Basic Truths | Finding God in Everyday Life

  I was diagnosed with a stress fracture in my knee last week. Hopefully, limiting my activity for a while will allow it to heal without any intervention. Stress fractures are rarely caused by a specific injury. They generally are the result of an accumulation of little stresses that eventually lead to a weakening of the bone and, finally, a fracture.   We live in stressful times. We need to be able to deal with our day-to-day stress before its accumulated effect causes a fracture in our physical health, a relationship, a job, or even in our relationship with God.   Stressors don’t have to be negative events. Ask any parent whether the first few months of taking care of their newborn baby were stressful! We may not even realize what stress is doing to us. We may attribute our fatigue, anxiety, or general lack of well-being to any one of a number of physical problems.   I’ve listed some ways to help deal with stress.   1. Make time for daily Bible...

  It’s that time of year again! I belong to the local YMCA and every year when I go in early January, most of the equipment is being used by people starting a workout program. By the middle of January, it begins to thin out and by the beginning of February it’s back to baseline.   I’ve seen thousands of patients who come in complaining about their inability to lose weight. Many of them have no interest in doing anything about the problem themselves, such as watching their diet closer and getting regular exercise. They just want me to prescribe something that will do the work for them.   Paul wrote to Timothy, advising him, “But you, man of God, flee from all this [love of money], and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness. Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made your good confession” (1 Timothy 6:11-12). Notice the words Paul uses – flee, pursue, fight, and take hold. T...

  We had a strong cold front pass through the area yesterday and it made for a very windy day, with gusts almost to 50 miles per hour. I was looking out the window as the trees and everything else were feeling the effects of the wind. I noticed a big bird, probably a hawk, just gliding through the air, not flapping its wings, seemingly effortless in its movements, not affected at all by the breeze. I was curious and so I read up on how birds, mainly the larger ones, deal with the wind. They fly into the wind with their wings out and it creates uplift. Then, once they’ve been lifted up, they can point themselves downward, gaining momentum that allows them to move forward, even going into the wind.   We live in turbulent times. We find ourselves being buffeted by the winds of society blowing in the opposite direction from where we want to go. We can learn a lesson from the birds. When we are facing turbulence, we can lift our arms out wide and ask God to lift us up. When He ...

  One of my favorite Far Side comics is the one about how nature abhors a vacuum. This concept dates all the way back to Aristotle. Simply stated, empty spaces don’t occur in nature because denser spaces will expand to fill whatever void is created.   This concept applies to our personal and spiritual lives as well. If we aren’t doing anything productive, we can be filled with discouragement and attracted to unhealthy activities. If we are feeling emotionally empty, we can be filled with bitterness and regret. If we are feeling spiritually empty and dry, we can be filled with doubt and unworthiness.   As we begin this new year, it’s a good time to stop and ask ourselves if we are feeling empty in one area or another. We may find that we’ve already filled those voids with negative thoughts and actions. If so, we can resolve to sweep out all the junk that is weighing on us and start over, filling ourselves with the things of God. We can ask the Spirit to guide us in...