I wonder if you, like me, have ever experienced a little nagging physical pain. Perhaps rather than chronic, it’s more of a recurring pain. It’s not really terribly painful, just a little discomfort that crops up on occasion, possibly when performing the same motion repeatedly, and it’s fairly easy to ignore. Several years ago, when we lived on the sixth floor of an apartment building, I noticed that my knee hurt whenever I took the stairs on my way up. It was only a minor pain, and it didn’t hurt all the time, or even with every stair. It was only one knee, too, so it was easy to brush it off and just take the elevator. I could ignore it. But then the pain cropped up when I took the stairs down as well as up, and instead of starting after the third or fourth flight, it commenced with the third or fourth stair. Eventually, I concluded that I really needed to act like a responsible adult and get some professional care. Imagine my surprise when the physical therapist told me the problem wasn’t my knee at all! The root cause was actually a weakened hip, the instability of which was allowing the knee to move out of alignment. Sure enough, as I invested time into strengthening my hips and quads, the knee pain diminished and then disappeared altogether.
Similarly, a discomfort with certain topics can be a sign that something is wrong or disordered in our lives. Sometimes there’s a direct relationship between the presenting topic and the underlying cause, and sometimes the connection isn’t quite as obvious. I’ve noticed in myself a hesitancy to really engage with the topic of Sabbath. I’d really rather not hear anything about it; moreover, I’ve a sneaking suspicion that with the current “hustle culture” and near idolization of busyness, I’m probably not the only one who all too easily sets aside “unplugging”, resting, and resetting in favor of constant work and striving. Unfortunately for me – or maybe fortunately; I suppose that depends on how you look at it – one of the podcasts I’ve begun to follow in 2023 took on that very subject a couple days ago. It’s certainly only the Lord’s kindness that when that particular episode came on, I was in a mindset to not just hear, but to listen and consider, and perhaps even to hearken. Time will tell what kind of impact it will truly have. Two aspects in particular that I’ve been considering: is the lack of willingness to rest really a failure to trust in the providence of the Lord? Is it evidence that at the heart, the real struggle is one to not trust in my own efforts to provide for myself and my family? Related to that, but with a different facet, is that of commitment. If I’m struggling to find or make time to follow the Lord’s commands and example, are my priorities in order? My time reflects the priorities and affections of my heart, and though disordered affections are not in themselves visible, they reveal themselves in the ways I spend my time and the things to which I say yes.
What is it for you? Where is the discomfort that’s easy to ignore, but to which you should pay attention before it becomes a much bigger issue? The Lord has a way of bringing things to our attention gently at first, but if we remain obstinate and stubborn – stiff-necked, to use an Old Testament phrase – His methods and tools become harder and harder to ignore. Perhaps there’s wisdom in soul-searching – and Scripture-searching – on those topics now, while it’s still minor discomfort.