Hydrotherapy. My sister said I had to try it, pointing out that the cost was included in what we paid for our stay. In my mind, water therapy sounded like spending time in a pool, or better yet a jacuzzi; just exactly what my tired mind and body needed. So off to the spa we went where Daniel greeted me and since it was my first time, he talked about the benefits of hydrotherapy. “Follow me,” he said, as we made our way to a place where I saw neither pool nor jacuzzi. “Our first stop,” he said, “is the heat room.” My mind went into overdrive. Huh? Heat room? Whatever happened to hydrotherapy? He handed me a towel and opened a door, and I immediately felt the heat. Ten minutes in this room, then he would return and get me. Against my better judgment, I stepped in and the door closed behind me. If my sister could do this, my wimping out was not an option.
The only light in the room was the red glow on the walls from what were perhaps heated elements or hot stones. Every minute in this room felt like the temperature rose a degree or two. I looked around and there it was: “Push in case of emergency.” I thought about it. To last ten minutes, I needed to think about something else. The “heat room” was effectively a sauna, designed to make users sweat. Documented health benefits included releasing the ‘feel good’ endorphins and widening the blood vessels to improve circulation and blood flow. There were other benefits too with regular and consistent use: reduced blood pressure, detoxification of heavy metals and chemicals, boosted brain function, and improved emotional health and mood, to name a few. In other words, the discomfort of being in this heated room translated into some meaningful health benefits. Then it occurred to me. This was not unlike what God does with some of His own.
In Jesus’ prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane, we saw the extent to which God went to accomplish His purposes. As Jesus contemplated His imminent crucifixion, He told His disciples, “‘My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death.’ Then He went a little farther and fell on His face, and prayed, saying, ‘O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt’” (Matt. 26:38-39, KJV). Certainly, God could have devised another redemption plan than having Jesus suffer and be crucified, but that was what He decreed (John 3:16-17). If God did not spare His own son from the “heat room,” what makes you and I think we might not spend some time there as well? Peter put it this way, “For even hereunto were [you] called: because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that [you] should follow His steps” (1 Peter 2:21).
The human Jesus asked for a way out of the suffering if it was possible. As I sweated in the “heat room,” I also looked for a way of escape. It was right there and all I had to do was push the button. However, doing so would mean foregoing the benefits that I was told would come. The last five minutes felt like torture, and to make it, I had to remind myself why I was doing it. In our Christian walk, we will have those moments when we want to escape our “heat room,” however, we must keep our eyes on the prize (Phil. 3:14) to push through the discomfort. What we do and think about is important if we are going to make it. The discomfort is only temporary: “For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory” (2 Corinthians 4:17). The “heat room,” spiritually and naturally, served a purpose. It was ultimately for our good. When my ten minutes ended, I was hot and sweating, but I made it. I still did not see a pool or a jacuzzi, and there would be more stops before we got to either one.