A body as good as dead?

Ben's in the hospital again. He had another migraine attack this morning, nausea followed quickly by losing feeling in his arms, blacking out visually, and chest pain. The last scared us, so we booked it to the ER where they ran the typical tests plus some. In general things are okay- no fever or heart problems. But he's still throwing up and in a lot of pain, so they're keeping him at least overnight so that they can pump him full of fluids and drugs.

I read Romans 4, and it took on new meaning for me. Before today I loved that passage, reading that Abraham was able to face the facts: "his body was as good as dead," as far as it came to producing a son. Yet he fully believed God's promises, even his promise that he would have an enormous line of descendents! He knew God's promise was impossible medically, yet he still believed it!

Today I was frustrated, and I'm sure Ben was too, at the break down of our bodies. His more than mine, but I feel somewhat sick today as well. How can we build a life when our bodies don't function as we depend on them to? But Romans 4 reminded me that God's promises still rule over our corrupt bodies, even in "a body as good as dead," like Abraham's.

Then Romans 5 said that trials ultimately give us hope! I was reminded that a pastor at our church, Jayson Turner I believe, said that health is a great idol for us. Yes it is! When we are not healthy, I yearn for health enormously, thinking about it all the time. Romans 5 is so true, because the trial of poor health reminds me that health is not our hope!

We hope in health from day to day. We hope that we can rise in the morning to do our work, we hope can think clearly and make our bodies obey our minds commands. When that hope disappoints us, our plans are frustrated. When they happens, we can either despair or remember that none of God's promises have been broken, that we still have the same place in his will as always. Our hope stands firm, a hope that never disappoints us as our health does.

Still... please pray for us. We need to remember that hope. It's difficult, especially with the trip to Guatemala coming up in less than two weeks!

Lisa