I begin physical therapy tomorrow.

So often in life things hit us unaware. Tragedy strikes when we least expect it and difficulties arise just as everything is starting to go well. Many things are unavoidable and all can be used to learn more about our Savior and to grow closer to him. In the 'spiritual' world (I only differentiate to make a point, we live in world that is both physical and spiritual) it is important to be ready for any sort of attack or distraction in our lives. We are called to put on the full armor of God and to be ready. We are to be testing all things and to be taking captive every thought. While I cannot take captive every car that comes near me, and I have little control over my physical surroundings, I have much control over my spiritual surroundings. When we are walking faithfully and being proactive in our faith, fender benders don't happen. In James it talks about how sin is carried out, the process. We don't wake up super spiritual one day and then that night go and kill some one just because they cut you off in traffic. It is a slow gradual process of giving up spiritual ground. Sometimes we think we have been blindsided, that there was no pre-event warnings, but it is not true. Just like king David, a man after God's own heart, his fall into adultry was a gradual process of becoming less and less sensitive the sin of the world around him, he became unguarded in his spiritual life and ended up causing himself and others a lot of pain.

Just as I had no outward signs of injury, the spiritual life symptoms can be hidden for a time and people may not know. But eventually the pain, the sin, comes out in how we act. I began to walk slowly and had a grimace on my face. With sin we begin to lash out or say something unkind. And just as it takes a long time to recover physically, so is it true with spiritual recovery. It is always very easy to get out of shape, but very painful and slow to get into shape! Stay fit.
With all prayer and pettition pray at all times in the spirit, and with this in view, be on the the alert with all perserverance and petition for all the saints. Ephesians 6:18