Had to spend a week in the hospital in March.
Felt fatigued, thought it to be the flu.
Was checked, no flu.
Flu-like symptoms.

After three days of more fatigue and
being mostly in the bed, and upon a 100’+ temperature and an infected spot on my left foot… my wife insisted I go back to the hospital.

She was wise.

Staph infection in my blood.
Not knowing if its was MRSA or
simple staphylococcus…
I was admitted to the hospital.

Immediate infusion of antibiotics and blood tests were done on a consistent basis for the next several days.

A trans-esophageal echogram was performed on me to determine if the staph had gone to my heart.

After the blood work and cultures
had been done for a few days a particular approach was developed by the infectious disease doctor.

He visited me and outlined the infection in the blood, what that meant and the method of treatment he was considering.

Two days later he visited again with his determination and the results of the echogram done inside the esophagus.

The staph had not attached to the heart and he outlined the next round of antibiotics.

I had a chance to ask him questions about the infection.

He told me I was the cause of it.

He said I was my own worst enemy.

Having varying levels of atopic dermatitis since I was 23 years old,
the Doctor relayed to me that this infection came upon me because I had scratched open a place on my skin. Staph… which exists in so many places… entered the bloodstream through the open wound in my skin.

He said I had probably had this before but it had not risen to this level.

My skin, which is supposed to be a shield against germs and bacteria, protecting all of the inner elements of the body, had been compromised….
and the intended protection it is created to provide,
failed.

It failed …. not of its own accord…
but because I compromised it myself.

I was sick….
and I had brought it upon myself.

We talked about diseases and their origins and then I asked the Doctor a question I have had in my mind for about a year.

“If I had lived in earlier or ancient times ….with the condition I have currently…how would I have survived without steroids or modern skin treatments???

He answered….and it’s what I thought might have been the case.

“You would have been a leper”.

“You would have damaged your skin and without modern medicine, you would have contracted Leprosy.”

I thought about that conversation during the next few days of the hospital stay… once again the Grace of God led me to another realization of Thankfulness.

As I have resumed normal life, with a renewed appreciation for modern medicine ….the events of March and April have led me to another thought.

As the skin is created with the intention of being a shield and a protection against the harm of bacteria and infection…
so the Armor of God is intended to be covering us and shielding us against the approach of the germ and destructive infection of evil.

And just as I broke my own shield of protection by opening the skin, I caused it to fail.

It did not fail on its own accord.

The Armor of God does not fail if it is allowed to do its work as it is intended to do.

We can fail to put it all on….

We can fail to ALLOW it to do its powerful work…

It….in and of Itself
does not
and will not fail.

For it is forged spiritually,

We are, however,
spiritual beings in physical bodies.

I brought and caused weakness in the protective shield of my skin.

I can break my body….
I cannot break Armor forged by God.

The only breakage possible in the
functioning of God’s Armor is in our
role allowing It to do Its work.

Initially, we fail the potentiality of It if we refuse SALVATION.

Or by failing to use the SWORD of the SPIRIT….and not knowing or using SCRIPTURE.

Or by not appropriating the SHIELD of FAITH….
by not operating in TRUTH…
by not walking in PEACE.
by not living in the given gift of
RIGHTEOUSNESS.

As I might have in earlier times
suffered physically from leprosy…
I have an Advocate Who will not allow a leprosy of my spirit.

As I recall the Doctor telling me that I am my own worst enemy in maintaining the protection my skin allows…

I realized I don’t need a second enemy…for I have a spiritual enemy seeking the theft, death and destruction of all God has gifted and given me.

Therefore,
may I be further committed to
hear everyday and
consistently obey
the urging of Gods Voice
to put on His Armor
to stay in my place
to allow His Armor It’s Work.