We all hate it!!! It is one of the worst feelings ever!!! Vomiting...throwing up...up chucking....whatever you call it....it is miserable. When I caught the stomach bug earlier this winter, I disliked it as much as ever. Thankfully it was only a 24 hour bug and I was fine the next day. But as I was lying in bed, I was thinking, "Stomach you need to pull yourself together, I have plans tomorrow evening." Then this thought dropped into my spirit, and God began to work on me: "See how much trouble just one member of the body can cause if it is not functioning properly?" The passage in 1 Corinthians 12 came to mind, where Paul writes about how the Body of Christ is supposed to function together. Verses 21- 26 is the part that really began to resonate in me.
" The eye cannot say to the hand, “I don’t need you!” And the head cannot say to the feet, “I don’t need you!” On the contrary, those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, and the parts that we think are less honorable we treat with special honor. And the parts that are unpresentable are treated with special modesty, while our presentable parts need no special treatment. But God has put the body together, giving greater honor to the parts that lacked it, so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other. If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it."
You don't think about your stomach much, unless it empty or sick, it is not a part of the body which gets a lot of attention because it is hidden. People don't come up to you and say "Oh my, you have such a beautiful stomach!" I sure haven't heard that one before. Hair, yes! Eyes, yes! Smile, yes! Feet even?! YES! Stomach....Nope. (I am not talking about your abdominal region but the actual organ.) Nobody compliments your stomach....because it is hidden, you don't see what the stomach is doing. But it is still just as important as those other features....if not more. Have you ever tried to function without a stomach?! You would die.
As I continued to think about it, I realized how important it was for me to be at the top of my game spiritually. Although what I do may not be noticed by anyone else, it is vital for me to do that to which I have been called, because if I don't the whole Body is thrown off kilter, and doesn't function as it should. Sometimes to do something for myself isn't enough motivation but when I realize how much my decisions affect others, it suddenly changes things.
When I don't spend time in God's presence, and intercede, and read the Word like I should, it doesn't affect just me. And it's not like I was doing anything bad, just neglecting to do things I should, which Scripture calls sin. James 4:17 says: "Therefore, to him who knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin." We like to think that our slacking doesn't affect anyone else but ourselves. But it is just not true....as the stomach bug showed me. When just one member is not working properly, it can have major ramifications, let alone when multiple members aren't working right.
To sum it up, God really challenged me not to slack. And showed me not only do I suffer when I don't press hard after Him, but the whole Body of Christ does. Anyway, I've heard it before but it just really hit home. Amazing what you can learn from a little stomach bug.
