I came down with a very minor head cold a few days ago courtesy of my wife. It's a 1.2 (out of 10) on the sickness scale, no big deal at all. I feel fine except for my nose running and an occasional sneeze. No problem.
Except that today was Sunday, and so time to preach two sermons and lead a Bible class. There have been times when I genuinely thought my voice would not make it through the day, but the Lord has always gotten me through things. And today was no big deal at all, though by tonight I found I could no longer sing in anything more than a croak and I am glad that I did not have to hear me speak for a half hour.
Sometimes I wonder whether God sends head colds, just as he might send other bigger forms of trouble into our lives. Let's say that my sermon is not really faithful to the gospel...perhaps it misuses Scripture, or brings in legalism, or even leads people into sin. If I was to preach this, it might be wrong. Would God ever strike my voice to keep me from preaching in this way?
I sometimes wonder how active God is in the littlest things of life. I am sure that he is more than capable of rebuking my voice, just as Jesus rebuked wind and waves and disease and demons. But I don't know if he would do it regularly...maybe sometimes he would let us fall into sin our own. If we are looking for a sign to always determine if we are right or wrong, how would we ever learn anything?
Fortunately my cold is about gone, and tomorrow starts another day. I am thankful for how healthy I am most of the time.
