Just yesterday I was visiting with some very dear friends of Robbi and me, and as it seems to be more common recently, the topic shifted to our medical conditions. Our kids are out of the house and we are all empty nesters, so what do we talk about? Our doctor appointments and the following treatments. Some of you might be laughing as you read this and I want you to know that not too long ago, I was in your shoes. Old people talk about their grandchildren and their aches, pains, and medical treatments; at least that was my take. It’s crazy and yet, here I am. I have never been one to spend much time talking to doctors let alone visiting them in their offices. My philosophy has always been, if they look long enough, they are going to find something. Now they have machines that can take X-ray slices of your body. I don’t care how healthy you are, they will find something if they look hard enough. Why do we put ourselves through all of that stress and expense? Because we just want to know. Interesting. As we commiserated with each other about our challenges and various conditions, we ended up laughing with each other (and at each other) and we came to the conclusion that we ARE getting old, and that the more we look, the more we can expect to find. (By the way, he is MUCH older than me). My question is, do we really want to know? Honestly, how many of us would go to the doctor or the radiologist and ask them to check you out from head to toe? If they do not find anything, their instructions are to keep looking until they do. Is that normal? For some, it very well may be.

I was reading in Psalm 139 and I came across this passage of Scripture in vv.23-24 where David says this: Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting. David is asking God to give him a spiritual CT scan from head to toe. Check everything God! Why would he do that? Because he wanted to know. David enjoyed communion and fellowship with God like few others in the Bible. He messed up big time and he did not like that feeling of disconnection at all, so he wanted a diagnosis. He asked God to give him a new heart and to renew his spirit in Psalm 5. Why? Because he lost the joy of his salvation. He got over what God had done for him. He took the blessing of God for granted. It was expected!

David knew that there was nothing that he was going to hide from God. At the beginning of this same Psalm in vv.1-6 David acknowledges that. Check it out: 
O LORD, You have searched me and You know me. You know when I sit and when I rise; You perceive my thoughts from afar. You discern my going out and my lying down; You are familiar with all my ways. Before a word is on my tongue You know it completely, O LORD. You hem me in–behind and before; You have laid Your hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, to lofty for me to attain. God, You know me. You are better than any CT scan that has ever existed or ever will exist. Not only do You know everything about me physically, more importantly, You know my heart. You know my spiritual condition! Why is it that we will go to great lengths and expense to find out what is wrong with us physically, but we avoid the spiritual examination at all costs, AND IT’S FREE!!! All that it requires is a prayer. We try to spend our Wednesday devotionals and time together on Wednesday nights centered around prayer. My question for you and for me is, is that how we pray? Do we want to know? Do we want God to tell us what He sees in our lives? It is serious stuff, more serious than anything diagnosis from a doctor.

Just this past week, my family doctor’s 16 year-old daughter was crossing a railroad track out on a country road and she pulled out across the tracks not seeing the oncoming train. She was hit in the passenger door of the car and pushed 100+ yards down the track. She was rushed to the hospital where her father who is a doctor met her and what he saw was not good. There was severe head trauma and she was unconscious with a fractured pelvis and many lacerations. A shunt needed to be put in her head to relieve the pressure on her brain.The immediate fear and thought was that there was irreparable brain damage and they were not sure that she would even make it the next 24 hours. There was nothing that this father and medical doctor could do but call on the Great Physician who knew her every part and beg for mercy. Why?  For You created my inmost being; You knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise You because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Your works are wonderful, I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from You when I was made in the secret place. When I was woven together in the depths of the earth, Your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in Your book before one of them came to be. (Psalm 139:13-16)  Do you know what that means? Do you realize what that implies? There is nothing that is hidden from God. He already knows! He knows every detail of your physical body and He is the one who keeps it going. He gives life and He takes it away! He also knows the condition of your spiritual life. Regardless of what you have done, or where you might be right now, He loves you! He loves you! His desire is for you to live a life overflowing with the joy of your salvation. There may very well be something that needs to be taken care of first. You need to see the doctor. There is no guess work to be done with the Great Physician; He already knows. Schedule an appointment right now. Pray. Call out to Him in prayer and ask Him to give you His diagnosis. It’s pretty simple. No drinking 32 ounces of a solution containing iodine; no IV’s with contrast; no fasting; just ask! Pray! The real question is, do you really want to know?

By the way, my doctor’s daughter, Ellie, is a miracle. The Great Physician has spared her life and she is expected to recover completely.  AMAZING!!!