Spiritual Fitness & Living With Chronic Pain

When going through trials, if the pain inside of you continues to grow, then possibly you are not casting your anxieties onto the Lord. Regardless of the enormity of your trials or whether or not your pain has lessened, God’s peace will surely comfort your soul, making the pain within you less relevant.

No matter what you feel, consider it joy to go through your trials. In other words, mentally reason that your trial is actually for your benefit, even if unnoticed within your present circumstances.

Trials by themselves simply appear to disprove the goodness of God. On the contrary, God is infinitely good. In fact, He is so good that we can’t even comprehend the extent of His goodness of love. Imagine your ability to love as comparable to one sand pebble on a beach. And now envision God’s ability and actuality to love as collectively being all the sand pebbles from every beach on this Earth combined. We’re one sand pebble in the measure of love. And God is…you get the point. There are too many sand pebbles to count. His love is infinite for us, truly unconditional in every way. It’s mindboggling. Simply, we can’t even come close to really understanding the giganticness and awesomeness of love that God has for man, except through the death of His own Son, Jesus Christ.

So when you confront different trials, realize these are simply instruments for our good, not our demise. Think of trials another way. God enjoys watching over every part of your life, even through the thick and thin. He delights in us and especially takes pleasure in us when we count on Him for every aspect of trust. Of course, this is the place where intimacy grows. It’s the profit space in your soul. This is where trials give you strength and help to mold you into the very best in which you were intentionally created, no matter how it initially appears in the fiery stages of the purifying process.

As Scripture elaborates, “Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing” (James 1:2-4, NASB).

Keep me on your favorites.  Please click onto www.gordonselley.com for more information about living with chronic pain, as well as spiritual healing.

Q: How do I train myself to eat better?

A: In my previous materials, including written and video blogs, I’ve emphasized the importance to train your bodies when striving for holistic living.

However, if you focus this training principle entirely on restrictive dietary measures, such as limiting the foods you put into your mouth thinking that this is the firsthand answer toward weight reduction and attaining a healthy lifestyle, well…I strongly disagree. Let me explain.

Think about something for a second. Foods do not need to behave nor require training to make you healthier. Foods are not causing your weight problems. The primary reasons for being overweight, beyond the exceptions of genetic predispositions, deal with spiritual emptiness and emotional brokenness.

Please remember this salient point. When your hunger for love becomes satisfied, then your ability to train your entire personhood about holistic health occurs. In all likelihood, your stomach isn’t your primary reason about your weight problem. Commonly the reasons for being overweight are directly related to the condition of the human heart.

This is why it is vital to rethink over everything about your life when trying to make a bold change like acquiring a successful lifestyle. Simply, deal with the brokenness within your life first. Then learn how to walk in ongoing forgiveness. And finally, realize your identity, security, approval and purpose in spiritual terms.

When you gain knowledge about every aspect about your life and make the necessary changes, then food becomes the nutritious tool for your body to properly align itself holistically. As a result, emotional eating will then fall by the wayside because of your improved lifestyle habits.

Don’t train your foods. Instead, train your life for better health.

Good Morning…No matter what you’re going through, it is clearly time to make some changes. We both know that stress is the enemy of the soul. So what’s preventing you from making forward progress in newness? The list might include lack of knowledge, pain, brokenness and bitterness, as well as physical limitations, such as lack of money, food, housing or the perceived inability to attain other helpful resources. Nonetheless, where you are right now is the exact place you must start on your journey of real-life change.

Sometimes you have to witness the obliteration of your own created world before you can mentally learn how to process new things. Think about it. When you begin to have your mind renewed with fresh and clear perspectives then you actually begin to react more prudently to different life challenges. In effect, sometimes the messes you make might inevitably turn out to be the place in which spiritual reconstruction occurs most effectively for your life.

Here’s what’s so cool about the Christian faith. Everyone who believes in Jesus Christ as their Savior has the Holy Spirit dwelling within them. And because of this…just think about it…literally, the Spirit of God is intermeshed within every part of the Christian human soul, even down to the finest detail, such as the tiniest molecular and cellular parts. Thus, and because of who God is and what He does within each person who has this faith, they’re able to walk victoriously in faith instantly.

Now, as this relates to you and the difficulties of making change for yourself. Imagine feeling like you’re imprisoned in hopelessness. Isn’t it like being locked in a darkened cage, located far beneath the surface?

