Spiritual Flu

After feeling less than average for a couple of weeks I forget what it feels like to be healthy again.

Ephesians 2:1-10

Reference:  v.5 made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions-it is by grace you have been saved. (TNIV Bible)

Explore:  I always forget how terrible it feels to be sick until I am actually sick again.  I mean, I don't remove all pain completely from my mind, it's just that I forget about the all encompassing body meltdown that often comes with being ill.  Whenever I get the flu it always seems to hit my throat first.  I notice my throat is a little scratchy in the mornings but try to brush it off by thinking that I just haven't had enough sleep.  However, it only goes down hill from there.  Soon enough I'll get the painful sinus headaches, the build up of phlegm, sore ears, runny nose and it's like my head has taken over my whole body and all I can think of doing is curling up into a ball and going to sleep for a very long time.  After feeling less than average for a couple of weeks I forget what it feels like to be healthy again.  Until one bright and wonderful day I wake up and my head is clear.  Sure, my nose is still a little runny and I have a persistent cough, but I can think straight and I'm not so tired anymore.  It's like a hazy fog, that has surrounded me for weeks, has finally cleared and I can see clearly again.  It's then that I appreciate my health and start trying to forget how terrible it felt to be unwell.

Application:  There is a spiritual flu that is constantly floating around and we can catch rather easily.  We catch it when we make a bad decision, when we put ourselves before other people and when we put other things as a greater priority than our relationship with God.  It's this spiritual flu that usually doesn't hit suddenly but creeps up on us.  While my cold flu starts in my throat a spiritual flu might start with some easily justifiable selfishness, a little bit of greed or a bad word said about another.  And if we're not careful the spiritual flu will soon spread to every part of our lives.  This kind of flu is certainly hard to shake and after a while we get so used to being so spiritually ill that we forget what it is like to be spiritually healthy again.  Until we get a new glimpse of Christ and we decide yet again to put off our old selves and hold on to the grace that God offers us to set us free.  It is then that we remember what it is to be truly healthy again and we can rejoice that we have been made truly alive with Christ. It is important to be physically healthy but let's not forget how crucial our spiritual health is too.

Prayer:  Lord, may we focus not just on our physical health but also work hard to be in relationship with You.  Amen.

How healthy is your spirituality at the moment?

Ephesians