“Only let us live up to what we have already attained” (Philippians 3:16).
Each summer I have the same struggle. As I see people enjoying more physical activities and travel, I want to mourn what I have lost. Ungrateful as it sounds, I feel I am missing out on what summer is all about. I am grieving chronic illness.
The Holy Spirit brings conviction and truth about these negative thoughts. I work through them and get over it–until the next time. This verse in Philippians challenges me.
Paul talks about pressing on to receive the prize and then he tells us to live up to what we have already attained. God’s Word translation says, “We should be guided by what we have learned so far.” I need to remember what I have learned and the victories God has given me in this struggle before.
We build and move forward on what we learn through experience. In order to cook I must remember what I learned about boiling water, browning meat, etc. If I had to start from square one with each meal, we wouldn’t eat much! The same is true in my spiritual life.
We are all at different stages in our walk with God, but we have all attained something on our journey. God has taught me many things thanks to His patience, mercy, grace, and love. When I forget those lessons, God brings opportunities for me to remember. The sooner I remember, the more I can move on to a deeper spiritual growth and walk with Him.
Summer will never be what it once was for me. But God reminds me of the truth that one day there will be no losses to grieve, and no temporary earthly pleasure can compare to what lies ahead with Him in eternity. I want to be thankful for all the blessings I do have. And as I keep moving forward, I know my heavenly prize far outweighs any loss here on earth.
Prayer: Thank you, Lord, for enabling us to learn and persevere in our walk with You. Strengthen and encourage our hearts to remember and act on what we have learned, yielding our losses to You even as we push on toward what lies ahead. Amen.
About the author:
Bronlynn Spindler lives in VA and is blessed to have the support and encouragement of a wonderful husband and three grown daughters. God’s grace and strength have brought her through thyroid cancer and continue to sustain her through ongoing back pain, depression, headaches, multiple sensitivities, eye pain, and fibromyalgia. You may view her blog of devotionals at http://www.aplaceofsprings57.blogspot.com.
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Are there certain losses you have grieved during previous summers that you now have attained victory over? What has God taught you through them? If you gave into grieving your chronic illness all the time, what would you gain. . . or lose?
Chronic Illness Pain Daily Devotionals 
The highlight of summer for me ever since I was a small child has been my family’s annual trip to the beach. I can remember being so excited to go, I couldn’t sleep all night the night before we left. It was more exciting than Christmas Eve! I have not been able to travel for about 3 years now, due to extreme pain, fatigue and sleeplessness when I spend the night anywhere but my own home. I am still grieving the loss of being able to take my summer trip to the beach. Honestly, I have not come to terms with it yet, and still hope that this is temporary, and I will one day be able to return to my beloved ocean and sandy shores.
But it is an encouraging thought that what we have waiting for us in Eternity is even greater than anything we have experienced here. I am sure there must be beautiful white sandy beaches and lovely blue-green seas in Heaven, with never-ending sun shining down, more beautiful than any beach here. And it will not be painful for me to walk there, and I will even RUN again on those shores!! Now, that is something to look forward to!!
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Julie,
I can relate very well to those feelings about the beach and vacation. My family did alot of traveling growing up, and now it’s a major thing for me to be able to drive a few hours somewhere. I, too, focus more and more on what we have to look forward to. Whenever I grieve the loss of something, I remind myself of what I have to look forward to, and the older I get, the closer I am to those dreams becoming reality. In the meantime, I keep praying and trying to make the most of what I still can do and enjoy. One verse I cling to is “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.” God understands our mourning, and I pray that He comforts us in special ways this summer 🙂
Blessings to you,
Bronlynn
Eye pain can be relieved by using ocular eye drops which acts as pain killer. Ive been using ocular pain killers for some time. *;..`
Many thanks http://foodsupplementdigest.com/vitamin-d-dosage/