“…The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God.” 1 Corinthians 2:10
I have a strong dislike of MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging) machines. I have, however, come to appreciate them for the help they provide my healthcare team in following and treating my aggressive disease. Surprisingly, the one I recently underwent wasn’t too bad. Might I say it was nearly a pleasant experience. Perhaps that’s because I’ve had several before, and I knew what to expect and brought a sleeping mask to settle my mind and make it less stressful.
The science behind MRIs is amazing. I can tell you, on the most basic level, that MRIs take pictures of our internal organs by using magnets, radio waves, gradient, and computers. I can’t really comprehend the science and mechanisms, but I am thankful for them. They truly provide much helpful information.
On the long drive home from the MRI appointment, I was thinking over what it’s like in the machine. You lie flat with a small pillow under the bend of your knees (depending on the type you get). You have a “panic” ball to squeeze if necessary. You may have an IV. You are on a small moving table that does all the work of moving you. You get a nice warm sheet, if you’d like. And You can listen to music, which is a huge help. It’s hard to panic when you have praise music literally speaking the truth of God over you while the scan goes on. During the scan, you need only be very still and hold your breath if prompted (again depending on the type of MRI). The giant, hulking machine cranks and rattles and clicks all around you doing its job. The Radiology Technologist does the behind-the-scenes work of getting you settled on the table, administering the IV, checking in, giving instructions, and giving encouragement.
An MRI studies and captures the unseen, what’s below the surface. I can look clean and put together on the outside while the inside is obliterated by an aggressive disease. Can’t we say the same of our spiritual life too? We might look like we have it all together, yet God knows; He sees it all.
I considered how I lay on that table, my outside reflecting one thing and the technologist seeing the images of something completely different inside. I thought, wow, I have a God who can see all of my insides and love me completely. He doesn’t let the mess of my humanity and frailty filter how He sees the finished work of Jesus covering me. How humbled I feel knowing He listened to my prayers for peace during the scan, and how He will sustain me in the next MRI and surgery that follows. How humbled I am to know that simple me is loved by an all-powerful, all-knowing, all-seeing, majestic and mighty God!
This MRI reminded me of how the Holy Spirit works. He lives within each Christ-follower. He does the work of sanctifying us, if we let Him. Like the table that moves me in the MRI machine, because it’s programmed to target a specific area, the Holy Spirit leads me in the right direction too. His leading is sure and true. He knows the areas that need attention. Like the Radiology Technologist who caringly and expertly attends to me, the Holy Spirit lovingly, and expertly attends to the spiritual needs in my life. Of course, it’s up to me to cooperate to make either experience, physical or spiritual, a good one or a bad one.
At the inception of our walk with God, the work of the Holy Spirit could be uncomfortable, maybe even scary, because we aren’t familiar with the things He’s telling us. The way of the Kingdom of God is different than the way of the world, so we might balk at Him promptings in the beginning. But like I found a help in the sleep mask, so too can we learn to listen, to trust, and to adjust to the workings of the Holy Spirit in us.
What a relief it is that I have such a tender guide to share this life with me. He will study what’s within me and tell me what I need to do to stay spiritually healthy. Endometriosis is a sneaky disease. Often a woman won’t know it’s there or how aggressive it is until it’s already wreaked havoc within. Sin can by sly like that too, which is why those promptings from the Holy Spirit are so important to listen to.
“I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my loving eye on you.” Psalm 32:8
