** And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not. ** Galatians 6:9
In our last post, we talked about the spiritual Emergency room and the heartache of watching patients come in for treatment, then leaving, having refused to accept that treatment. It is discouraging and disheartening to continue working in the emergency room but the Lord gives us hope and encouragement with Galatians 6:9 and many other verses. So, He sends us to the Recovery Room so He can refresh us and strengthen us so we can try again.
Although many do not take their spiritual medicine, the Lord wants us to keep giving right advice, to keep telling others of our great Hope. There will be those who will listen. There will be a reaping. The Lord is pleased with us for trying.
** As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all men, especially unto them who are of the household of faith. ** Galatians 6:10
We need to keep encouraging younger Christians to **grow in grace and in the knowledge of their Lord and Savior Jesus Christ**. (2 Peter 3:18) We can share some of the amazing things that the Lord has done for us to inspire them to not give up on their faith. We can walk them through passages that will build their faith and knowledge, giving them preventive medicine for the illnesses that will try to bring them down.
We can ** bear one another’s burden, and so fulfill the law of Christ**. (Gal 6:2)…we can be there on their bad days. At the real hospital, in the nursing home, in marriage counseling, in widowhood-standing by their side silently and in prayer on their toughest days will earn us the opportunity to speak to them when life is less scary.
** But the fruit of the Spirit is …long-suffering….** Gal 5:22…patience. We can wait to speak until they are ready to listen. We know what the answers are but many times we have to wait for the right time to give them those answers.
We can keep doing what is right, even if no one wants to listen or take their medicine. ** For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them. ** Ephesians 2:10 We are called to good works, just because others won’t receive that work we should keep doing our part.
We can work with faith, knowing that the Lord is doing His part and that our work is not in vain. ** Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us,…** Eph 3:20
We can use our gifts for the strengthening of the church and to reach others with the gospel. **As he gave some, apostles: and some, prophets;…pastors and teachers; for the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ: ** (Eph 4:12) Do we all know what our gifts are? Do we ask the Lord to help us find ways to use them? Are we developing them so they can reach more people? Are we sensitive to the Lord’s voice when He tells us to step into someone’s life with our gifts?
We can remember that we and our patients are flawed (sick) and that we could all use a friend who will be patient and unconditionally accepting of us, no matter how many times we fall and end up in the spiritual emergency room. ** And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you. ** Eph 4:32
We can be thankful for our own growth, for the things we have learned, for the understanding that we do have that has brought us this far. Our gratitude will help us to give hope to those who end up in the emergency room with yet another illness or injury. We can tell them our story of when we were sick and what the Lord did to heal us from our own illness. **Giving thanks always for all things unto God…** Eph 5:20
And finally, when we feel beaten down and worn out from losing so many in the emergency room, we can put our scrubs back on and get back in the fight for their spiritual health …..We can stand back up, do right, share the good news of Jesus Christ, believe that God is still working in the souls of men, remembering that He has already defeated the enemy. We can continue in prayer for the lost and the saved, that God’s unlimited power will reach their hearts and souls and then boldly speak His Holy Name to those that are sick and dying.( Eph 6:13-19)
The Spiritual Emergency Room is a tough place to work, but the rewards will be beyond our imagination.