The last few weeks our pet guinea pig has been very unwell. I had him checked out a few months ago and the vet didn’t pick up the issue. Eventually we took him to a small animal specialist and he quickly diagnosed the root of the problem was mites.
When we go to the vet, doctor or any medical practitioner we go with an expectation that we will get some answers; “What is wrong and how can we get healthy again?” The doctor’s first job is to determine what is causing the symptoms and to get to the root of the problem.
With sickness the symptoms usually show up before the cause of the problem is exposed, and this is true for every area of our life whether that is physical, emotional, mental or spiritual. We experience aches, pains, anxiety, sickness, marriage issues, anger, sadness, financial problems and a lack of peace. But often these are signs of a deeper problem, which if we want complete healing we will have to get to the root cause to fix.
Nehemiah in the bible was given the responsibility of rebuilding the broken down walls and gates of Jerusalem. He realised that there was more of a problem than just broken down walls and so he started to assess what the real problem was and the condition of the people’s hearts and attitudes, which as it turned out was where the actual problem was.
True faith looks at a problem and remains hopeful, for faith is not ignoring a problem, but facing circumstances and seeing what needs to be done and asking for God’s wisdom and strength to know what the root cause of those things are.
Jesus gave us some great advice when he said to “guard our hearts for it determines the course of our life”. (Proverbs 4:23) When we are searching for the root of the problem look to the heart of the matter. Often it is exactly that – the condition of our hearts. We can suffer from sickness, anxiety, depression, and all the other related diseases because we are carrying unforgiveness, undealt with issues, stress because of our lifestyles, and lack of good food, exercise, time with God and adequate rest. Even if the doctors, or God Himself heals us if we don’t deal with the root cause of our particular difficulty it or something else can just come back again.
God is the great healer, and has the ability and power to forgive, cleanse, heal, restore and rebuild our lives. He loves each one of us and desires for us to be healthy and whole.
Today, take a look at any issues you may be facing, pray and ask Holy Spirit to reveal and help you to deal with what the root cause is for the struggle in your life. Is there a root cause for your illness, your relationship issues, your financial problems, your anger, depression, and fears? Go to the heart of the matter, and with God make a decision and plan to dig it out by the root so it can’t grow back again.
Prayer: Lord help me to be honest about what is going on in and around me, and to get to the root of any problems and issues that myself and my family and community are facing in their lives so that I can deal with them properly and experience health and wholeness. In Jesus name Amen.
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