So a few weeks ago, I caught the flu. If I told you that God spoke to me through it, would you believe it? Of course, you would. ;)
Let's start with how I caught it in the first place. A friend of mine began showing flu-like symptoms one day, and I noticed. During the evening, I needed some one's help to carry my bag, and she immediately grabbed the bag and offered to help. Although I appreciated the care and swiftness she showed, homegirl was sick. I told her since she was sick to pass the bag to another friend, but the damage was already done. You'd think I would immediately wash my hands or ask someone for hand sanitizer, huh? Nope. I was foolish. I concluded that I was superhuman, and maybe the flu wouldn't infect me. It's crazy because this is how we see sin. We know it exists, but we downplay the severity of guarding our hearts and then act surprised when we fall into sin. The bible says, "Your boasting about this is terrible. Don’t you realize that this sin is like a little yeast that spreads through the whole batch of dough? (1 Cor 5:6 NLT)" Sin doesn't just happen; a small compromise usually introduces it.
Anyways, your girl caught the flu. Once I felt a tickle in my throat, I began taken some wellness pills my friend put me on when I was in Arizona and caught a cold. It worked okay... But this wasn't a cold; it was a full-blown flu. How many times do we need deep inner healing, but we mask it with other things? We need surgery, but we cover our wounds with bandaids.
So, I took the wellness pills for a day until my parents pressured me to go to urgent care. Take the time to appreciate the people who notice your problems and point you to the solution- Jesus. I went to urgent care, they took a sample of my snot (gross and uncomfortable), and came back with a diagnosis- I tested positive for influenza A. I'm not going to lie, when I heard that I tested positive, I was shocked lol Even though I knew I had the flu, just hearing the truth through the diagnosis surprised me. How many of us know that we have issues but run from the truth and the One who can make us better?
After I received my diagnosis, I retrieved my medicine and some hospital masks, and I went on my merry way. Over the next few days, I remained quarantined to my bedroom and wore a hospital mask when I wasn't in my room. I carried hand sanitizer with me wherever I went and took extra precautions not to get others sick. I realized that it was highly irresponsible not to do your due diligence and keep others safe. It's amazing to me that people can die from something I took for granted. The elderly, sick, and even infants are highly susceptible to flu complications if they were to catch it. This knowledge gave me the revelation about not using our freedom in Christ to cause others to stumble. Scripture says, "Live as free people, but do not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil; live as God's slaves. (1 Pet 2:16 NIV)" For me to know that I sick, know that this virus could kill someone, and not even try to protect others would be wicked.
I continued to take my meds, drink plenty of fluids, and got ample rest. After about five days, my immune system, with the help of medication, beat influenza's butt! What was interesting to me is that I never notice my immune system until I fall ill. It reminded me that God is always fighting my battles. Warfare happens around us all the time, and most of the time, we don't even notice. What an awesome God we serve! Even the most wicked person on earth has an immune system that fights off infections and illnesses for them. If that's not grace and mercy, then I don't know what is!
So you probably thought that was the end of the story, but no. A couple of days after I had recovered from the flu, I caught acute bronchitis for the next two weeks (apparently, it's common to catch bronchitis after recovering from a cold or flu). The last revelation I got was that there is always a consequence for sin. Yes, we may be forgiven, but we have to live with the decisions that we make.~
