Unseen Danger

Today was both a good day and a little bit of a struggle. I had to see the dentist. It wasn’t just for a cleaning or even a filling. I had lost a chunk of tooth that now needs to have a crown put on it. There was some sign of decay around the filling that was left in the tooth, so the dentist drilled, and drilled, and drilled. Because of the “novocaine”, I didn’t feel any intense pain, but as the drilling got deeper, I could tell the nerve was really being taxed. The numbing shot was very isolated... just the one tooth he was working on. In the past, it seemed like much of my mouth went numb. When I left, after all the pushing, stretching, drilling, I thought I would be sore. That didn’t come until later in the day when the numbing agent was wearing off. Then there was a little aching, but more than that, there was exhaustion. It seems strange that something I couldn’t feel had such a debilitating effect on me. Then I started thinking about our spiritual walk. If I face something big and overwhelming, I know it is there and I can seek help to deal with it. If, however, the problems are more subtle and/or they happen when we are distracted with other things, we may not even consider the damage they could do. Note that a small glowing ember, or even a spark, can cause a forest fire. Whatever thought, action, or obstacle that is in our life, even if it seems small and insignificant, can grow over time and create much destruction. I recall a psalmist speaking of sin and say that when he remained silent, his bones wasted away within him. Even though the tooth didn’t cause much pain, it controlled how I felt later in the day. Even though we do things, or participate in things that don’t seem “really” bad, it has a way of tainting our heart and spirit. With the illustration earlier, a glowing ember is much easier to put out than a forest fire. Likewise, when we become aware of things in our lives that aren’t perfectly aligned with God, that is the time to take care of it. The longer we wait, the more likely it will eventually get out of control. This is why we need the fellowship of others and a sense of accountability, so that these things don’t creep up on us or fester in our hearts and minds. We are not to seek to belittle but to strengthen and equip other believers. Father God, if there is someone reading this pondering that is struggling, even if it is small, send someone to help them. Amen