He is good for what ails you

Matthew 11:28  (ESV)

Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.

It was spring, and hundreds of people were gathered in a small town for the annual Relay For Life event. Food, vendors, entertainment, but most of all a festivity celebrating money raised to help discover a cure for cancer.

The original Relay began in 1985 when a colorectal surgeon-Dr. Gordy Klatt, walked and ran around a track for 24 hours to raise money for the American Cancer Society. The cure for all forms of cancer still eludes us, and people die daily from the ravages of the disease, but Relay has multiplied exponentially.

Visit a pharmacy and witness our attempt to cure a single ill-the headache. We have now specialized by offering different pills for various types of headaches. Is it related to stress, lack of sleep, allergies or congestion? We have the pill. But headaches return.

And what pharmacy could keep a pill stocked that proposed to cure personal, physical, emotional and spiritual ills with one swallow? On one episode of the Andy Griffith show, Aunt Bee's Medicine Man, Colonel Harvey proposed to possess such a cure with his "Indian Elixir." To Aunt Bee and everyone else's chagrin, it was 85 percent hooch. But it momentarily placated the symptoms.

Jesus' cure for what ails and weighs us down? Come to Him for rest. And the four gospels are full instances when he did just that. Healed the sick. Comforted the societal outcasts. Confronted those with misguided priorities. Lifted burdens added by the religious establishment. At the same time, his challenges were well, challenging.

We're fond of searching for quick fixes for our physical, emotional and spiritual pains. A pill from a doctor, a trip to the counselor and a visit to the local church. All appropriate measures within a proper context. But Jesus invites us to come to him. To cry out and be honest about everything and everyone that's bothering us. He understands the pain and hurt and will give you rest, peace and insight. He's the cure all. All other proponents are shadows at best.

When you're tempted to look to other sources for comfort and cures, remember Jesus has promised to provide peace and comfort.

Dear Lord, we thank You that we can come to You for whatever need we have. In the Name of Jesus, Amen. 

Laughter is Cheap Medicine

Psalm 32:11 (NIV)

Rejoice in the Lord and be glad, you righteous;

    sing, all you who are upright in heart!

I read about a couple who works in the pharmaceutical industry. He is a sales representative and she is a pharmacist. When asked what they do for a living, he is quick to reply, "She makes drugs and I sell `em."

I believe it was Lord Byron who said, "Always laugh when you can. It is cheap medicine." And researchers are finding that to be true – quite literally.

A woman diagnosed with Rheumatoid Arthritis wrote to me and talked about how painful the disease had become. Debra said that no drugs would touch the devastating pain. "At times I prayed to die because I did not think I could go on this way," she said. But in two and a half years she weaned herself from most of her medication, which had reached a high of 21 pills a day. This is how she did it.

"I began seeing a doctor who gave me the most important prescription that I ever could have received," she said. "He excused himself from the room. I watched him walking back and forth in the hall; he seemed to be in deep thought."

The doctor came back in with this prescription: he told Debra to get some funny movies and to begin laughing. If she didn't feel like laughing, then she should smile. If she didn't feel like smiling, she should smile anyway. He said that it would increase endorphins in her brain and help with her pain. In other words, fake it until you make it, like they say.

She did just as he suggested. She laughed when she could. She smiled when she couldn't laugh. She smiled whether she felt like it or not. Her children teased her about her fake smile, but she told them that it was going to get rid of her pain.

And here's the amazing thing: it did. Of course, not all of it, but a great deal of her pain eventually dissipated and in time, what was left became manageable – without all of the drugs.

Today, Debra laughs easily and is never seen without her smile. She says that she would not even feel normal without it.

It's true that laughter really is cheap medicine. It's a prescription anyone can afford. And best of all, you can fill it right now.

Dear Lord, we pray that we would be able to smile and laugh at things that happen in our life. Help us to share that joy with those around us. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.