This, Too, Shall Pass

I'm slowly but surely recovering from reaction to new medication which came in the form of "Hives". For the past week, I have itched, cried, prayed and generally agonized as I've sought to learn the cause of the problem. Visits to Urgent Care, two doctors.....prescription of two different medications to control the itching (both of which contributed their own unique side effects)....and different creams to soothe the rash...resulted in the firm diagnosis that it was systemic in origin...probably the result of a new medication I had begun taking in early June. I've been out of work for 4 days this week....couldn't bear clothing to touch my skin....and thought it unwise to venture to the office without it! Went by the doctor's office on the way to the office this morning for him to take another look at the rash and shared with him that the only real relief I've had was reclining in a tub of warm water to which had been added plain old baking soda! He chuckled a bit and said, "Well, that is certainly an old, time-tested treatment. Keep doing it as long as the itching persists."

Got to thinking as I drove on to the office.....maybe that's what's wrong with the world today. We've come so far in the field of technology that we tend to view it as a panacea for all the problems in the world today......including those in our churches and our tendency to view God's Word as "old fashioned" and irrelevant in the Age of Technology. Could it be that we need to "toss" our PowerPoint presentations, our "upbeat" music, and "posturing"....oops, I mean "dancing" before the Lord. Would it perhaps be better to acknowledge our error in substituting "frantic activity" with quiet listening as we "soak" in the healing, soothing, comfort of His Word.

"......Go forth, and stand upon the mount before the LORD. And, behold, the LORD passed by, and a great and strong wind rent the mountains, and brake in pieces the rocks before the LORD; but the LORD was not in the wind: and after the wind an earthquake; but the LORD was not in the earthquake: And after the earthquake a fire; but the LORD was not in the fire: and after the fire a still small voice." (I Kings 19:11-12)