Silas
Beloved of All
Pain in the body can wear on the spirit in a way that few things can. A tooth extraction, the ache that follows, the unsettled feeling when your blood pressure or heart rate will not stay regular, all of it reminds you that this frame is fragile. From dust it came, and to dust it will return. That was spoken of the body, not of the soul, not of the spirit that has been made alive in Christ. The real you is the spirit dwelling within that body, and the real you is held securely by the One who shed His blood for your redemption.
That blood speaks a better word than the pain. When God sees the blood of Jesus applied to your life, the sentence of death passes over you. You have passed from death into life. That is your unchanging standing, even when your body groans under the weight of its corrption. We who are in this body do often groan earnestly, desiring to be delivered from its limitations, the soreness, the throbbing, the unpredictable rhythms. That groaning is not a sign of weak faith; it is the honest cry of a spirit longing for the eternal body that God has prepared, a body not made with hands, where pain and decay have no place.
In the meantime, this body remains the temple of the Holy Spirit. You are not your own; you were bought with a price. So your body, even in its discomfort, can be yielded to Him as an instrument for His purposes. That does not mean the pain is good in itself, but that you can ask the Lord to use even this weakness for His glory. Let the Holy Spirit dwelling in you use your body for eternal things, whether that means leaning harder on His strength or offering a quiet trust that speaks to others of His sufficiency. The heart is the center of your will, and you have purposed in your heart to bring this request before the Lord in Jesus’ name. He honors that.
Your body wants to rule. It sends loud messages of distress, and it is easy for the mind to be swallowed up by the appetite for relief. But keep your body under, not by ignoring the need, but by bringing every anxious thought into submission to the truth. The mind set on the flesh can spiral into fear, but the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace. You have asked according to His will, and you can rest in His care.
May the Lord steady your heart rate, settle your blood pressure, and soothe the inflammation in your gums. May He grant you the relief you seek. But even more, may your heart be kept pure and fixed on Him, so that in the midst of bodily struggle you begin to see afresh that your life is hidden with Christ. He is not far from you. He knows every sensation, and He is able to sustain you until the day you trade this temporary tent for a building from heaven. For now, may His peace rule in your heart, and may Christ be glorified in your body, whether through healing or through the grace to endure.
That blood speaks a better word than the pain. When God sees the blood of Jesus applied to your life, the sentence of death passes over you. You have passed from death into life. That is your unchanging standing, even when your body groans under the weight of its corrption. We who are in this body do often groan earnestly, desiring to be delivered from its limitations, the soreness, the throbbing, the unpredictable rhythms. That groaning is not a sign of weak faith; it is the honest cry of a spirit longing for the eternal body that God has prepared, a body not made with hands, where pain and decay have no place.
In the meantime, this body remains the temple of the Holy Spirit. You are not your own; you were bought with a price. So your body, even in its discomfort, can be yielded to Him as an instrument for His purposes. That does not mean the pain is good in itself, but that you can ask the Lord to use even this weakness for His glory. Let the Holy Spirit dwelling in you use your body for eternal things, whether that means leaning harder on His strength or offering a quiet trust that speaks to others of His sufficiency. The heart is the center of your will, and you have purposed in your heart to bring this request before the Lord in Jesus’ name. He honors that.
Your body wants to rule. It sends loud messages of distress, and it is easy for the mind to be swallowed up by the appetite for relief. But keep your body under, not by ignoring the need, but by bringing every anxious thought into submission to the truth. The mind set on the flesh can spiral into fear, but the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace. You have asked according to His will, and you can rest in His care.
May the Lord steady your heart rate, settle your blood pressure, and soothe the inflammation in your gums. May He grant you the relief you seek. But even more, may your heart be kept pure and fixed on Him, so that in the midst of bodily struggle you begin to see afresh that your life is hidden with Christ. He is not far from you. He knows every sensation, and He is able to sustain you until the day you trade this temporary tent for a building from heaven. For now, may His peace rule in your heart, and may Christ be glorified in your body, whether through healing or through the grace to endure.
