As our relationship with God grows it is like playing a game of cards with a gracious friend. He knows what he is holding in the deck and he will hold it, however long it takes. As each turn passes, he shows us our cards. He will mix in small cards with large cards to build our confidence in him.
Sometime though as he deals us a card, we find we are face to face with the Joker. The card that can be played as a wild card, but often put back in the deck. That is exactly what we do with it. We put it back in the deck hoping it doesn’t come up again for a while.
In a current turn of the cards, I am facing my joker. An addiction to Coca-Cola. Let me tell you, it is anything but a joke. So much so that I get belly aches and migraines when I do not have one for a day. I make excuses that because a doctor told me on a few occasions that I need to be drinking something and he added the word “anything” just as long as I was getting fluids. This gives me the o.k. to drink coke as much and as often as I please.
The fact remains it has no nutritional value, it is high in sugar and caffeine. I have a hard time holding down water due to an esophageal issue, but our bodies were made to drink water. This has given Satan a foothold. My thinking around water is that it hurts to drink it, that it causes me great discomfort.
In the past when I stop drinking soda, I stop fluids all together. It has something to do with this esophageal issue that I just don’t feel thirsty like “normal” people. That is until I am so weak, I realize that I must drink something before I pass out. I have had 78 Kidney stones, so dehydration is something I can not mess around with. I drink the soda not because I am thirsty, but because of taste. Which obviously is the sugar and caffeine.
Let’s face it the discomfort I get from drinking water can be rough. It ranges from choking to I can be praying to the porcelain throne, but a Kidney stone is one of the most painful things I have experienced. I have had over 40 surgeries and Kidney stones rank at the top 5 most painful things. (having a hysterectomy and kidney stones together obviously worse.) There are other factors like a medication I need has a risk for Kidney stones, so I have the double whammy.
This issue I have with soda and water are perfect examples of our relationship with God sometimes. We love the sweet stuff, the easy to read or the scriptures that give us the “caffeine” kick we need to get through a day. We may even share those on social media.
The water though the stuff that is tucked between the pages that seems like no one else will understand, it seems plain or insignificant, we pass it by because like water for me it can cause a little discomfort.
When we are dealt a certain hand of cards, it is sometimes scary to lift the next card. What will be revealed when we look into our own hands instead of trying to peak into our neighbors’ hands and see their cards.
The question Do you Believe God is who He says He is and will do what He says He will do? Was asked in our bible study this week. When we play cards, we have a excitement and hope that we will win. Do we have that same excitement and hope as God reveals our cards of life to us?
I believe God is the only one that understands why my body that was built for water, rejects it. I believe he can also change this in me. I also have been going through this for so long that I wonder if he will? That is where I say, “Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!” Mark 9:23-25
I know my Joker is face up that I have free will to go to the kitchen and make that choice. That is the thing about the wild card. I have a choice to make. Will I place the card back in the deck, set it aside for a while, or will I toss it out for the remainder of the game?
Is there a Wild Card God has been trying to deal you? Feel free to join the conversation and comment on the blog or FB page today.
