The Order of St. Luke The Physician in The United Kingdom Benevolent Society
Healing and a New Beginning
Christian Healing Ministry Pamphlets By Hilda M. Moore
LET GO AND LET GOD.
WORRY.
Now let us take a closer look at some of the things we do to these wonderful bodies of ours. Take worry for instance. It upsets the balance of our digestive juices and this in turn ruins the digestion and often leads to stomach ulcers. It often interferes with our sleep which in turn shortens tempers. It brings anxieties and tensions, which can lead to heart trouble. high blood pressure and nervous disorders.
But I must add here a word about tension. We cannot dispense with it altogether or we would become sloppy. it is like winding a ball of wool. If the person who is holding the skein holds it too tightly it is difficult to wind evenly. If on the other hand the skein is held too loosely the wool comes off and gets in a tangle. The tension needs to be just right. And so it is with the human body. Doctors tell us that hard work never harms provided it is done in a relaxed manner. It is the strain or tension caused by anxiety over it that causes trouble.
What is it that makes us worry so much? There are very few people who are free from this. I believe that the underlying cause of it is FEAR. More often than not it is a fear of what MIGHT happen rather than what has happened. I think if we look back over our past lives at some of the things about which we worried, a very large percentage of our worry was unnecessary because the thing about which we worried did not happen after all.
And did the worry help us in any way? It was much more likely to have been a hindrance, because it would cloud our minds and so stop us from concentrating on the best course to take to cope with the trouble if it did come. The strain and tension we feel is often due to our unwillingness to accept a situation that has arisen. We fret and fume and wonder if we should have handled the situation differently in the first place.
But it is no use getting ourselves worked up about it, as all we shall achieve is to send our blood pressure up or something else equally troublesome and unpleasant. We must be realists and accept the fact that the situation HAS arisen. We must remind ourselves that the situation that has arisen is not so important as is WHAT WE ARE GOING TO DO ABOUT IT.
We must co operate with it and make it work out for the ultimate good of everyone concerned. Living in the kind of world that we do we cannot hope to escape from these difficult situations. so it is up to us to work out for ourselves a way of life that will help us to deal with them when they arrive, a way that will bring as little distress as possible to ourselves and those around us.
To do this we must first of all learn to trust God. It is only when we have a simple faith and trust in the goodness of God in His goodwill towards us in His power to help us that we can be free from fear. We could take a lesson from the oyster. When a bit of grit gets inside the shell the oyster immediately sets to work to build layer upon layer of material round the intruder and so turns misfortune, pain and distress, into a thing of wondrous beauty a pearl. We can do the same with our misfortunes by surrounding them with the love of God.
This is what Jesus was telling the disciples when He said "Do not be anxious about your life, what you shall eat, nor about your body, what you shall put on." He then went on to talk about the lilies of the field and said. "Fear not, little flock, for it is the Father's good pleasure to give you the Kingdom." (Luke 12) He was telling them not to worry, but to put their trust in God.
Paul also gave this advice to the Philippians when he said "Have no anxiety about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God." (Phil. 4 v 6) And then he goes on to tell them what the result of this action would be when he says "And the peace of God, which passes all understanding, will keep your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.''
UNFORGIVENESS
This is another of the things that play havoc with our bodies. This can be even worse than worry because it is a continuing thing, it is always there even when we are not actually thinking about it. It is tucked away at the bottom of our minds ready to pop out at any moment. Whenever we see or hear mentioned the person concerned we find ourselves immediately on the defensive, and this causes tension in our bodies, which can lead to arthritis and other things. It also gives us a feeling of guilt because we know in our hearts that we ought to be forgiving. I shall be dealing more fully with this subject in a later chapter.
LETTING GO.
What then are we going to do about these things that we have allowed to creep into our lives? There is only one sure way of dealing with them and that is to "Let go and let God." I was talking with someone not long ago about this and suggested that she should read the book by Albert E. Cliffe "Let go and let God." To my astonishment she said "Oh! I have heard about doing that but I don't agree with it at all it is much too easy a way out of difficulties just to hand them over to God and leave Him to deal with them." Was the speaker right? IS it easy to let go? Most people I know would say that letting go is one of the hardest things to do.
