Philippians 3:10 "that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to his death, if by any means, I may attain to the resurrection from the dead."
I have been suffering from pain for months as a result of a car accident in November. From Doctors to Chiropractors to Physical therapy and massage, I have been around the block to deal with this pain. Even a myopractor. Who has ever even heard of a myppractor? Anyway, after so much "help," I was recently re-injured from a therapy session of traction and sent into MAJOR pain! It was worse than anything I have ever experienced. I couldn't lift my head to sit up in bed without agonizing pain. After two trips to ER, a doctor visit and then an outpatient surgical procedure and over a week in bed, I was on the way to recovery. It has been slow going, but I am getting better. As I have been dealing with pain for months, I have been helped so much by modern medicine. However, I had a exasperating experience at the doctor's office yesterday. It was unbelievable. I went in for a refill for my meds and MY OH MY did I get WAY more than that! I was treated like a druggie or drug dealer. The "substitute doctor" went on to insult me left and right. She insinuated that I was taking too many pills (or maybe even selling them?????) She commented that she would only see these prescribed meds in my urine sample, right? REALLY! What does she think I am doing, smoking pot or snorting coke? Or just popping pain pills left and right? I have NO idea. WHO knows what she was thinking!!! She also hinted that she thought I might be making up this pain to GET pills. Unbelievable! ME??? Like I said, she doesn't know me at all. I tried to be patient, and be patient some more. But then I broke down. Enough arguing with the Doctor. ENOUGH! Somehow the nurse straightened things out and the Doctor came back into the room backpedaling. "I am sorry if I offended you in any way." "WHAT???" Yeah, lady, BIG TIME. I continued to be kind in the face of misunderstanding. She totally changed her tune, gave me my script and sent me on my way. Talk about insult to injury. I have not been able to get the encounter out of my mind! I have NEVER been treated this way before. For the first time, I felt what it must be like to be persecuted. I was tested and tried and treated as guilty of a crime before there was any trial! I can't help but relate my pain and suffering and false accusation to what we recently remembered in the death of Christ. He suffered beyond anything I could ever relate to or comprehend. And He had the knowledge and power to retaliate, but He did not open his mouth. "But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, And by His stripes we are healed." Isaiah 53:5
For some reason, in God's great goodness, He chose to allow me to experience this test of pain and suffering and even false accusation. I can only guess at His wisdom in this. But doesn't say in the Bible somewhere that we become like him in His death? And we should take up His cross, dying to ourselves and follow Him? Yeah, here it is: "knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin....Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him, knowing that Christ, having been raised from the dead, dies no more. Death no longer has dominion over Him. For the death that He died, He died to sin once for all; but the life that He lives, He lives to God. Likewise you also, reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord." Romans 6:6-11. And, Galatians 2:20 "I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me." Also, Matthew 10:38 "And he who does not take his cross and follow after me is not worthy of me."
There is something to be said about going through a trial with the strength of the Lord. There is joy in the midst of suffering. There is hope in affliction. There is peace, knowing that God has done away with evil and sin once and for all, and HE WINS. In the end, there will be no tears. And I will be with Him in the end. This life here and now is just a teeny tiny bit of the journey. And the trials make us stronger if we trust in Him. They sanctify us, if we look for Him in our times of need. They purify us from our sin to make us holy like Jesus. They sharpen us so that we will be able to be strong warriors, clothed with the armor of God and ready to fight the enemy. We have to trust in Him that He will not allow us to experience anything that He will not use for our good and for His glory. He can redeem any situation and use it for his purposes. He loves us. He has our best interest in mind. He knows that it is best for us to be challenged in this life so that we will be changed and we will be conformed to His likeness. I am thankful that I do not have to walk this road alone. I couldn't do it. I need to be totally dependent on Him. And I think that's His point exactly.
And as for forgiving the doctor? Thats for a later post.
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