Beyond the 5 Senses

So I got sick this weekend...really, really sick...and on Superbowl Sunday to boot! It was bad! And I've been in bed for nearly 4 days, as I was laid out on Saturday, unable to move, because of my back. So this morning, when I took my first shower since Sunday, I found myself complaining that the water wasn't hot. Now the water here never gets really HOT; it's warm, definitely, but never hot enough to really relax my muscles. And today, that just topped everything else off...and I complained. I gently heard the Holy Spirit whisper, as I dried myself off, "Don't complain Danyal; it will kill you."

Did the Lord mean that I would physically die? No, of course not. But I do believe He was reminding me that if I forget to look for His nearness to me...even in something like a cold shower...it will kill the work He's doing in me while I'm here in Costa Rica. Complaining only does one thing...it refuses to look at what God HAS done and IS doing and chokes the seeds and fruit of His current workings. Look at Exodus 40:38 with me:

"For the cloud of the Lord was above the Tabernacle by day and fire was over it by night, in the sight of all the house of Israel, throughout all their journeys"

God graciously gave Israel physical, visible evidence that He was with them wherever they went. But sometimes God asks something more of His children; sometimes He asks us to rely on a less obvious sign: faith. God is asking that of me in the midst of a stretching season, when I am far from all that is comfortable and familiar.

I must go beyond my natural senses of sight, sound, smell, taste and touch. I must even go beyond my emotions. I must accept God's nearness to me by faith...and in His grace...He'll give me those visible signs along the way!

Help me to walk this journey by faith Lord, and to trust that You are laeading me toward that which truly satisfies my soul...being nearer to YOU!