As I have been walking through the last 3 months of weird health issues, my neurologist suggested that I go see a physical therapist that could "work me over" and hopefully find a trigger point... a source of the issues as nothing else had come to light with any prior tests or exams. We chose a physical therapist based on a suggestion of another family member and I have now been to see her about 4 times. Since these visits, I have begun to see some improvements in my symptoms which is great! I'm not out of the woods yet, but at least making progress. These therapy visits have provoked a thought that I wanted to share...
From my first visit, the therapist began to point out various issues from head to toe that she saw as problems... things that were out of alignment. She would point out a problem, then tie it to something else and ended up linking many of the issues together in a pattern... some going back to a bad car accident I was in 18 years ago. She pointed out and explained various problems, how they likely came about, how they were linked to my symptoms, and how she believed they needed to be addressed. It was very interesting as she was basically explaining how different areas of the body are supposed to function in accordance with each other and what type of problems happen when things are not in sync. She explained how every accident or injury in life leaves an impact in the body that remains. Your system will do what it can to live with that issue, doing what it can to "work around it", to avoid it, but eventually the body hits a wall and tells you (in the form of physical symptoms) that enough is enough... time to address the situation.
In the same manner that our bodies can get out of alignment, we can experience the same problems spiritually. God has given us instructions on how we are to live and when we follow His Word, we can live in alignment with the Scripture and in alignment with Him. When we do this, we will experience His blessing and protection to a level that we would NOT see if living a life according to our own desires. We are in a constant struggle to make right decisions, having to CHOOSE daily which way we will go. The apostle Paul talks about this here:
Galations 5: 16-17 (NLT) "So I advise you to live according to your new life in the Holy Spirit. Then you won't be doing what your sinful nature craves. The old sinful nature loves to do evil, which is just opposite from what the Holy Spirit wants. And the Spirit gives us desires that are opposite from what the sinful nature desires. These two forces are constantly fighting each other, and your choices are never free from this conflict."
Just like the body when out of alignment will experience pain, restriction of movement, and other various physical symptoms, Paul goes on to explain the results you will experience when living your life out of alignment with the Spirit:
Galations 5:19-21 (NLT) "When you follow the desires of your sinful nature, your lives will produce these evil results: sexual immorality, impure thoughts, eagerness for lustful pleasure, idolatry, participation in demonic activities, hostility, quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, divisions, the feeling that everyone is wrong except those in your own little group, envy, drunkenness, wild parties, and other kinds of sin. Let me tell you again, as I have before, that anyone living that sort of life will not inherit the Kingdom of God."
Now, while we all have this ongoing struggle of choosing whether we will go to the right or to the left, Paul also explains what we can expect when we choose to live according to God's plan:
Galations 5:22 (NLT) "But when the Holy Spirit controls our lives, he will produce this kind of fruit in us: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Here there is no conflict with the law."
We ALL go through struggles in life from time to time, but if you seem to be going from problem to problem, struggle to struggle, have you considered that maybe you have some alignment issues? Examine yourself today and ask God to show you anything in your life that is out of alignment with the plan He has for your life. Picture a large umbrella and imagine that this umbrella symbolizes God. The umbrella provides a covering, a protection. When we stay in alignment with God, we are living underneath that umbrella. There we experience His protection from the attacks of the enemy, His blessing on every aspect of our lives, and His peace that passes all understanding. On the other side of this, if we choose to NOT live in alignment with Him, we find ourselves outside of the covering of that umbrella. We are then an easy target... open to attack, more prone to fall to tempation, more likely to act in ways and say things we know we should not, and not in a position to receive all that God has in store for us.
Of course we all would prefer to be living under that umbrella, but it's sometimes easier said than done. Every day we make the choice. We all do... and sometimes we make a wrong choice and find ourselves out of alignment. In my situation, the physical therapist has pinpointed specific issues in my body and is working to correct them, then show me things I can do to keep my system in alignment. What about you... what things are keeping you out of alignment spiritually? Spend time in the Word and in prayer... God will show you what those things are and He can help you deal with your alignment issues.
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perry meade
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