Shock treatment

Those who have experienced shoulder, knee or back surgery might have been prescribed the use of a rather small device known as a TENS unit.  Designed to elicit electrical pulses, it is attached via several electrodes which adhere to the skin, and can be dialed to the appropriate intensity.  At its highest level, the current can produce such shocks that muscles involuntarily twitch and jump…..as if your leg is doing the salsa, but not by your command….sort of a bizarre response which you somehow can’t resist repeating!  Working on the central nervous system, the electrical current promotes healing and inspires the muscles to regenerate, as they contract in reaction to the jolt.   Additionally, the “stun gun” acts as a method of side-tracking surgical pain as it redirects the signal through our body’s pathways.

Since returning from Israel and Jordan, the re-established treatment has rendered its own “shock therapy.” Physically, there is an elated encouragement from how quickly the body responds to halting the interferon; within three to four days, you wake up to an exhilarating absence of side effects.  However, its re-introduction startles your system into a range of multi-level reactions.  IFNs, (interferon) are naturally produced proteins that our bodies release in response to the presence of any pathogens….virus, bacteria, tumor cells.  They attack these intruders with an impressive force.  (Sure wish hot fudge & French fries had this same effect!)   The synthetic injections launch an army of this protein that triggers the same protection and resistance…..but with much more punch.  With its hammering clout, comes its healing power…………and therein lies the hope of its end results.  

The Holy Land is a “shot in the soul,” eliciting its own range of multi-level responses.  “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has perceived what God has planned for those who love Him” is a verse that resonated repeatedly…throughout each day of our visit.  Here, God’s Love is poured out historically, visually, and spiritually like an electrical current with maximum amps that no breaker can extinguish. The beautiful plan that a loving Father instigated from the beginning unfolds with every stop and step.   To stand where Moses saw “the promised land,” to walk where Joshua marched, to see where Elijah ordained the weather,  to touch the wall of the temple mount, remembering God’s restoration, bids an overwhelming revival.  His promise through the centuries becomes even clearer: He continuously offered renewal to those whom He loved, to those who repeatedly forgot Him.  This week we observe His greatest shock treatment: the unforgettable sacrifice of His Son.  “For God so loved the world that”….He was silent when His Son asked for an alternative. The Son whose birthplace, childhood, ministry, miracles & ultimately death were played out on the ancient streets and shores that we visited.  The Son who, in the Garden of Gethsemane, where we sat one beautiful morning, prayed into the night in great anguish, “and his sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground.” Jesus knew “that the hour had come to depart out of this world,” to face the agony and suffering of the cross.  “He set His face towards Jerusalem,” “ laying down His life of His own accord.”  Yes, He could have called in an earthquake, or His own army of Goliath-like angels brandishing lasers, but He took the punch for those He loves.   Who can imagine the gravity of His staggering knowledge, not just the anguish of His death, but the separation He endured as He received His Father’s wrath.  The pain was re-directed from each of us to Him.

Isaiah’s words serve as the prose of what is so stunning…..”But He was pierced for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon Him, and by His wounds, we are healed.” (Isa 53:5)  The intensity of that Truth surges victoriously through me…..it is His work on the Cross that has healed me.  It is His suffering that eases and re-directs these days from intolerable to regeneration and goodness.   It is His sacrifice that reminds me that my personal “Gethsemane” has already been redeemed…..and renders this time one of restoration and hope. 

He LOVES us to death……His own.  The shock value of that is eternal.

Chip and I continue to be overwhelmed and intensely grateful for the current of prayers and care that have flowed towards us non-stop.  The energy of renewal arrives each time it is most needed.  Especially uplifting is the timing of a monumental pilgrimage, shared with dear family members, occurring exactly half-way through this treatment!