Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance. Luke 5:31
Remember taking liquid medicine as a kid? No matter how much bubble gum or cherry flavoring they add, medicine usually tastes pretty bad!
Like medicine, many things in life are unpleasant but lead to a desired result. As adults, we learn how to discipline ourselves to do the hard things that promise a payoff down the road, like doing extra work to get ahead before a vacation, or training children when they are young to share, obey, and tell the truth.
Yet a person can be very self-disciplined in one area of their life and completely out of control in another. We each have our different weaknesses. And the vice that I refuse to give up is likely the one that is holding me back and actually contributing to unhappiness.
What’s the biggest problem in your life? If you had a guarantee— an absolute 100% guarantee— that following a certain course of action would eliminate your problem after a year, but that following that course of action for a year would be pretty miserable, would you do it? Would you take the medicine?
It’s similar to the bargain chemotherapy patients make all the time… without the guarantee. It’s the hope of every rehab program out there…without the guarantee.
But what is usually guaranteed in such situations is that if you do nothing, things will only get worse. So, if you know what course of action is most likely to help your problem, why wouldn’t you do it?
Well, because in the interim, the doing of it is really, really uncomfortable.
Giving up cigarettes? Very unpleasant from what I hear. Giving up alcohol or junk food when you’re accustomed to the endorphins they bring? Doesn’t even seem to make sense on the surface. You mean, I have to feel worse before I can feel better?! What kind of deal is that?!
Unfortunately that. is. the. deal.
We have to go through the withdrawals to overcome addictions.
We have to workout and sweat and exhaust our muscles if we want to get stronger.
We have to endure the treatments to have healing.
We have to face the pain of our past if we want to break free from it.
And…
we have to feel bad about our sin before we can hope to receive forgiveness.
Now I rejoice, not that you were made sorry, but that your sorrow led to repentance… For godly sorrow produces repentance leading to salvation, not to be regretted. 2 Corinthians 7:9-10a
The good news is that salvation in Christ is guaranteed to those who follow the prescribed course of action, and it can be accomplished in a very short amount of time.
But learning how to live for Christ can take a while. Sometimes it means feeling worse before feeling better.
“A merry heart does good, like medicine, but a broken spirit dries the bones,” (Proverbs 17:22). Yet some of the things we turn to for cheer or comfort do not serve us well in the long term. Vices damage our health; they make depression worse; they distance us from people. What’s worse, they distance us from God. They are incompatible with what we really want— the lasting joys of relationship.
It may be easier to keep doing what you’re doing; to keep that familiar endorphin drip going. It’s almost certainly easier that facing your fears, dealing with sin, or addressing the pain of the past. It’s easier than establishing good habits like healthy eating and exercise, praying and studying the Bible, and regular church attendance.
But where is your current path leading you?
The sorrow of the world produces death. 2 Corinthians 7:10b
What if instead of pursuing pleasure, you pursued joy?
What if joy was guaranteed, but first you had to do these two things:
- Ditch your vice.
- Get serious about your faith.
Take the medicine! In the long run it’s likely to improve your quality of life. And the spiritual benefits are guaranteed.
To you who fear My name
The Sun of Righteousness shall arise
With healing in His wings.
Malachi 4:2
by Christie Cole Atkins
Dear Heavenly Father, it’s so easy to live for self and for pleasure, and yet Satan takes us further and further from You in pursuit of feelings that are fleeting and disappointing. Give us the strength to face the hard path of discipline and change so that we can come to that place of lasting joy that You desire for us. Help us, we plead and pray in the name of Jesus, Amen.
Related Reading:
Bonus:
Walk Worthy 