The Whining Trap
by Dan Jones, M.D.
Malachi 4:1-3
"Surely the day is coming; it will burn like a furnace. All the arrogant and every evildoer will be stubble, and that day that is coming will set them on fire," says the LORD Almighty. "Not a root or a branch will be left to them. But for you who revere my name, the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its wings. And you will go out and leap like calves released from the stall. Then you will trample down the wicked; they will be ashes under the soles of your feet on the day when I do these things," says the LORD Almighty.
God’s Chosen People in the day of Malachi were frustrated that the evil seemed to prosper and the lives of those who loved God were too difficult. Whining is not a modern phenomenon. These people were world class whiners.
Isn’t it easy to fall into the whining trap? Those of us in the health professions work harder than most. Many of us chose a field of service because we had good hearts and wanted to help people. But it is easy to feel like we are under-appreciated and under-paid. Isn’t it?
What a wonderful thought for us is contained in verse 2. God promises for those who revere His name “the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its wings.” This is indeed a wonderful promise for those of us in the healing professions. This healing can be used in our own lives and souls and allow us to use God’s gifts in healing others.
After a very long stretch of work a few years ago, I found myself frustrated and at the “end of my rope”. I was pushing myself through the long days of patient care with little joy. God provided a long weekend of rest and spiritual retreat with my church group. The next week, I found myself with a renewed sense of purpose and joy in my work. I sensed “healing in my soul”. But, I also noticed I was a more effective healer. God’s healing didn’t just apply to my spirit. He used that healing to allow me to be a much more effective “healer” for my patients.
God does provide for those who remain faithful in hard times. He will bring healing to the faithful.
Lord, heal my heart and soul and allow me to heal others.
Dan Jones, M.D., MACP, FAHA, a board-certified Internist, a former medical missionary to Korea, professor of medicine at the University of Mississippi School of Medicine, Dean of the School of Medicine, and Chancellor of the University of Mississippi until 2015. Dr. Dan Jones is a member of CMDA.
Dr. Jones welcomes any comments or questions about what he has written and can be reached at - djones@umc.edu
Rounds with the Master, Spiritual Pearls from the Great Physician Devotionals are released every Monday and Thursday.
Photo by Nick Fewings on Unsplash
