It's Like Pulling Teeth



I have awful teeth. When I was in in my twenties, I had a dentist tell me I had the teeth of a 90-yr old woman.  [Grrrreat.]  I recently spent ten days in acute pain from a having a tooth pulled. I thought the area would be sore, but I had NO idea I would still be hurting so many days later.   Anbesol and pain meds were my constant companions.

When I went back to the dentist after so many days of pain to complain about how slow the healing was, how nauseated I had been and to see if I was feeling "normal" things, he examined the extraction site and said, "Hmmm...it's not filling in the way it should so you have a bad infection."  [Grrrreat.] Some powerful antibiotics and a few days of rest later, I finally started feeling better.

Extractions from our souls leave a hole that has to be filled in as well.  

Spiritually dry sockets can be devastating to our progress, our growth.  Have you ever experienced a spiritual breakthrough? We get all excited because we are finally taking that crucial step of ridding our souls of the bitterness/anger/unforgiveness/insecurities/pain that consumed so much our lives, but we often fail to realize or follow through with the next step:

If we don't take time daily to "fill in" our soul sockets with love 
or wisdom 
or gentleness
or self-control 
or peace 
or the Word...we risk infection. 

We risk infiltration---from that very Enemy we have just fought so hard to banish. And, rest assured, he and his ugly, seething minions are waiting to jump right back in that hole and keep us in pain. We have to be extremely diligent to be aware of this awful truth.

The momentary heights are very important, but it's the daily strivings towards sanctification that count towards keeping our souls filled with the right medicine.  



" ...Indeed, if you call out for insight and cry aloud for understanding...wisdom will enter your heart, and knowledge will be pleasant to your soul." Proverbs 2: 3,10 




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