“No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it” (1 Corinthians 10:13 ESV).
As you may recall, about a year ago I ended up in the ER with what I thought was food stuck in my throat but it turned out to be a bad case of GERD (Gastroesophageal reflux disease). Even with medication, some things I do know I shouldn’t eat. Tomatoes are a no, which makes me very sad as I love a juicy homegrown tomato sandwich. The last time I saw my doctor, he wanted me to try reducing the amount of medication to just one pill a day. I tried to skip my evening dose which ended in a disastrous four months recovery from my returned symptoms. So lately I’ve tried to reduce my morning dose instead with only mild success. I still have symptoms although not nearly as bad as they were a year ago. Last March it felt like I had to re-swallow food as though my body thought I was a cow needing to chew it again! Until he mentioned that symptom in my follow up yesterday, I had actually forgotten it used to be so terrible. He told me 20% of his patients end up needing to take medication twice a day, and his goal was for me to have zero symptoms. HA! Zero symptoms! I’m not sure I’ve experienced even one day with zero issues.
This morning as I dragged out of bed I thought back to what he said as I’m experiencing some heartburn and what I call the “crawlies.” And it is my own fault. I know what I ate last evening and how late it was and I can tell you… it is 100% my own fault. There is a tv show I used to watch where one character told another that his problems were “mostly self-inflicted.” I think about that line a lot in my life when I do things I know I will regret later. The Bible has a lot of similar things to say, and I believe God wants us to experience “zero symptoms” when it comes to sin. He knows that most of our sins are self-inflicted and yet Jesus came to save us anyway. He has given us the tools (Holy Spirit) and knowledge (scripture) to combat not just our symptoms but the root cause of our problems. Don’t eat the tomato if you know it will give you heartburn later! How simple is that? I think self-control is the hardest medicine even though it is the most beneficial. I pray that this week you (and I) will renew our commitment to listen to God and strive to have better self-control so we can live a spiritually and physically symptom free life!