Keys to the Kingdom By Carolyn Tucker
No Fainting
We’re used to reading prohibition signs – No smoking; No spitting; No swimming; No horn honking; No parking; No entry; No bare feet; No running; No Exit, etc. I’ve never seen a sign in a medical facility that reads, “No fainting.” I’ve never passed out in a dead faint but, as a kid in the 1960s, I witnessed this phenomenon at a family funeral in Greenfield, Missouri. A lady flat-out fainted and crumpled to the floor. I watched like a hawk as the funeral director used smelling salts to bring her around. That intense episode was a valuable learning moment for me. From then on, I’ve had plenty of opportunities to faint. But I learned how to prevent fainting by being keenly aware of my physical warning signs. When my hearing begins to go and my eyes start to see in gray tones, I put my head down…way down. The last thing I want to do is keel over in the doctor’s office.
The last time I had symptoms of fainting was over 20 years ago when the ENT doctor cauterized a blood vessel in my nostril. Dr. “B” was kind and told me that feeling woozy was a common occurrence with this procedure. I felt proud and honored to be assured I was normal – even though that’s just a setting on your dryer.
As Christ followers, we must pay attention when we feel a “faint coming on.” Like Smokey the Bear said, “Only you can prevent forest fires.” Only you can take charge of your schedule to prevent spiritual fainting. If you continually choose to burn the candle at both ends, beware of an oncoming fainting spell. For the last 40 years, the following scripture has been one of my favorites: “And let us not lose heart and grow weary and faint in acting nobly and doing right, for in due time and at the appointed season we shall reap, if we do not loosen and relax our courage and faint” (Galatians 6:9 AMP).
We need to do everything possible to prevent us from spiritually fainting. As we work in our own unique way to be an exemplary person of Jesus’ love and light, we must continually seek for proper balance. If we do succumb to fainting, surely a brother or sister in Christ will come by with some smelling salts and get us back up on our feet. Just stand up, make any necessary changes to your too-busy schedule, and tenaciously keep doing the right thing in a balanced manner.
Galatians 6:9 jumped off the page of my Bible when I was experiencing church burnout many years ago. The verse was a prohibition sign and an encouragement all tied up together. We don’t want to keel over and just lay on the floor the rest of our lives. There’s work to be done — seeds of kindness to be sown and a harvest of souls to be gathered. We can’t do anything to promote the kingdom of God if we’ve given up acting nobly and doing right. There may be times when we land our face flat on the floor (because we’re human) but, for crying out loud, don’t stay down! Get up and get going again. Someone out there is watching you. Someone out there needs you. Show ‘em how it’s done — not how it’s not done.
However, if hardworking believers should faint on the job, through Christ Jesus we can get up and stand on our feet with joyful hope and determination to keep moving up. Apostle Paul encourages us with hope: “I pray that your hearts will be flooded with light so that you can understand the confident hope He has given to those He called – His holy people who are His rich and glorious inheritance” (Ephesians 1:18 NLT).
The Key: Don’t faint. Don’t even think about it. Just don’t do it!