Removing The Cruft From Our Lives

Dear children, keep yourselves from idols” 1 John 5:21

    In technical jargon the word “cruft” means useless or unnecessary clutter, or something outdated or non-essential. Those living with illness and disability cannot afford useless cruft cluttering up their lives or draining their precious energy or resources.

    Sometimes I go through my computers or tablets and remove unused applications that needlessly take up space. Applications that are robbing the computer of energy or resources better used where it is needed.

    In a similar way there may be activities, events, or certain jobs that we get involved with that we can no longer invest ourselves into because of our illness or continued disability.

    In certain instances we have to make hard choices between what we can afford to spend our precious energy on and what simply costs us more than we can spend. Activities depleting us physically, mentally, or emotionally that must be set aside.

    There are activities we know are harmful to us in some way. Perhaps they depress us or rob us of spiritual energy. There are idols we can no longer afford to bow down to with our time, effort, and limited energy.

    It may be that we should spend what little energy we have on fulfilling God pleasing activities that not only feed our spirit, but lifts the spirit of others as well. Illness and disability can force us into hard choices.

    But the right choice is always to remove the useless cruft and clutter from our lives. By doing so we can focus on accomplishing positive things for ourselves and those around us. By removing the energy-draining useless activities and items, we can send that effort instead into fruit-bearing actions.

    Consider the energy-draining activities in your life and ask yourself what is useful and what is useless to you as someone living with illness. Beware the danger of allowing cruft to steal your precious energy and talents that could be better used elsewhere.

    Prayer: Dear Lord, how often we waste our precious time and energy. Help us to remove the useless and focus instead on useful endeavors. Amen.

Accepting We Cannot Fix Someone

The priests agreed that they would not collect any more money from the people and that they would not repair the temple themselves” 2 Kings 12:8

    Over the years I have had to accept the reality that I cannot fix anyone. Not my mother, brother, sister, wife, child, or friend. Only God can fix people, and He can only fix them if they allow Him to do so.

    Human pride, stubbornness, willfulness, arrogance, the absolute unwillingness to change within a human heart cannot be overcome by our desires and wishes no matter how strong or intense our feelings may be.

    People will treat us badly, at times because of our illness and disability. Some people, perhaps friends and family, may treat us differently or dismiss us from their lives because of our illnesses and the way our illness limits our abilities and interactions with others.

    It is painful when what is so clear to us completely eludes those in our lives. Yet we must accept that we do not have the power to change the actions and reactions of others. Most of the time we have our hands full just trying to have some measure of control over ourselves and our own life.

    When people around us behave badly toward us, especially when it involves our illness and disability, it can make us feel like we have been stabbed in the back. It can cause resentment, and can make us bitter. But the good news is that with God’s help we can choose how we act and react despite the bad behavior of others.

    It is humbling and yet freeing to realize we cannot fix or control how others act and behave. Accepting and acknowledging what is beyond our control allows us to focus upon the things we can control. When we allow God to deal with the people and problems around us, we can truly focus our limited energy where it will do the most good.

    Prayer: Dear Lord, we want to fix people and situations, yet there are some things we can never fix. Help us to let go of what we cannot control, and to change the things we can control in the best way possible with Your help. Amen.

A Lion's Heart

Then even the bravest soldier, whose heart is like the heart of a lion, will melt with fear, for all Israel knows that your father is a fighter and that those with him are brave” 2 Samuel 17:10

    My dog has the heart of a lion. If someone comes to the door, you would think he is going to tear them limb from limb. In the house he is ferocious. But outside the house, out in the world, he is a great big coward, fearful and skittish of everything around him. 

   I think I am sometimes like that. When in my element, when there is no illness flaring or nothing out of sorts with my health, then faith and boldness is not a problem. But when my affliction is screaming for attention, the pain rising and the illness growing worse, it can take the courage right out of me.

    Faith is easy on sunny days when a gentle breeze is blowing. Yet when the storm arrives and the wind is howling, finding faith can become a great challenge. Illness can rob us of our faith and courage, it can steal the strength right out of us.

    We need inner peace and strength. We need courage that comes not from the situation on the outside, but from the Spirit on the inside. We need a holy boldness, and a supernatural strength derived from trusting God.

    Perhaps you find your faith waning as your illness is rising. When the pain climbs up, your courage may drop down. We are all human and subject to human reactions to pain and suffering. And if there was no resource from above and from within, it would be hard to survive our suffering.

    Jesus calms our inner storms and changes our outside troubles. If my little dog only realized I would never let anything or anyone harm him, he would not be scared of his shadow when outside of his comfortable lodgings. Similarly, if we only realized no matter the noise and disturbance of our affliction, our Lord is watching over us and will protect us. We can have courage and be bold even when we are feeling our worst.

    Prayer: Dear Lord, we are too often beset by fears. Deliver us from fear and strengthen our trust in You. Amen.

Age Of Accountability

If we have built our own altar to turn away from the Lord and to offer burnt offerings and grain offerings, or to sacrifice fellowship offerings on it, may the Lord himself call us to account. Joshua 22:23

When I was a boy of perhaps ten years old I asked my mom if every child goes to heaven when they die. Now my mom was no great theologian, but she explained to me that a child always automatically goes to heaven when they die, except when they reach the age of accountability. Then they must choose whether or not they go to heaven.

I was horrified at the possibility that anyone could choose to not go to heaven. I dreaded reaching this numinous age when one might, instead of going to heaven, end up in hell.

God holds us accountable in certain ways. Anyone with a long term disability or ongoing affliction who is limited in their service to the Lord wrestles with their inability to do anything in service for the Lord.

We feel like “we ought to be doing something” as Christians. We find ourselves in a wheelchair or upon our sickbed and wonder if the Lord is disappointed in our lack of service. And wonder if He might one day hold us accountable for our “fruitless” life.

The truth is that even if we were in the best of health we could never do enough for our Savior. All of our works pale in comparison to His one Great work of bringing salvation to humanity. Our “works” are filthy rags by comparison.

All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags; we all shrivel up like a leaf, and like the wind our sins sweep us away. Isaiah 64:6

Our Lord holds us accountable for believing in Him. Once we do that our Salvation is settled forever. As for works, yes He will reward us for what we do in His Name. However, it will not be based upon our inabilities, but about what we can do. If all we can do is love people and show them Christ in small ways, I believe Jesus will reward us for that. The best way to serve Him is to be like Him in this world.

Prayer: Dear Lord, we often feel that in some way we are letting You down. But help us in whatever way we can to lift You up to the world around us. Amen.