Saturday, September 30 2023 - 2:58 AM

Sharing Scripture — August 6, 2022

Struggling With All Energy

 

For use: July 31 – August 6, 2022

 

Nonadherence with psychiatric medication guidelines is one of the leading causes in ineffective psychiatric treatment and therefore continued psychiatric illness. Nonadherence includes the inability to receive treatment based on factors such as adverse side effects, religious beliefs, and cost. Unfortunately, it also includes the sudden discontinuation of treatment. 

This abrupt disruption can and usually does lead to withdrawal, increased psychiatric distress, and even physical illness.

We see this happen all the time.

“Approximately 40 percent of individuals diagnosed with bipolar disorder do not consistently take their medications,” states Erin Demmer of “Health Digest,” highlighting findings from a 2021 review published in “Psychological Medicine. “

Often it is the lack of social support and the inability to adhere to a regular schedule for taking the medication that cause the inconsistency. Improvements in health can also contribute to patients’ erroneous belief that the prescription is no longer necessary.

You may not like what I’m about to say, but … walking with God is the same as struggling to keep up with a necessary prescription.

Walking in the Spirit can be challenging as we learn to live in the world, and not of the world. Our media and secular circles turn skeptical eyes on us when we counter the culture. There are days that we just don’t have the time or the good humor to spend a few minutes in the Bible. And when we are thriving in life, and are overcome with bravado in our success, we can forget Who gave it to us in the first place and leave God on the sidelines.

Jesus is the antidote to our human condition. Focusing on the Godhead requires diligent perseverance and disciplined will. As Paul so aptly reminds the believers at Colossae, we must struggle with all the energy God works within us (Colossians 1:29). In our struggles we are not without God’s presence; we are able to fight with God’s power.

 

 

For Reflection

 

Connecting: Hot button debate: Should followers of Jesus take medication to deal with illness, or rely strictly on the power of prayer?

Sharing: With the all-powerful God fighting our battles for us, what part do we play in the struggle?

  1. We are our own antagonists
  2. We must let the Spirit circumcise our hearts and then we will be zapped into changed beings
  3. Our faith
  4. Our good deeds as a result of heart transformation by the Spirit
  5. It is a combination of God’s power, our faith, and our will to give up what holds us back
  6. Other

Applying: Where do you sometimes tell God to hold back and wait on you? Start/add to your prayer journal with a request that you will relinquish control to God. If you are comfortable doing so, find an accountability partner so you can build each other up where each is struggling.

Valuing: What are your stumbling blocks? Can you cut them out and cast them into the fire (Matthew 5:29-30), or do they require a deeper change such as a circumcision of the heart?

 

~ Stefani Leeper
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