Unmedicated vs. Medicated
John 9:1-2
Rev. Courtney Clayton Jenkins

weekly prayer
Lord, we are struggling with anxiety because we are trying to take the edge off and begging for healing in the wrong places. Instead, some of us are self-medicating in habits that have grown to excess.

Open our eyes and illumine our hearts to understand where we have begged for self-medication and attempted to numb the pain ourselves. God, what our souls truly thirst for is complete deliverance and freedom. 

Rather than being enveloped in shame, we now realize that the reason we are struggling with anxiety is for You to get the glory. So, we pray for wisdom about Your divine prescription whether it come in the form of medication, or spiritual and emotional healing of the toxic habits in our lives.

Holy Spirit, help us to be self-aware so that we might get delivered from ourselves. Dim the noise and anxiety that has become louder than our faith. Help us to surrender to You God and trust You completely for our healing.

In the name of Jesus, we pray, amen. 
WRITTEN BY TAMIKA NUNLEY
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Context: This is one story among many in the Bible about healings of blind men. This man is identified both by his condition and his actions: blind and a beggar. We assume he was begging for money. The text does not say what he’s begging for. In the spirit of the text and of our series, he could have been begging for anything that would help him solve his affliction. 

Key Points: 
  1. You know your self-medicating is a problem when you identity is equated with how people see you. There is a difference when the vice is no longer a way to take the edge off, but the way people see you. 
  2. You are struggling with anxiety for God to get the glory afterward. To people who have been suffering with anxiety wondering whose actions are the root of your affliction, God says “You’re asking the wrong question. 
  3. The miracle of God is that the man saw. The miracle with us is that we had the faith to try God’s prescription. God says if you take your prescription, you will get the healing you need. Just like antibiotics, remember to finish the full course of treatment to make sure the infection does not return. 
  4. Real deliverance comes when we become honest about who and where we are. Two healings are necessary. 1. From the affliction itself. 2. From his eyes being consumed with other people’s opinions about him. 

Questions and Discussion: 
  1. Describe a time when you tried God’s unexpected instructions. What happened when you trusted God like this? 
  2. Describe a time when you did not take the full course of God’s treatment. What do you wish you had done at the time? How has this memory helped your walk of faith since then? 
  3. How would you share this message with someone who does not know Christ, or have a church home?