We have been looking at some of the things we could do with "letting go." The fears, forgiveness worries all those things that keep people tensed up and unable to relax. There are very few people who are really relaxed these days. Why is it? Is it because they have never learned to "let go"? They carry around with them a huge burden of worries worries about things that MIGHT happen most of which do not arise any way. If we were to take a piece of paper and write down all the things we had worried about in one week, and then cross off all the things that did not happen after all, we would find the greater part of them crossed off. If we are continually worrying about all the things that are likely to go wrong in what we are about to do, we are building a negative picture into our minds. And it is not at all surprising if we act on this picture we have built and so make wrong decisions.
You have probably watched someone on television climbing a very high mountain. As he moves upwards he feels around for a safe handhold and foothold a little higher up than the one he is already holding. But in order to do this he has to "let go" the hold he already has; otherwise he would never get to the top. Life is like climbing a mountain. We are continually being called upon to "let go" our negative thinking and to think positive thoughts which will help us to reach the top.
You may think this sounds all nice and easy but it is not so easy when it comes to putting it into practice; especially when these negative thoughts have been with us a long time or when the people surrounding us are being negative as well. This is where we need some help, as we cannot do it in our own strength. This is where we need to come to God for help.
But here we need to ask ourselves what is our relationship with God? Do we know Him well enough to be able to do this? When we are in trouble we usually turn to someone we know well someone we can trust. This trust is something, which has been built up over a period of time. If we are to have this kind of trust in God. We need to build up our relationship with Him in this way. We need to have daily contact with Him to talk with Him and to open our hearts and our lives to Him. Many people only turn to God when they are in trouble and need His help, but this isn't good enough. We should share all the good things that happen and also remember to thank Him for them. As well as to ask His help when we are in trouble. If we do this we shall find Him to be a loving and understanding God, someone we can trust someone we can turn to for guidance.
The Medical Profession is telling us that the majority of the illnesses of today are due to the fears and tensions under which we live, and as we read the stories in the Bible of the healings of Jesus Christ we see that He also recognised this. He must have been a wonderful psychiatrist. He always knew exactly where the person's trouble lay and was able to deal with it at the exact point of their need. Sometimes He healed their physical sickness first; sometimes He forgave their sins first. We have not got the same gift of perception that Jesus had; but if we follow the pattern He has set for us, if we "love our neighbour as ourselves." If we "forgive our brother's trespasses against us, as we ourselves hope to be forgiven", then we shall be carrying on the work that He started here on this earth.
In the book Let go and let God the writer says that our main reason for being on this earth is to express God. Every one of us is a means by whom God does His wonderful work among men. Therefore when you are dominated by criticism or resentment or temper, you cannot express God. You are breaking His laws and will have to pay the price for breaking those laws.
What a great responsibility this is that God has given to us. I think we need to remind ourselves of this from time to time, and to ask ourselves if we are faithfully carrying it out. There are none of us who could say "yes" to this all the time and very few of us who could even say "yes" to it most of the time. We all have our own weak spots and God knows this only too well. He knows how many times we have failed to live up to the standard Jesus Christ came to show us.
He knows how many times we have failed to trust Him. He knows how many times we have gone our own way believing that we know best. But in spite of all this He is still there waiting for us to turn to Him and ask His help. He is ready and anxious to help us however badly we have strayed away from Him, but He will not force this help upon us. He has given us free will and He will not violate this free will in any way. It is we who have to turn to Him and accept the help that He is all the time offering to us.
When we do learn to accept His help in this way what a difference it makes in our lives. Difficulties will still arise but we shall not be tackling them alone. If we make this a way of living and start each day by placing it in His hands, we shall be much better equipped to deal with these difficulties when they do arise and far more likely to make the right decision.
So we see that to "let go and let God" is not such an "easy way out" as my friend thought. It needs much self-discipline and daily practice; but it is a way of life that brings with it peace of mind. And freedom from all the unnecessary worries and tensions that seem to beset so many people. We need have no fear of “Letting go" in this way because "Underneath are the everlasting arms (Deuteronomy 33 v 27) and God will not let us fall beyond the reach of His arms. It is only when we can “Let go" with complete confidence in Him that He can work His way in us.
The quotation on page 14 comes from the book “Let go and let God", published by Arthur James Ltd. One Cranbourne Road, London H10 2BT, with permission.
They crossed the lake and came to land at Gennesaret, where the people recognised Jesus.
So they sent for the sick people in all the surrounding country and brought them to Jesus.
They begged him to let those who were ill at least touch the edge of his cloak; and all who touched it were made well.
Matthew 14- 34,36
“But the greatest of these is love.” (1 Corinthians 13 v13)