Do you take any medication?
I do. I have a genetic condition I inherited from my mother. In fact, it was this condition that killed my mother when I was 9 years old. It’s called FH – Familial Hypercholesterolaemia.
According to Wikipedia, FH is “…a genetic disorder characterized by high cholesterol levels, specifically very high levels of low density lipoprotein (LDL, “bad cholesterol”), in the blood, and early cardiovascular disease. Since individuals’ with FH underlying body biochemistry is slightly different, their high cholesterol levels are less responsive to the kinds of cholesterol control methods which are usually more effective in people without FH (such as dietary modification and statin tablets). Nevertheless, treatment (including higher statin doses) is usually effective.”
In light of this I am on a high daily dose of Crestor, which is a statin medication. My daily Crestor pill keeps me alive. It has some side effects such as memory loss, muscle aches, some muscle cramping and potential liver damage, but it keeps me alive.
I talked with my doctor about some of the side effects – particularly memory loss – and he said this,
“Well, you can take the pill and suffer some side effects like memory loss. Or, you can not take the pill and suffer some side effects like death. Which would you prefer?”
I’ve chosen the former option. Chances are, without my medication I would have suffered a heart attack already and died. I have a 50% blockage in one artery and a 20% in another – which has not progressed thanks to my medication.
So, it is fairly accurate to say that my medication keeps me alive.
Recently I was spending time with a man who was suffering a number of ailments – you may be familiar with these: Hopelessness, despair, loneliness, apathy, self-hatred, resentment, jealousy, anger, rage, lust, etc. These feeling are merely the symptoms of poisonous lies he has believed. I have no doubt many of you can empathize with his struggle. I know I can.
If left untreated, these ailments will kill him. He will die to all the life Jesus has for him. He will not experience all that his heart longs for; all that for which he was created. Though not physical, it is a life and death situation for this man. These ailments will poison all his relationships: with God, with himself, and with others.
It is no different for each one of us. We battle lies that have been sent from the pit of hell to steal, kill and destroy us. Lies that, if we choose to believe them, will keep us trapped in despair, hopelessness, loneliness, lust, hatred, jealousy and the like.
However, there is a medication we can take that will combat these ailments. The medication we have access to will cure us of these things. We can be free from that which poisons us and the accompanying emotions they create.
What is this miracle medication?
Truth.
It is Truth, made digestible by the redemptive work of Jesus and the empowering of the Holy Spirit, which sets us free from the poisonous lies of our spiritual enemy and their horrendous side effects in our lives.
So, we all suffer from the same condition caused by believing that which is not true. The lies are poisonous and will kill us if we don’t take our medication. Truth is the medication that sets us free from the infection of the lies. And, the medication is readily available to us all. So, the question really is,
Do you take your medication?
Do you marinate in the Truth? Do you read, memorize and meditate on the Word of God?
“Devotions” are not meant to be a cute little religious duty we perform to put a check on our Godly score card. Devotions are a life and death exercise designed to digest lifesaving doses of the Truth to rid us of the poisonous effects of believing the lies of our spiritual enemy. Lies that are sent to deceive us from the Truth of God’s heart for us and for this world.
I implore you, set aside time to marinate in, memorize and meditate on scripture.
Take your medication!
John 8:32
“Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”
Hebrews 4:12
“For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.”
2 Timothy 3:16
“All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.”
2 Corinthians 10:3-5
“The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.”