Morning Devotional
December  4, 2005
"Still Bleeding"         
    by Don Emmitte

Don't worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. If you do this, you will experience God's peace, which is far more wonderful than the human mind can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:6-7 NLT).

 

Last week was my regularly scheduled appointment to have blood taken. At least once every eight weeks I must go and have a pint of blood taken so that I can continue to control my iron levels. I have become so accustomed to the needles, sticks, and discomfort that it is really little more than a minor inconvenience.

 

This week was a little different though. Everything went as usual until I went home later that evening and undressed. I began to take a look at the bandaged area on my arm and thought I would remove the big bandage, getting ready for bed. To my great surprise, when I removed the bandage the “stick” was still bleeding a little. That did cause a little concern since it represent a major hole in one of my arteries! I could just see myself bleed to death in my sleep! Before I let my imagination run wild, I went to the cabinet and got some sterile gauze and bandages and put pressure on the stick and made sure it had stopped before securing it for a good night’s sleep.

 

It probably was much ado about nothing, but I was worried. It really was little more than a minor annoyance. But, let's face it, more often than not, it's life's little annoyances that get to us and hit our "worry" button. As one humorist put it:


 It's the little things that bother us
 and put us on the rack,
 you can sit upon a mountain,
 but you can't sit on a tack!

 

And most of us have at least one "worry" button—by whatever name you call it—which is an area of weakness that God wants us to overcome. As long as I have a "worry button" that is still active, it's a reminder that I still have some growing to do so I can get to the place where I quit worrying and trust God for everything!

 

Hmmm …I'm still working on mine … but God hasn't finished with me yet. Fortunately. How about you? What’s your worry button? Can you turn it over to God? Even if it is presently still bleeding, turn it over to him and watch him bandage it and bring healing into your life. That’s his promise to us in our reading today.