Stuck Like a Kidney Stone

Every week our pastor sends out an encouraging/challenging email to our congregation.  For those of you who don't know my pastor, he is very clever, witty, and always draws from real-life scenarios to pertain to spiritual situations.  For the past like 60 days now, our pastor has been praying for almost 500 prayer requests every..single..day. He has been suffering from terrible headaches, and for about the past month, a kidney stone that just won't go away.  I am continually in awe at his heart, strength, and energy to love our church and God, for he never gives up! 

The email this week was kind of an update on his kidney stone..which he is going to try to have removed for the second time today, but also a spiritual lesson.  Just like his kidney stone seems "stuck", we as Christians can sometimes get stuck too.  We get to a certain point in our lives and we just let life pass us by. We become content with our situations, and we never change. The following is a quote from that email:

"Hebrews 6:1 says: “Therefore let us move beyond the elementary teachings about Christ and be taken forward to maturity…” Refuse to be content with where you are in your Christian walk. In other words… press on! Dive into God’s word. Move on to maturity. Don’t stay in the same place. Hunger and thirst for righteousness. Reject the easy path of laziness or indifference. Like I’ve been telling my kidney stone for the last four weeks “Get moving!”  -Rob Prince

I felt that in light of this week's focus on holiness and grace, that this illustration was perfect.  We can't begin to take on a life of holy living if we don't move! Let's not be satisfied ever with where we are, our walk with Christ is just that- a WALK. We don't sit around and wait to get somewhere, we have to move.

I love the following prayer in my Devotions for Lent. I hope you will make this your prayer as well.

Prayer to the Holy Spirit- Augustine of Hipp (Algeria/354-430)

Breathe in me,

O Holy Spirit,

that my thoughts may all be holy.

Act in me,

O Holy Spirit,

that my work, too, may be holy.

Draw my heart,

O Holy Spirit,

that I love only what is holy.

Stregthen me,

O Holy Spirit,

to defend all that is holy.

Gaurd me, the,

O Holy Spirit,

that I may always be holy.

Have a blessed, lovely weekend!