Psalm 19:7
We live in a country where entertainment is endless. We can instantly go somewhere where something or someone can entertain us. Last year Americans spent more than $600,000,000 in entertainment alone. There are sporting events, movies, arcades, lazer tag, bowling, comedy clubs, symphony halls, etc. Anything you enjoy, you can find a place to go see it or go do it. One would think that this would make us one of the happiest countries in the world, YET… one particular sickness runs rampant among Americans…depression. At least 1 in every 10 Americans is on medication for depression, not to mention all of the people who are depressed and just don’t medicate through a doctor. How is it that we live in a place where virtually you can choose any type of entertainment for your pleasure and yet we are still an unhappy population? There is really only one answer…America has bought into the lie that entertainment can revive your soul. People think, “If I can just go have some fun or if I can go and be entertained somewhere, I’ll forget about my hurt.” We are looking at entertainment to revive our inner being, so we spend billions as a nation trying to make ourselves feel better.
We, the women not of this world, must choose to believe truth…And this is truth: Absolutely nothing can de-stress you or revive your soul like the Word of God. It is, in its very nature, calming, soothing, peace-giving revival to the deepest parts of your being.
Nothing de-stresses us like God’s word, not the gym, not friends, not family, not church, not being busy, nothing. Nothing will de-stress your life and revive your soul like Jesus’s words. This might sound like an easy concept or something that we all assume we do, but many of us don’t. People, including Christians, tend to “self medicate” their hurt/upset in various ways. We might not be on anti-depressants, but we self medicate with things other than God’s word. What do you do when something has hurt you? Do your friends say, “Hey, let’s go out!” or “Hey let’s go shopping.” or “Want to catch a movie to get your mind off of this?”. Other people self medicate by eating, socializing, distracting, getting busy, becoming workaholics, or drinking etc. When these self-medicating behaviors are not addressed and they continue for long periods of time, this is when you become susceptible to addiction. Drinking can turn into alcoholism, busy at work can turn into workaholic, eating can turn into gluttony, etc. Self-medicating your soul is very, very dangerous. It is an easy foothold for satan to grab. There are tons of ways that satan has used “self medication” to replace God’s word in our lives. For a little bit, these self-medications do the job. If you’re upset and your friend calls you and the two of you decide to go shopping to “get your mind off of things” and it works for those 2 hours, but it’s a false sense of medication. When you get home and put your shopping bags up, your hurt/upset is still there. We are merely taking “sugar pills” when we do this and sugar pills will never, ever cure us.
Psalm 19:7 explains that His Word has enough power to revive the soul! This should be our medication. This should be our addiction. Let’s train ourselves to read and meditate on His Word when sadness hits or when disappointment comes or hurt arises. Let go of the worlds medications and let the Lord’s Word revive you.
Lord, let us all let go of the ways we self medicate and let us run towards you when we need revival. Amen.