Raised to a New Life

I am home sick today. So are my family. I am in recovery, but they are at the stage I was in two days ago. All I wanted to do was sleep, and reduce the ache in my gut. I ate hardly anything. It was hard to pray, hard to feel positive about life, and the deep cold outside did not help, except to make me not feel so bad about staying indoors and not working. These are the days to ask ourselves what our faith consists of, how we hold on to the dreams and visions God has given us, how we see ourselves as human beings, rather than human doings. There is little I can do to prove my worth today, except to get through it, and to keep my faith and trust and hope alive. I am sure there are so many days like this for so many people, and there have been many before for me, without being sick, many days when I had only the words God had given me to hold on to.

I share today some of those words that I read in a Daily Prayer each day, taken from the website of the ministry of John and Stasi Eldredge: www.ransomedheart.com. You can find the full two page text of this prayer under the section on their website called Going Deeper- Daily Prayer.

Jesus, I also sincerely receive you as my life, my holiness, and strength, and I receive all the work and triumph of your resurrection, through which you have conquered sin and death and judgment. Death has no mastery over you, nor does any foul thing. And I have been raised with you to a new life, to live your life - dead to sin and alive to God. I now take my place in your resurrection and your life, through which I am saved by your life. I reign in life through your life. I receive your life - your humility, love and forgiveness, your integrity in all things, your wisdom, discernment and cunning, your strength, your joy, your union with the Father. Apply to me the fullness of your resurrection. I receive it with thanks and give it total claim to my spirit, soul and body, my heart, mind and will.

My life is beyond this body, this hour, this day, this circumstance. I must never forget that, nor must you.

Comments

Anonymous said…
Belinda,
I had the same flu on Monday. Boy did my body ache - but I did manage to read and pray a little and it helped a lot. I couldn't sleep though because I ached too much.
Hope your family has a quick recovery.
Jan
12:51 PM
Belinda said…
Hey Jan, So sorry to hear you had that flu, but this post was written by Meg, one of our blog team, and it was her poor family and Meg that suffered with the flu.

I'm glad that you are over it now!
1:51 PM
Meg said…
Just a funny story about how God uses everything. Tonight, Saturday, my daughter presented the story of her return to our missionary home in Uganda this summer. We invited the whole church. Because we had been sick, we felt we must warn people, so about 20 people we knew intended to come did not come because of our warning of possible contamination. About 20 still came. Then a whole bunch of other people from church came that we didn't know for sure about, and if all who had originally intended to come, and cancelled out because of the flu, had actually come we could not have fitted everyone in our living room, which managed just to contain the roughly 35 people who did come. So God used it all, and honoured our respect of others...and blessed us...and I don't think anyone will get sick because of it!!! He also used my down time with the flu to help me work out some stuff. Resurrection comes out of brokenness....
10:48 PM
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