Earthly limitations

My prayer list is starting to look like a hospital ward. Literally, I have people recovering from:

Hip surgery

Knee surgery

Shoulder surgery

Foot surgery

Wrist surgery

Eye surgery

I, myself, went under hand surgery a few months ago. So I know quite well the feeling of being limited in what was normal and what my body was capable of doing without thought or effort. Yes, the use and mobility had been taken for granted.

There are many more suffering from long term illness or physical limitations due to some disease of the body. Long gone are the days of freely going from one thing to the next without forethought. Simple aging does the same…

So inconvenient… and frustrating… and -

(Jesus) Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to His own advantage; rather, He made Himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness… (Philippians 2:6-7)

And the Message translation:

He had equal status with God but didn’t think so much of Himself that He had to cling to the advantages of that status no matter what. Not at all. When the time came, He set aside the privileges of deity and took on the status of a slave, became human! Having become human, He stayed human. It was an incredibly humbling process. He didn’t claim special privileges.

Remember your life from 30 years ago. Now think of your life 30 years from now. Jesus lived His whole 30+ years of life here on earth with limitations compared to what He had - this equal status with God. Can you imagine the power, wisdom and abilities He had - had to give up? I wonder if He thought about the good ol’ days like we do…

Many of you are going through heavy challenges. Whether temporary or permanent, you have a Savior Friend Who truly knows, has experienced firsthand and understands. You can lean into Him for comfort and strength. And like Jesus, the promise is yours:

By His power God raised the Lord from the dead, and He will raise us also. (1 Corinthians 6:14)

Who, by the power that enables Him to bring everything under His control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like His glorious body. (Philippians 3:21)

So hang in there, like Jesus did. It’s only a matter of time. The day is coming when pain and suffering shall be no more.

And the God of all grace, Who called you to His eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will Himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast. (1 Peter 5:10)