It’s easy to focus on issues at the surface. They’re bothersome, inconvenient, and we naturally want to get rid of them as quickly as possible. But we never find true peace and healing if we don’t take time to listen to and understand our symptoms and the deeper issues they’re pointing to.
When we get sick our body is letting us know something is not okay – perhaps we’re fighting an infection of some sort.
The coughs, drainage, and fever are not pleasant experiences. And we’re tempted to just medicate to manage our symptoms and keep going.
And many times, this is enough.
But we must do a deeper dive to address the underlying issues when the symptoms keep returning. They are clues more is going on.
And this holds true in the rest of life.
We all have bad days from time to time. Sometimes worry gets the best of us. And sometimes we’re just feeling bummed.
Many days we can just shake off these feelings, keep moving, and it’s truly a nonissue.
But when these feelings keep surfacing it is time to look deeper.
We often stay in a funk because something in our life is not right.
For example, perhaps there’s a disconnect in our work. While our current job pays the bills, it goes against the grain of how God has wired us. And our growing discontent is trying to get our attention and motivate us to discover the work God has created us to do.
Likewise, as we grow and mature our relational needs might also shift. We might have to let go of old friends and find new ones throughout the changing seasons of life. And holding on too tightly to the past could contribute to our growing dissatisfaction.
Whatever the case, it’s helpful to look beneath the surface of our symptoms to figure out what’s really going on.
We risk being completely taken out when we just manage our symptoms.
Learn to listen to and understand what your symptoms are telling you. These are clues to deep healing and living life to the full.
Photo by Brittany Colette on Unsplash
