Who do you call when you are sick? James 5:14 with a story, an observation and a prayer

SCRIPTURE: James 5:14 (KJV)
Is any sick among you? Let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord:

A STORY by Edward Livingston Trudeau in “An Autobiography”:
“As I look back on my life tuberculosis looms up as an ever-present and relentless foe. It robbed me of my dear ones and brought me my first great sorrows. It shattered my health when I was young and strong, and relegated me to this remote region (in the Adirondacks) where ever since I have seen its withering blight laid on those about me. And yet the struggle with tuberculosis has brought me experiences and left me recollections which I would not exchange for the wealth of the Indies.”

AN OBSERVATION:
As those who read this blog regularly have noticed I haven’t posted anything for over a week. The reason … the computer was hit with 96 viruses at one time. After taking it through numerous functions in “safe mode” to find and destroy those little nasty things, there were still two minor issues hiding from the search-n-destroy programs. As long as they stayed around the computer would get to a particular point and just freeze up.

When it comes to computers I have hopelessly lost. Maybe that is why God has given me two son-in-loves who are very computer savvy. Actually they both make a living dealing with computer problems, instillations, networking and all that other stuff that I completely and totally do not understand when they get together and talk! Each time there is a problem I actually end up learning a little bit more about the computer, how it works and what I can do to solve the problem(s) … But this latest situation did get me to thinking …

When we are sick whom do we call? Computers? Well, it is either a relative with knowledge or a Geek who knows what they are doing. Body? Doctors are normally on the first-to-call list. Teeth? Our local dentist comes to mind. Auto? Our favorite mechanic. Well, you get the picture.

But what about when the soul is troubled? When our spirit seems lost? When our mind is hung up on a divine issue? Who do we call? Normally, no one is the answer. The parallel to this is, we don’t mind signing a “pledge” to a mortgage company for our home or a “pledge” to a bank for a car loan or a “pledge” to some lending institute for a college loan or, every time we use one of credit cards we are “pledging” to the financial institute that backs the card that we will faithfully pay the borrowed amount, but when it comes to the church we state, “I don’t believe in pledging!”

And yet, the church and all its resources stand ready to respond to our spiritual needs whenever we feel the need to call on them. Scripture actually states that the elders of the church should be the first individuals we call when we are not feeling well. If we did we probably would be richer for it, spiritually at least!

PRAYER:
Help us to rely on your presence and the support of your church, O Lord, help us to learn the valuable lesson that is only in your presence that we are made whole. Amen.