Well…those who have the Christian faith might also be trapped within some type of cage as well. However, because of the power of God, the door to this prison is already unlocked and flung wide open. So right now, where you are, if you ascribe to the Christ faith or if you desire to believe as well, you can actually step out of your hardened circumstances into the kingdom of God. A little bit of heaven can abound within your prison of hopelessness.

In actuality, this is where spiritual reconstruction begins for the brokenhearted. While getting started for yourself, a new life awaits your participation. By faith in Jesus Christ, just walk into the newness of life. This means to get to know who Jesus really is and then learn how to really trust Him practically. It takes time and courage and patience to surrender yourself to someone, especially God, who you can’t even fully comprehend nor do you actually see with your own eyes. In other words, it takes faith, opening the eyes of your soul to its Creator, to successfully participate in your new life.

What do you have to lose? Either remain constrained within your prison of brokenness or allow God to set you free from your horrible mess.

Practically speaking, in order to be freed from the prison of brokenness, “…Seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added unto you” (Matthew 6:33, NASB). When seeking God and His kingdom, He’ll eventually form Himself deep within you and will take care of all of your problems and painful adversities, even brokenness.

And when your problems finally absolve, count on the next verse to guide you into your intended new life instead of remaining in fearful dread. “So do not worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own” (Matthew 6:34, NASB).

Today is the time to really make a lifelong change. The process starts with repentance and ends in redemptive wholeness. Exchange hopelessness for eternal and present-day renewal. Real change becomes possible for anyone who calls upon Jesus Christ.

Keep me on your favorites.  Please click onto www.gordonselley.com for more information about living with chronic pain, as well as spiritual healing.

When studying the Law of the Old Testament, its primary objective was to restrain people from sinfulness. Thank goodness that we were made to die to the Law.

As I chart a deeper course with the Lord, I’ve gained a true realization that sin for the New Testament believer is when one simply steps out of love with God and with his or her fellow man. If we do not walk in love, nothing really counts for anything. “Owe nothing to anyone except to love one another; for he who loves his neighbor has fulfilled the law” (Romans 13:8, NASB).

Keep me on your favorites.  Please click onto www.gordonselley.com for more information about living with chronic pain, as well as spiritual healing.

As admirable as it is to fight through pain, such as battling cancer, still, the underlying question about hope usually takes center stage when all else appears ineffective. Fighting cancer poses an extremely difficult set of circumstances for anyone who tries to survive against this monstrous disease. If the chemotherapy and associative drugs don’t kill you, surely the humiliating process of putting poison into your body to counteract the cancer will create heightened vulnerability about giving up.

Commonly, many who fight this assault try to hold on to the hope for recovery, ranging from their own human tenacity of effort to hoping for newfound discoveries in medical science. Whatever can free us from this horrendous condition seems to be the brightest spot of hope for the majority, understandably, given the undesirable circumstances when battling against the painful clutches of death.

Separate from the physical scars of chemo-pain, hair and weight loss, uncontrollable shakes, and indescribable inner burning, just to mention a few symptoms, there exists a tug-of-war between darkness and light for the human soul. Not to mention that grief plays an integral role in our ability to cope with this nightmarish disease. As anger, bitterness and the unanswered questions about “Why me?” try to mar our spiritual nature, placing mere hope in prideful strength and medical effort proves almost futile.

So what’s the best and most advanced hope we can have against the tyranny of a disease like cancer or any others with similar destructive patterns?

There’s really only one which eclipses all other forms of hope; meanwhile fully providing complete answers regarding the indelible questions regarding our uniqueness, as well as what lies beyond this life as we know it. We all come to the end of our rope eventually.

This hope I am referring to is eternal and real. It’s not something mythical or contrived to give us temporary relief. This hope is found in Jesus Christ. Whether we continue to physically live or actually experience death from cancer, Christ promises to give us a new spiritual nature that transcends our understanding. All we have to do is to believe…

“Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you will abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit” (Romans 15:13, NASB).

Keep me on your favorites.  Please click onto www.gordonselley.com for more information about living with chronic pain, as well as spiritual healing.

Q: I read your blog posted on January 7th. What do you mean when comparing principle against vision? Are you saying that principles are bad for us?

A: Simply, principles are not bad for us, but keep in mind; they might not be fully ample in the rehabilitation process of broken relationships. As a follow up to my blog, I’ll explain further.

Principles are the outcomes of proven truth, giving us predicted outcomes from use of our own human effort. Principles are linear. They’re also best used when trying to get through adversity or to survive on the short-term. In other words, if you apply certain principles into your life, then you should earn a certain result. This deductive way of living might be of benefit as a strategy or might provide some foundational stability, but most likely, exclusively relying on idealistic principles will fall short when trying to rehabilitate relational infractions, for instance.

