PAIN-RELIEF:

I can remember being in hospital recovering from my first caesarean section birth in 2002, trying to enjoy my newborn son and interact with others but being so foggy-headed on PAIN-RELIEF medication, I felt I couldn’t connect properly…I actually asked what PAIN-RELIEF medication I was on, and to be taken off it for an alternative, as I could not stand feeling less than switched-on…

Now I’m not saying PAIN-RELIEF isn’t appropriate…Rather, I see a parallel between this story, my daily life struggles, and my own self-medicating options which can leave me less functional for The Lord (bear with me on this).

Here in our Western world we live with basically everything readily available ‘on tap’…Our slightest discomforts can be readily met with something offering a quick comfort and we utilise our resources so quickly…This lifestyle I think had its roots laid with good intentions. 

You see, none of us like pain and if we feel pain, or see others suffering we like to help solve the problem.  We’ve become really good at offering people a quick-fix solution to show love; for example, Got a headache? Here, take a paracetamol…Feeling down? Here, have a free meal on me…Struggling with your love life? Let’s go shopping or out to the bar…

Yet this way of excessive PAIN-RELIEF living, leaves us unequipped to grow in resilience…I believe, quite similar to the recent abuse of antibiotic medication ruining people’s God-given immune system.

When we face problems in our life (and I’m writing here from experience) for example; loneliness, job loss or financial strain, loss of a relationship, challenges with our children, just to name a few small examples…I know how easy it can be to self-medicate…

I think being raised during these last days and without Godly examples, we quickly seek to dull our pain, rather than properly deal with it with The Lord, by choosing options like; burying ourselves in work, eating more, spending sprees, alcohol or drug abuse, cosmetic surgery, excessive time spent on fun/distracting activities, running away to escape…

We are not trained to pray more, in solitude spend time with The Lord, to seek Christian counselling, to work for forgiveness and even reconciliation where possible, to wait upon The Lord for healing in His time, to seek to do good to others where God leads during this time of hardship.

If this post is bringing anything to the forefront of your mind and is perhaps challenging for you, please don’t be discouraged or feel judged, as I really am writing from experience and from a heart desiring God's true healing…I do know what it’s like to self-medicate myself with distractions – Yet I also know God’s grace to try again; allowing Him to heal me, waiting upon His timing and finding my refuge and PAIN-RELIEF in Him…I also know how wonderful I actually feel from His real PAIN-RELIEF, how less foggy-headed I feel and how much more useful I can be then for His Kingdom when I am not distracted by my own self-medicating or should I rather say self-sabotaging choices.

He is the true healer, so be encouraged to seek Him, He doesn’t turn us away...in His service, Melanie :)