It'Snot About You

warning: this post may contain too much information (TMI)

The past two weeks i've been trying to fight off a sore throat, and towards the end of last week, that fight has fully fledged and I am currently waging war against all the snot, phlegm and tears (sensitivity to light is one of the symptoms I often experience when i'm sick - which is why I am writing this post from the darkness of my basement, lights off, and sunglasses on). I've been downing endless cups of fluid, shoving whatever asian herbal medicine I have with me (regardless if I know what it is or not), and going through box after box of tissues (we're running low!).

Last night as I was writing my blog post, I could barely do it because my eyes were welling up with tears even with the minimal light I had on in my room, I was ferociously coughing my throat out and I was getting up to blow my nose every five mins. Who would've know that the human body could produce so much snot! It's kinda gross and frustrating, but fascinating - our Creator God is amazing!

I tried to push through so I could just finish my post and go to bed, but there was one point in time where I just sat back, closed my eyes and gave up. And in that moment I realized that I was pretty much rendered useless. I could barely see clearly, I was trying to breathe through my mouth while coughing - I was nothing. And so, I surrendered; I surrendered to God. "O LORD, I can't go on, yes - you are the one who is in full control, no matter how much control I feel like I have. You are the one who gives and takes away, - each breath I take comes from you, and you could easily take that away, my health, my abilities, everything, all of it, gone with a runny nose." So I sat there in my chair, and was humbly reminded that without God, I am nothing.

It kinda reminded me of what we talked about at church yesterday morning - Paul was reminding the church of Corinth who they were before they were called by God - not impressive, not just that but just flat out unimpressive - they weren't smart, they weren't strong, they were just nobodies as we all are. They were boasting in themselves when there was absolutely nothing about themselves to be boasting about. BUT, 1 Corinthians 1 tells us that God chooses the unimpressive to shame the impressive, that the foolish are chosen to shame the wise and the weak to shame the strong.

The only impressive thing about us is what God has done for us - it's because of Him, because of Christ that we have anything that is good, that we have been saved from his wrath that we deserve because of our sin. And on top of that, our God gives us wisdom, robes us in righteousness - making us acceptable before a Holy God; our God uses the Holy Spirit to sanctify us, and redeems us from the path of darkness we were once on. "Therefore, as it is written: 'Let the one who boasts boast in the Lord.'" - 1 Corinthians 1:31.

#Praises! Even in the midst of my sickness, I was able to give thanks to the LORD - thankful for how He loves me, how He promises to deliver those who call to Him, how He is the refuge we can run to, how He sustains the weak, and heals the sick.

"I will extol the LORD at all times; his praise will always be on my lips." - Psalm 34:1

It's not about you, it's not about me, it's not about us - but only by God's GOOD grace and mercy, His compassion and unfailing love, that we may have true life in Him now and forever more!