By David J. Stewart
April 2013
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Luke 10:20, “Notwithstanding in this rejoice not, that the spirits are subject unto you; but rather rejoice, because your names are written in heaven.”
I've got a peace that the world cannot give me, and it cannot take away! Amen!
Have you ever needed to feel so close to God that you hugged your Bible close
to your breast? I have. At times of loneliness and pain, I've slept with my
Bible held close to my chest. The Bible is the best friend you'll ever have in
this life. I feel sorry for the lost world who sees no value in the Word of
God. If you're not saved, then the Bible just appears to you as a book with
black letters on white paper. Ah, but if you're a born-again Christian, then
the Word of God is a precious Book of thousands of PROMISES.
I have plenty of reasons to be miserable. The biggest is that I suffer in chronic neck pain 24/7. The pain feels like a horrible toothache in the back of my neck where the bone is located. Everything that I do in life is despite my pain. This makes it difficult to do anything. The pain radiates into my facial area, making my gums feel sore.
Light irritates my eyes because of the inflamed nerve-endings behind my eyes; it all comes from my neck. I also feel constant ripping tension in my neck, which is relentless and never diminishes. I've met with 8 neurosurgeons and numerous other doctors (ortho-surgeons, neurologists, et cetera) since 2004 when the problem began. No one has been able to diagnose me with any certainty, nor remedy the condition. Some think it's cervical osteo arthritis. Yet that doesn't explain the tension, which one doctor believes to be something still pinched in my neck (but there are 4 possible areas of concern in my neck). My neck has what's called Cervical Degenerative Disk Disease (basically, my neck is falling apart... protruding disks, bone spurs, stenosis, radiculopathy, et cetera).
I rejoice in my beliefs because everything that I believe is in AGREEMENT with the holy Bible (which is why I believe the way I do). I don't want to believe anything that goes contrary to the Bible. Only a fool chooses to follow their own feelings and thoughts that go contrary to the Bible. The human heart is deceptive and desperately wicked the Bible says (Jeremiah 17:9). It's ok to follow your heart if your heart is in agreement with the Word of God. Always test your feelings and thoughts with the benchmark of God's Word. Obviously, this outlines the importance of studying the Scriptures so that we will know God's opinions. God authored the Bible to each and every human being, as a Lamp to shine our path in this wicked world of darkness and sin (Psalms 119:105). Albeit, only those people who obey the gospel and are born from above will be able to understand the truths of the Bible (1st Corinthians 2:14).
I've had two surgeries, the 2nd leaving me worse than before, now suffering from Peripheral Neuropathy also. My arms feel puffed-up. My right leg always feels half asleep. I have tingling in all my limbs. I feel constant mild razor-blade-like pain in my limbs, mostly the right arm and leg (particularly my thumb and toe). My hands burn and feel pain continually. It all comes from my neck.
Having said that, I am so happy to be a born-again Christian. God has used my afflictions to give me more understanding. I have to be careful not to overreact to situations, because all my afflictions make me irritable and the medications affect me as well. Yet, I feel great peace and joy in my heart when I stop and think about the righteousness of God which saved my soul my I was 13-years-old. I cannot save myself, and neither can you. We are all dirty sinners. I get happy, bubbling over with happiness and joy in my soul, when I realize that I know the truth about salvation and am saved. Most of the people in this world are devoutly religious, but they are headed straight for Hell. The reason is because religion is not the way to Heaven. Jesus Christ is the way to Heaven. Think about it. Who has the nail-scared hands and feet? That's right, the Lord Jesus. Religion didn't die for your sins! The Catholic priest didn't shed his blood for your sins. And if he did it wouldn't qualify, because priests are sinners too. The Lamb of God had to be spotless, without sin. Jesus was that sinless Lamb of God.
Every born-again believer's name is written in Heaven. Amen. That's enough reason to find happiness even in the midst of woeful sorrow. I have been through some very trying, difficult and painful times of inexplicable mental anguish and emotional trauma in my life. You likely wouldn't believe the turmoil of soul that I have been through. Yet, one consuming truth has helped me stay afloat for God through it all, that is, knowing that my name is written in Heaven because I am a born-again child of God. Amen!
