My Blogging friend, Rachel Beran, wrote on her blog about the flareup with neck pain. She’d gotten pretty good but something created new and increased pain. She vulnerably shared her discouragement. You can read her post at

www.beranville.blogspot.com

I commented something like:

“Oh, Rachel, I’m so very sorry to hear of this setback. Like Julie, you know that I also can relate. I’ll be praying for healing. Thank you for being honest about your discouragement. It’s a good warning for me, as I think about it, right now. I’m going in for my spinal cortisone shot this coming Monday and I know I’m counting on that to relieve my pain rather than keeping my eyes on the Lord. That’s a set up for discouragement and maybe even depression if it doesn’t solve the problem. So thank you that God used you. I need to keep my eyes on Him for my healing and my encouragement. I’m praying for you, Julie and myself. Heal us, Lord!”

(by the way, my comment didn’t go through on Rachel’s blog for some reason even though I tried to post it several times. Go figure).

It’s so easy to look to human solutions for our problems. It’s a question of asking, “Where does my hope lie?” God may want me to find solutions but am I trusting in that rather than God’s work? It is only Him making the therapy, etc, work. I’ve often thought that if God told me to ride a motorcycle up and down our street 7 times to heal an ailment, that would be his means, not anything else. Sometimes I even wonder if I’m deceiving myself to do any of these things because I’m so desperate for the pain to end.

Well, now I’m rambling. I’m so hoping the shot will work–before I get tired of watching “The Golden Girls” reruns.

For Joshua’s marching orders to solve his “problem” of a resistant Jericho, God said, “march and then shout.” Not exactly a tried and true military strategy. But God commanded it and they did it and the city fell.

In all honesty, I’m not sure if God wants me to do the shot. In my pain, it’s hard to hear clearly. I hope it is. But if the shot doesn’t work, “Oh, Lord, help me to keep my eyes on you and trust your plan for me.”