Take Inventory of Your Live

The Psalms have been a special blessing to me in my life and especially during this time that I am battling a serious heart illness. It is important to have a sense of humor when you are going through difficult times. The prednisone that I am taking has many adverse side effects. My body has changed so that some people have difficulty recognizing me when I am in public. I have the round face and hunchback neck. I call myself “Bucky Beaver” and make light of the fact that I have had some major physical changes. It is important not to take yourself too seriously and to find some humor in our situation.

There are some serious things that God wants us to deal with in time of illness. We are challenged in Psalm 139 at how special we are in God’s design. We are fearfully and wonderfully made and God has a plan for each of our lives. In this chapter we are reminded in Psalm 139:23 – “Search me, O God, and know my heart, test me and know my anxious thoughts.” It is important for all of us to examine ourselves daily and to make sure that our heart is right with God. God is allowing me to go through a time of adversity and wants my total obedience and commitment to Him.

All of us are either going through trials or we will be going through them in the near future. God wants to use times of hardship and adversity as times of refining so we can grow in intimacy with Him. We need total dependency upon God and it is in those storms of life that we realize that we need God and we can draw closer to Him.

As I personally deal with my illness and the side effects of the prednisone, I need to examine myself to make sure that I am learning the lessons that God is wanting to teach me. It is important to be teachable and humble before God so that we are receptive to all that God wants us to learn through our life experiences. I want to be real with God and with people where I am growing as an authentic follower of Jesus Christ. I do not know my future on this earth and what the outcome of my disease will be but I know that someday I will be with Him in heaven for all of eternity. I want the chance to impact as many lives as I can on this earth and to live for His glory. I believe that God has given me a deeper message with my life experiences and that I can impact many lives as I communicate His Word to others. I want to live an examined life where I am not on spiritual autopilot and coasting in spiritual apathy.

The key is to make this my daily prayer: “Search me, O God, and know my heart, test me, and know my anxious thoughts.” Will you live an examined life with me?

Dan