Of course…we might find the perfect resolutions to conflict if we employ every perfect principle into our life with exact effort. Yet, this doesn’t even sound human. This approach hinges on human perfection without consideration of messy faith.

Vision is different. Vision brings life to battered situations or relationships. It does away with perceived human wisdom and predisposes injury to the vision of God. Because once you really get the vision of God, then God will give you a vision about how to deal with your life challenges by faith.

The principles of absolute truth are found exclusively in Jesus Christ, not in ourselves while on this planet. When we live by faith, we’re assured of His wisdom and the rehabilitative efforts of the cross. So in a nutshell, I encourage you to live by faith and allow His vision to reconcile you in all things. Your principles will not do this as effectively.

Keep me on your favorites.  Please click onto www.gordonselley.com for more information about living with chronic pain, as well as spiritual healing.

The voice of the world literally hates God. From the measure of one’s greatest use, the world whispers about things of goodness and shouts in celebration about anything that opposes the gospel message of Christ.

The voice of the world celebrates the spectacular, the rich, the beautiful and the famous. It tempts us to seek our own ambition, to depend on our own way, and to preserve ourselves from hurt and shame. It teaches about self-awareness and self-love and self-evolvement.

So where do Christians go to find out their destined purpose or greatest use in this world?

Wherever God has placed you now…And most likely, it is not a place of the spectacular. In fact, it might appear to be in a place of uselessness. But begin to think differently. If you are a Christian, His Holy Spirit resides within you. You may stand triumphantly in firm belief of Jesus Christ, withstanding the crackling voice of this world.

In essence, God places His saints where they will bring the most glory to God, even when the mega-voice of this world shouts otherwise.

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Recently I had lunch with a friend who seemed somewhat discouraged about his circumstances. In the middle of making some significant changes with his life, he’s fret with doubt about whether or not God is really participating during this process of restoration. Haven’t you felt similarly?

When we really need God, doesn’t it seem like He abandons us at the crucial times, especially when we really desire to count on Him to help with things beyond our control? I think my friend feels very much this way. Nothing seems to matter. From our conversation, prayer seems powerless and reading the Bible feels obligatory more than anything else. As he takes one step forward, it’s as if he also takes two steps backward. He already knows most of the answers about making the most from every circumstance, ranging from opportunity to failure. In fact, I consider this individual very astute about relational and practical issues.

But when it feels like God is not lending a helping hand, dissolution quickly interrupts our attempts to optimistically move forward.

As I listened to my friend’s version of things, I couldn’t help but to think about the difference between principle and vision, as these apply to spiritual outlook. Principles are basically the results of one persevering through vision. When we idealistically apply principles into our life and follow them strictly, we begin to do things exclusively on our own merits or based upon the expectations of others. This strategy is actually deceptive, making us think we’re on the right path, all the while, our burdens get heavier and darkness overtakes any light regarding spiritual realism.

In the long run, strictly following the path of principles does not allow us to follow vision, and in particular, the vision of God. When running this course, we lose vision, as well as an inspired attitude about life.

It’s ironic…My friend actually gave me a plaque with an inscription stating, “Lead With Vision…Where there is no vision, the people perish” (Proverbs 29:18). I know he’s going to read this blog, as well as many others who might identify with what my friend is going through.

Here’s my advice in a capsule. Don’t try to create moral inspiration based upon principle. Nothing really transpires when doing this. Instead, as Oswald Chambers writes, “But wherever there is vision, there is also a life of honesty and integrity, because the vision gives me the moral incentive.” Of course, it takes faith to continue through trials before realizing the vision of righteousness. By faith, follow the vision of God to take you through transformation…

Keep me on your favorites.  Please click onto www.gordonselley.com for more information about living with chronic pain, as well as spiritual healing.

Who are we? I do not ask this question esoterically. Like many throughout human history, perhaps you’ve wondered about your own identity and how it pertains to your purpose for living.

As profound as this “three-worded” question might appear, it ignites a plethora of additional questions, as well as generating numerous philosophies about life. To remain on point, I’m going to try to explain our human make-up in terms of trichotomy, meaning body, soul and spirit. Personally, I believe we are made up of three parts, which differs from the dichotomist who believes in the two-part theory, purporting the design of man as material and immaterial. While I certainly understand this point of view, I also appreciate the fact that man is created in the Image of God, Who is “triune” in His Holy Nature. Therefore, I’m going to give it a stab, explaining the “three-part” nature of man when answering the question, “Who are we?”

