Motion Sick

As a child I remember being afflicted with car sickness, unless I sat up front or near a window.  I’d forgotten about the awful sensation, until yesterday, when a friend I was sharing the back seat with was stricken with it.  Something so simple, so innocuous as a pleasant drive in the country caused her to feel nauseated, and disoriented for the rest of the day. I checked on Wikipedia for the explanation and found this: “When feeling motion but not seeing it (for example, in a ship with no windows), the inner ear transmits to the brain that it senses motion, but the eyes tell the brain that everything is still. As a result of the discordance, the brain will come to the conclusion that one of them is hallucinating and further conclude that the hallucination is due to poison ingestion. The brain responds by inducing vomiting, to clear the supposed toxin.” What a cleverly created body we have!  In an attempt to save us from disaster or death, God has built in a survival plan. He does the same in our Christian lives, but the Holy Spirit, not the brain,  is the one sending the message. I can remember one incident, in my own life, where some friends and I attended a concert.  The band wasn’t one of my favorites, but I went along for the ride.  In the course of time, the band, and the crowd, became rowdier, shouting vulgarities and throwing beer bottles.  At one time this behavior wouldn’t have bothered me so much, but when God’s Holy Spirit took up residence, my tolerance level changed. My outward perception was in conflict with my inner Spirit being, and I literally felt sick.  The Holy Spirit was working on removing the “toxin” before it did me any harm. If you are truly in a God-centered relationship, one day you will be afflicted with this type of “motion sickness”, too!  Be glad!!   “Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.” Ephesians 4:30.