This morning in my inbox I found this message from Ransomed Heart and was compelled to add to it. In the end, for those of you reading this who are not believers, I hope you see the importance of fighting for control over your health decisions.
Being unable to defeat God through raw power, Satan’s legions decide to wound God as deeply as possible by stealing the love of his Beloved through seduction. And having “seduced them to his party,” to ravish them body and soul; and having ravished them, to mock them even as they are hurled to the depths of hell with God himself unable to save them because of their rejection of him. This is Satan’s motivation and goal for every man, woman, and child into whom God ever breathed the breath of life. Like a roaring lion, he “hungers” for us. Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of sufferings. (1 Peter 5:8–9) God could have given up on the love affair with mankind. He could have resorted to power and demanded our loyalty, or given us a kind of spiritual lobotomy that would take away our choice to love him. Even now, he could easily obliterate our Enemy and demand the allegiance of our hearts, but the love affair that began in the laughter of the Trinity would be over, at least for us. And Satan’s accusation that the kingdom of God is established only through raw power would be vindicated.
The importance of understanding God's choice by desiring our desire, vs. demanding it... can have a beautiful consequence on how we treat our fellow man, especially in this time of the Coronavirus epidemic. I find myself sometimes going into my battle to educate on the potential health consequence of our decisions right now, and because I am passionate about my position, I am also strong in my conviction. Together, those two can seem confrontational. This morning's reminder from John Eldridge's daily devotional, reminds me that I have a calling to love everybody second only to God. And because of that, I need to be sure that my actions around my fellow man, are the actions that God would ask of me. In this time, I strongly believe that we are at the brink of losing a significant amount of control over our own health destiny, but... even if we do, that might just be one more piece in God's plan as we step in the direction of his ultimate plan to redeem us. My point... if that were the case, perhaps I should not fight against it, but I should fight for people simply to see it for what it is. In the end, for those of you reading this who are not believers, I hope you see the importance of fighting for control over your health decisions.
Be well and be blessed! - Dr. E