In doing so, I’m also going to explain the importance of spiritual conversion. Remember, in the creation of man, God breathed spirit into the body. “Then the Lord God formed man of dust from the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being” (Genesis 2:7, NASB). This is how it all started for the human race.

Imagine the concept of trichotomy, in which body, soul and spirit are represented with the use of different colored transparencies from an overhead projector. If the body was represented by a blue-colored transparency, and the spirit was represented by a yellow-colored film of transparency, then what would happen when combining the spirit (yellow) with the body (blue)? Well…the combined transparency colors would become green, thus representing the birth of the soul (mind, emotions and will). Essentially, this is who we are, representing everything about our human nature.

Now think about this in terms of spiritual conversion. Once an individual has accepted Jesus Christ as his Savior, then his spirit becomes reborn or born again. A new creation is formed within the body of man. Basically, the Holy Spirit becomes the source of spiritual life for the redeemed person who now possesses Jesus Christ’s imputed righteousness. Simply put, this person has become a child of God, being promised the abundance of heavenly riches in love.

When thinking about spiritual conversion as it relates to the colored transparencies, let’s see how things look once we have undergone death…

At death, this born-again spirit resurrects from the body, like Christ did, and now becomes joined with a new body, one that is perfectly glorified. Imagine combining two brand new colored transparencies together, in which the reborn spirit united with the glorified body. What color would you see when the two were overlapped? An indescribable, heavenly color, portraying an eternal outcome of a perfect soul as a result of a born-again spirit being fully integrated with a glorified body. This perfect soul would have perfect knowledge, shining in the resplendent glory of God’s love.

“Beloved, now we are children of God, and it has not appeared as yet what we will be. We know that when He appears, we will be like Him, because we will see Him just as He is” (1 John 3:2, NASB).

Please consider these thoughts as your mind becomes renewed by the Spirit over 2009. You are created in the Image of God and have a real opportunity to overcome your circumstances of chronic pain or suffering or excessive weight. Feel free to contact me if you need some assistance about discovering the living reality of Jesus Christ.

Keep me on your favorites.  Please click onto www.gordonselley.com for more information about living with chronic pain, as well as spiritual healing.

Q: What Do I Do When I’m Dying and Have No Hope?

A: Obviously, you’re experiencing tremendous physical and emotional pain coupled with mental anguish. When one faces the corridors of hopelessness and possibly death, what can he or she really do, especially when the options have run out?

Surrender…To whom you might ask. To God.

Here’s what I know to be absolutely true that applies to you and me. If we place our hope in Jesus Christ, who atones our sins, and when we believe in Him with all of our heart and profess our faith in Him publicly from our lips, then we are saved. I encourage you to use your last option right now. And ironically, it remains a viable option to you regardless of your circumstances.

I humbly implore you to surrender your life to God by securing a full belief in Jesus Christ. You can do this. All it takes is a prayer of confession and a recognition of repentance. In other words, confess your sins to Jesus and allow God to make you a new creation. After that, follow His voice by faith.

If you need help about this, please contact me again. I promise that I’ll speak with you and help you to undergo a real spiritual conversion, which will undoubtedly lift you from the pit of darkness into the fullness of light.

Again, as a matter of emphasis, Jesus Christ is the epitome of hope because that’s what He is. And this freely given hope for you provides an eternal life where there are no more tears, no more pain, no more sorrow, no more anguish, no more stress and no more regret. Paradise is about love. It’s about the glory of God, and it awaits you…right now!

It’s no coincidence that you’ve asked this question of me? God must really be prompting your heart. He’s doing this because He wants to pour out His merciful grace and love upon you. Without doubt, God wants an intimate and eternal connection with you.

Think about hope for a second. Here’s what’s true. For in hope we are saved. And even though you don’t see Jesus right now, He can still hear you when you pray to Him, and He will run to rescue your spirit when you call out to Him. More than anything else, Jesus desires to break the chains of death from around your soul and to free you from all aspects of hopelessness. When placing your life into the hands of Jesus Christ, you’ll automatically and immediately step into irreversible transformation. Don’t let the sting of death win over the remainder of your life. Why not let your tears of anguish turn into tears of joy?

Keep me on your favorites.  Please click onto www.gordonselley.com for more information about living with chronic pain, as well as spiritual healing.