Appointment for a Check-Up
Gleaning Lessons from Life
This morning Andie had an appointment at the doctors for a physical and check-up. Don’t worry, everything is fine. It was just a regularly scheduled appointment. At the appointment she had all the standard information recorded. Blood-pressure, weight, height, etc. She was given some counsel and advice by the doctor. There are some follow-up things scheduled now, blood tests and such. Later on there is another appointment already scheduled to come back to the doctor for follow-up.
Well, as usual, I got to thinking while I was waiting in the lobby for her about this process and the lesson we can learn from this as believers for our spiritual appointments.
The Appointments are Regularly Scheduled
We weren’t surprised by this, it was on the calendar. We planned for it days in advance. In our case it meant Andie had to arrange for coverage for her classes and plan on transportation. (Which was me driving her).
Our appointments with the Lord need to be regularly scheduled. They should be something that is a routine in our life. Ideally I believe these appointments should come around every morning—early in the morning. As with the appointment we had this morning, we should plan ahead. For instance, Andie likes reading her Bible in the bed when she wakes up, so she makes sure that it is in the bed room where she can get it and get back into bed—where I bring her coffee. I, on the other hand, prefer to be in a chair or at the table, so I put my Bible (and any other things I might be using, like journals, notebooks, etc) by the chair where I’ll be sitting. The more we make this a routine in our lives the easier and more comfortable it will become.
These Appointments are for a Purpose
Sometimes, I have to confess, that my quiet time has been little more then fulfilling something that I “have to do.” It’s like taking medicine that doesn’t taste very good…I take it because I have to, but because I necessarily want to. If we’re honest that’s probably something we have all experienced at times. Thankfully, those times are few and far between. The majority of these quiet time appointments have been amazingly rewarding and fulfilling for me.
It’s because God has a purpose in these quiet appointments each morning. I mean, how silly would it be to go to an appointment with your physician and have the doctor tell you that he doesn’t really have any reason for you to be there, he just needed to fill a quota of appointments. That would be frustrating and probably push you to find another doctor. God has a purpose for you in His appointments.
Consider the Reasons for the Physical
- Checking the vitals (B.P. Pulse, etc)
- Getting Guidance about things to watch for and start or stop doing
- Evaluating Progress in things that were discussed earlier
- Setting a course for what is needed coming up (blood tests, imaging, etc)
God wants us to check in with Him each morning. He knows what’s going on in our lives and what’s coming up before long. He wants to offer guidance through His Word, prayer, and the intervention of the Holy Spirit.
One of the benefits of journaling (which I honestly am not great at) is that it aides us in evaluating our progress and how we’re working through things in our life. And it also enables us to set a course for things that are coming up. When we see something looming on the horizon of life we are able to bring that to the Lord and discover that He already is working things out for us.
Now, make sure that you listen to. The doctor always tells us something that we would do well to heed. In our quiet time we need to sometimes “be quiet.”
You Need to Keep the Appointments
The first winter we were back in Vermont we had our family doctor in Rutland. We really liked them. The only problem was that it seemed inevitable that if we had an appointment scheduled with them we were sure to get a snow storm. Eventually we got a letter from them stating that if we continued missing appointments we would not be able to be patients there any longer.
Thankfully, God isn’t going to take you off the “patient list.” He just wants you to keep your appointment with Him because He has something special planned for you, and He doesn’t want you to miss it. Keep the appointment. Make it a priority for your morning.
Talk to Others about Your Appointment
One last thought that I had. We always tell people about our doctor’s appointments. People wonder how things went, and we tell them. If something comes up that concerns us we share that with family and friends. So, let’s talk to the people who are closest to us about our appointments with the Lord. Tell people what you read, heard, or experienced while you were keeping your appointment with the Lord.
Have a Blessed Appointment In the Morning…and Let Me know How it Goes!
