The favor He shows

Last night I had a dream about my theme song, then the verse of the day was one that I have written about several times.

 "Don't worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done." Philippians 4:6 NLT

I have talked a lot about worrying.  I think I worry more then most people. I tried giving up worrying because it simply doesn't do any good and really all it does is make me sick but like all of us I worry.

I thought for a while that maybe I have more to worry about then most people, but the more I get to know other people the more I find out that worry runs rampant in our society.  Our worry makes other people rich.  In fact there are specific medications for people with chronic worrying problems.  Millions of dollars of research money has gone into finding that specific neurotransmitter that is triggered when we worry. Doctors see thousands of patients a year with ulcers and headaches and muscle tension all due to chronic worrying but the Bible specifically says not to do it.  In fact it gives us specific instructions on what to do instead of worrying and that is to pray, yet people will pay top dollar to get a few minutes of relief.

Why is it so difficult to follow the Bible's instructions?  The instructions are pretty straight forward: Pray.

I know first hand how great and effective prayer is but I also know first hand how scary it is to turn something over to Him. 

"Not a shadow can rise, not a cloud in the skies,
But His smile quickly drives it away;
Not a doubt or a fear, not a sigh or a tear,
Can abide while we trust and obey."

 I have been nursing a bum knee.  It hurts and the rehabilitation to fix the issue is painful as well. When I was at the Doctor the other day, he looked at me and told me there was no quick fix to my knee problem but the one thing I certainly didn't expect was more pain during rehab.  I mean it already hurts, why would I want to endure more pain to make it better?  So I have two choices...I can choose to not do anything and continue with the chronic pain or I can endure a few weeks of more pain and quite possibly not have any more pain.  It seems like an obvious choice, but its a very difficult one to make.  

Pain like time is relative.  The chronic pain in my knee is pretty minimal if you compare it to the birth of my first child or my ruptured disk but it keeps me from doing the things that I enjoy and eventually it might keep me from doing much of anything when the arthritis sets in.  The pain during rehab is minimal compared to those things as well but compared to the initial pain its really quite terrible.  I need to retrain the muscles of my upper and lower leg.  I need to stretch some and strengthen others.  I have to wear a neoprene brace in the middle of the summer to hold my knee cap in place while the muscles tighten around it.

But yes, I chose to go through rehab to hopefully fix the issue and I continue to turn things over to Him each time I feel worry coming on.  Some people might think I am pretty crazy to endure more pain to fix something minor but when you choose to turn your worries over to Him your pain is usually short lived.

Rehab is all about taking two steps forward and one step back and turning worries over to Him is the same.  We turn it over and move in the right direction but then slowly we let the worry creep back in and we have taken a step backwards, but prayer is pretty powerful.  When we continue to pray about our worries our thinking starts to change from our problems to His power. 

I love the verse that talks about how He takes care of the lilies and the birds, so why wouldn't He take care of us.  He knows the number of hairs on your head, He formed you in your mother's womb, He knew His plans for you before you were born.

"But we never can prove the delights of His love
Until all on the altar we lay;
For the favor He shows, for the joy He bestows,
Are for them who will trust and obey."

I think that is my favorite verse of the song.  When we choose to endure a little more pain and turn things over He gets the chance to prove His love for us.  When we choose to trust and obey, He pours out His joy.  Sure we can take the easy way out.  I could choose to take an anti-inflammatory everyday for the rest of my life but that might rob me of my future, I might never be able to run. But choosing to hold out for better things is always worth the additional discomfort.