My husband never felt better after his 3rd heart incident in 2005. Two years later, with 8 stents in his heart, he still couldn’t take a full breadth. The physical distress was bringing him down. My clinical friends told me to keep looking for answers. So... I took him to Cleveland Clinic, which is the named by US News as the best heart hospital in the nation for over 20 years. Other doctors had not been able to find anything wrong with him, but performing over 10,000 heart procedures a year, Cleveland had all the best clinical tools. We were there twice and they didn’t find anything wrong...except during our second visit, they did one test that showed just a tiny irregularity... hardly discernible. The physician told us since we were out there, it was worth exploring, because everything else looked fine, except his ‘stated distress.’
That example came to mind as I thought about some of the women in my groups of yester-year. Some of them seemed so fine... nothing really obvious on the outside.... except one little... hardly discernible problem they were having.... like continued request to have a regular quiet time or lack of victory in a certain area. The ‘spiritual rut‘ syndrome can be the same ‘hardly discernible’ symptom that can show us, as their mentor, that something is really wrong inside. They can’t get a ‘spiritiual breath‘.
Mentoring someone spiritually can be so difficult because only God looks at the heart AND the secret things belong to God. BUT, as shepherds in God’s kingdom we are called to disciple and impart spiritual gifts... to spur one another on toward love and good deeds. You may have women in your groups, who need you to ask the hard questions... say the ‘tough things’... and challenge or encourage them. Why, after 4 months, are they still asking the same prayer request? Is it just a continual area of concern? or is there something else blocking their relationship with God?
When my husband was at Cleveland, the doctors and clinicians made him frustrated and discouraged. Some didn’t believe him. They asked him questions... ran tests... it was not comfortable. BUT, when that doctor went in and found that one of the stents was too small for the vein and used the most advanced technology to open that vessel... he immediately got his first full breath in years! Since then, his outlook has been so much brighter.
For those of us serving as shepherds in small group ministry, we can be liked to God’s clinicians.... asking the tough questions... praying for the answers. While Christ alone is the Great Physician and Healer.... perhaps this week your probes into your ladies lives could lead to the ‘procedure’ He uses to give them a fresh breath of His presence... and isn't THAT what brings joy to your heart and results in rejoicing among the angels in heaven?
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