“Dear friend, listen well to my words; tune your ears to my voice. Keep my message in plain view at all times. Concentrate! Learn it by heart! Those who discover these words live, really live; body and soul, they’re bursting with health.” (Proverbs 4:20-22 The Message Bible)
It is probably my imagination, but when I was a child, it seemed like all medicine tablets, all the prescribed pills to treat illnesses were unusually large, uncoated, and undisputedly hard to swallow. On the occasions when I was sick, my parents would bring me these enormously large pills; extremely oversized medicines to expedite my healing. Mom or Dad would place the prescribed pill in one of my hands and a petite cup of water in the other hand. They would instruct me to swallow it. I’ll be truthful. Most of the time I would simply act like I swallowed the super-sized pill that surely had to be of prehistoric dimensions. But actually, I would hold it in my mouth, between my gums and inner jaw. When asked if I swallowed it, I would nod my head up and down, as if I was saying, “Yes.” I dare not openly lie. Yet, as a side note, know that a lie is a lie. When the parent administering the medicine left the room, I would take the pill out of my mouth and put it in the metal register, that visible part of the heating duct system in our homes. I would repeat this scenario time after time during my childhood. That register by my bed had to be the healthiest register ever. Of course, as you would suspect, my healing would take longer because I refused to take the medicine.
Now listen, child of God. When your Heavenly Parent, God Almighty, our all-knowing God; when He gives you medicine through the preached word today, don’t be like me and sit in the pew acting like you are taking the medicine contained in the sent message. It may be a large dose and hard to swallow but be assured that the Lord is giving it to you to make you better. It may not taste good at the time, but His word, as you will discover will have you bursting with health. God’s word is good medicine for the soul. And don’t debate whether or not God’s medicine that you will receive today is not for you. He knows what He is doing. And when it comes to being a physician for our souls, He is, as we say in church-talk, “A doctor who never lost a patient.”
It’s Sunday! Go to the house of the Lord! Take your medicine, regardless of what it tastes like, or in spite of how big it is, in terms of the challenge to change for the better. It is specifically for you! In humor, one Pastor noting all the preachers with doctorate degrees asked me, “If there are so many doctors in the church, why are there so many sick people.” At the time I was asked the question, I laughed. Forty years later, I am not laughing because I know the answer. Some people in the pews refuse to take their prescribed medicine that comes through the preached word. It’s not the degreed preacher, but it is the detached patient. God loves you and so do I! Be blessed!
“For I will restore health to you, and your wounds I will heal, declares the Lord… (Jeremiah 30:17 English Standard Version)
Committed to the climb,
Mark L. King