The Right Attitude!

Yesterday was another one of those big days where my wife and I headed south to San Francisco for an appointment with a new specialist.  This gentleman was the director of Sutter’s Neurophysiology Lab and an expert Epileptologist.  Our quest was to get a better understanding and a handle on the seizures that had been plaguing my wife over the last few years.  Being as the doctor works with and had already conferred with Piper’s primary Neurologist at the Brain Health Center, the process was not as grueling to me as it usually has been when we have gone to a new doctor.  

Following a quick review of the seizures that she had experienced and a few other medical questions, he quickly determined that she was most likely receiving too low a dose of the medication she has been taking for three years now.  Being as there are a few complications with her current prescription, we will be adding another medication while we slowly wean her off the other.  As it turns out, the new medication has very few side effects and may even help to reduce some of the other difficulties that she has been experiencing. So all in all, yesterday’s adventure to the City was well worth the time, effort and expense of gas, bridge, parking and lunch.  We even missed the majority of the traffic backups that are a common occurrence on highway 101 north from San Francisco!

What was interesting about yesterday though, was the way it started out.  It had already been a very busy week and once again, we hadn’t been sleeping very well.  And don’t you know… that is when the enemy loves to attack!  After tiredly arising from the bed, my mind was immediately filled with concerns about the car, the trip, the new doctor, my wife’s ability to walk from the parking garage all the way to his office, and many other silly such things!  Have you ever had a day start like that?  It almost seemed as though there were two people standing on either side of me shouting in my ears!

But it is at times like this that you have to completely put aside what you’re hearing and place your unrelenting trust in the hand of the Lord and the truth of His word.  My experience must have been similar to a pilot who flies blindly through the cloud cover solely depending on his instruments to get the plane safely to its destination.  As I focused on the instrumentation of God’s Word I found the strength, determination and peace to get us ready and then off to Piper’s appointment.

Once we were in the car and on the highway, I felt a noticeable change in my attitude as I found myself excited about the trip to what I think is one of the most beautifully situated cities in the world.  My wife and I sat back, popped a teaching CD in the player and had a very enjoyable trip.  I think a portion of Romans chapter eight in the Message Bible best describes our experience.  In this section of Paul’s letter to the saints in the city of Rome, he is talking about the benefits of living life according to the leading of the Spirit of Life in Christ Jesus as compared to following the dictates of the flesh.  Verse 15 declares that it is a life that is “adventurously expectant, (where we find ourselves) greeting God with a childlike ‘What’s next Papa?’”

In the heat of the battle of the mind, it all comes down to attitude!  I could have easily given in the fear that was attacking my mind and body yesterday, but I knew that I knew that God’s Word would prevail, so I copped an expectant attitude!  In response to the lies that were shouted into my ears I proclaimed and hung onto the Word that I had hidden in my heart concerning God’s protection, favor and faithfulness to His children.  And you know what?  The enemy of our souls cannot stand up against the Word that we believe and stand on.  He knows that Jesus defeated him at Calvery and all we have to do is to firmly remind him of it!

So if you should ever have a day start out like mine did yesterday, I would highly encourage you to do the same as I did.  Put your trust in the Lord and cop an expectant attitude!  Your personal study times in the Word, the sermons you hear at church, the Christian music you listen to and the testimonies of others that you hear aren’t just to make you feel good, they are for times just like this!  Hide the Word in your heart and then put it to use when the attacks come.  It is simply amazing to experience the retreat of the enemy when he is faced with the explosions of God’s Word that proceed from your mouth!  Have a great day.  Stay in tune to His Word, and keep asking yourself… “What am I expecting today?”