In Matthew 26:41 we read;
“Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.”
The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak. That means that we are all fully capable of pursuing a life devoted toward God through constant prayer and meditation upon God’s word. The problem we have is our flesh. It is weak.
If you are like me, then your home did not escape this nasty stomach virus thing that is in every school. Any one who has been through this or any other virus like it does not have to be told that their flesh/bodies are weak. We have lived it. We have no energy. Our bodies don’t function like they should and we just want it to end so we can get back to normal.
I had hoped to escape this and I still don’t have all my strength back, but I have learned something from all of this that I value.
First, I am blessed to be living in a community where people will adjust their schedules to help me in my time of need. Secondly, it made impossible for me to do any e-mail, phone messages, I didn’t even care what was happening on Facebook. All I could do was try to rest and pray. Some of it was “Oh God help.” As the nausea and massive headache went away I had a strong yearning just to be still. To acknowledge that God is here and be quiet.
In the midst of my weakened flesh the strength of my spirit drew me into a stillness that I had not made time for in my normal “healthy” life.
Lesson learned, I pray I don’t need a repeat course.
Rev. Shawn J. Smith 