Read
Many are the afflictions of the righteous,
but the Lord delivers him out of them all.
Psalm 34:19
Reflect
People use all sorts of things to help them relieve various hurts and pains in their lives. Some turn to drugs and alcohol. Others turn to various distractions like TV and video games. Others use food to medicate their pain. That was the case for me. When my mother was battling breast cancer, and later when she died, I tended to assuage my pain and grief by making frequent trips to the kitchen. Of course, I found that food cannot solve the problems of repressed feelings or of other emotional difficulties.
This type of of mentality is like thinking that a Band-Aid will heal an infection. Imagine having a gaping wound on your arm and just putting a bandage on it instead of seeking qualified medical attention. The doctor would likely put stitches on the cut in order to seal the wound, and they might also prescribe antibiotics to fight the infection. The Band-Aid, on the other hand, was never designed for that kind of wound, and depending on it for healing would likely result in a worsening of your condition.
Instead of burying our hurts and pains, we need to give them all to the Lord. Perhaps the most dangerous among these is anger because it burns like a fire that threatens to consume everything in its path. Hold a grudge against others, or even yourself, is a sin. It is also a serious emotional and spiritual problem that can express itself physically.
Think about the energy consumed by out-of-control anger. Is it any wonder that perpetually angry people also seem to be perpetually tired? One reason for this is that we have two natural chemicals in our bodies that fuel our ability to think (serotonin and norepinephrine), both of which are depleted in our brain cells when we become angry and unforgiving. These are the chemicals that travel across the synapses between one cell and the next and that help us think and move. Therefore, an easy way to gain more energy is to let go of your hurt and anger and trust the Lord to heal you in those areas.
Unfortunately, for many people the fix that seems easier is to hold on to the pain and to self-medicate with things like food. That might seem like a convenient way to solve our problems, but, as is so often true, it’s just a Band-Aid on a gaping wound. If you’re struggling with emotional and spiritual pain, stop putting little bandages on your cuts. Trust the Lord. Let him be your great physician so that He can stitch your lacerated soul together so that the healing can begin.
Reflection copyright © 2021 Doug DeBolt and Charles Fulton.
