Symptoms

Ever gone to the doctor and they’ve told you that they weren’t able to find anything wrong with you? However, this prognosis is not what you were expecting, neither was it what you wanted to hear, because you are experiencing symptoms, you know your body and you know what you’re feeling is unusual and not like you.

Symptoms are subjective, meaning that they are apparent only to the patient however, a sign is any objective evidence of a disease that can be observed by others. Doctors are open to hear your symptoms, it gives them an idea of what you may be dealing with, but the signs that are apparent are normally what they act upon. God can be likened to the doctors in this case. He hears our prayers, He sees the tears, He sees the pity parties, the “woe it’s me, or why is it me?” …He sees it all, however what we feel doesn’t move Him, and most of the time, if there are signs, they are sent by Him. A sign can be defined as an event whose presence or occurrence indicates the probable presence of something else. Amid our symptoms, we should seek to trace the one and only Sign that matters, and that’s Him.  

So, how do we move forward in life when there is still residue? When we’ve received prayer, but we are still feeling pain, when we have shown up to the alter call, but we still return home to chaos, when we have sown the seed and we are still struggling financially? How do we deal with symptoms? How do we deal with manifestations? There’s the Bible of course, it’s full of scriptures and direction on how to live this life, but what if our symptoms prohibit us from picking up the Bible? Ever been there? I have. 

In times when I find myself in a spiritual rut, when I feel like I’ve been doing the same old thing for too long or in a toxic routine that’s hard to break, or I feel like there’s a muzzle on my mouth…I pray, I soak, I cry…I commune with God. I don’t pick up phones, I don’t post about it, I pray. What I love about prayer is that it doesn’t have any prerequisites, you don’t need any titles, you don’t need to have it all together, you don’t even need to be whole and healed, all you need is to be willing and open and ready to hear from the Father. Psalm 51:17 tells us that God will not despise those with a broken heart and a contrite spirit.

You may be saying I don’t have a broken heart and a contrite spirit. Many of our hearts are broken. Broken by people and if some of us can be honest, broken by God. A contrite spirit is someone filled with a sense of guilt and feels sorry for themselves, also wanting to make amends for something they’ve done wrong. A lot of people fail to pray to God because He didn’t move how they wanted Him to move last time or they feel ashamed for something they’ve done and just don’t feel worthy.

In my worst times, God has shown up. In my times of shame, He was there. When I’ve sinned against myself, others and Him, He was there. I’ve never understood Psalm 139:7 the way that I understand it today. “Where can I flee from your presence? If I go up to the heavens, you are there, if I make my bed in hell, you are there.” He’s always been there, and I can find comfort in knowing He’s going to always be there.

So regardless of symptoms, regardless of residue, regardless of situations that can be seen by the natural eye, I choose to call those things which are not as though they were, Romans 4:17. I choose to follow God. I choose to speak life. In death situations, I choose to live. When I feel like I’m alone, I choose to believe that God walks with me. Although our lives are in the hands of God, He has given us the ability to choose. We can choose life and success or death and disaster (Deuteronomy 30:19). Never discredit your ability to CHOOSE. Life doesn’t happen to us, we happen to life!