More Than Medicine
More Than Medicine
DWDP: Just Playing...
Ever had a moment when watching your children play led to a profound realization about life? Dr. Robert Jackson shares a personal story that unveils a spiritual insight, offering a perspective shift on coping with life's burdens. Picture this: his daughters, carefree and joyous, playing in the backyard, safe within the confines of a protective fence. This scene spurred Dr. Jackson to reflect on how, just as he provided love and security for his children, our Heavenly Father offers us the same. It's a heartwarming narrative that invites us to embrace a life filled with joy and peace, trusting in God's unwavering care.
Join us for an uplifting episode of More Than Medicine, where biblical teachings provide a roadmap to freedom from anxiety. By focusing on Matthew 6:25-33, Dr. Jackson explains how God's provision allows us to live with the carefree spirit of children, unburdened by worries. Understand the essence of seeking His kingdom first, and discover the promise that all needs will be met. This episode is a gentle reminder that, regardless of life's stresses, we are invited to cast our burdens upon a loving Father and enjoy life to its fullest, free from fear.
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Welcome to More Than Medicine, where Jesus is more than enough for the ills that plague our culture and our country. Hosted by author and physician, Dr Robert Jackson.
Speaker 2:Papa, can you tell me a story? Do you really want me to tell you a story? Well, you go, get your brother and your sisters and I will tell you a story. Well, you go, get your brother and your sisters and I will tell you a story. Welcome to Devotions with Dr Papa. Gather around, grab your Bibles and let's look into the written Word, which reveals to us the living Word, which is our Lord Jesus Christ. I'm continuing in a series of lessons where I'm sharing with you biblical insights that I've gained from experiences with my own children.
Speaker 2:Some years back, I was in a situation where I had a fair amount of stress on my shoulders. There were a lot of issues that I was carrying around at that time that were just wearing me down. I drove home from work one day and I drove up in my driveway. At the time, I had a backyard that had a fence around it, and in the backyard there was a sandbox and a swing set, and my daughters played in the backyard all day long Because of the fence. They were safe, they were secure and protected, and so they played hard in the backyard, and each day when I came home they would run to the gate at the fence and greet me and they were often just red in the face, they were dirty, they had little dirt rings under their neck and their hands and bare feet were dirty and I could just tell that they had been playing so hard. So one particular day I came home and they all gathered at the fence to greet me and I said girls, what have y'all been doing? And my oldest daughter looked at me and said just playing. They all looked at each other and laughed and then they turned around and just ran back to the sandbox like little deer. And I suddenly realized, and it occurred to me, that these little girls had a father that provided for them, protected them and loved them. And that's why they played in such a carefree fashion moment, that, even though I had so much stress on my shoulders, that in a similar fashion, I had a heavenly father that loved me, provided for me and protected me, in just the same way that these little girls had an earthly father that loved them, provided for them and protected them. And in reality, I should be able to enjoy my life in the same way that they did, because my Heavenly Father was offering to me the opportunity to enjoy my life and he had told me to cast all my cares on him because he cares for me. 1 Peter, chapter 5 and verse 7. So let me ask you does scripture bear out that notion that I should be able to just cast all my cares on him and that I should be as carefree as those little girls were, and that I shouldn't have to carry heavy issues on my shoulders and that I could enjoy my life as much as those little daughters of mine were? Well, let's look at the scriptures.
Speaker 2:In Matthew, chapter 6, verse 25 to 33, this is a passage which many theologians call the cure for anxiety. For this reason, I say to you do not be worried about your life, as to what you will eat or what you will drink, nor for your body, as to what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air that they do not sow nor reap, nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth much more than they? And who of you, by being worried, can add a single hour to his life? And why are you worried about clothing? Observe how the lilies of the field grow. They do not toil, nor do they spin. Yet I say to you that not even Solomon, in all of his glory, clothed himself like one of these. But if God so clothes, the grass of the field which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, will he not much more clothe you, you of little faith? Do not worry then saying what will we eat or what will we drink, or what will we wear for clothing For the Gentiles? Eagerly seek all these things, for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things, but seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. So do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will care for itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.
Speaker 2:Now there's some principles that we derive from this passage. The first thing is don't fret about material items food, clothing or shelter. The pop singer sang Lord, won't you give me a Mercedes Benz, all my friends have Porsches and I must make amends. Well, we laugh about that, but there are a lot of us who pray that God will give us more material things, probably more than we really need. God has promised to give us food and clothing and shelter, but he hasn't promised us two fancy cars and a really big house and multiple color flat screens in our house. You know, he's promised the basic necessities. He's not going to let us be cold or starve. He's not going to let us go without a roof over our heads. He's promised the basic necessities. God will provide these for you and me, as he does for the birds and the flowers of the field. But here's the challenge. The challenge is that if we concern ourselves with the kingdom of God and if we concern ourselves with His righteousness, that all material needs will follow. Material needs will be provided. So here's the question what does it mean for you and me to concern ourselves with the kingdom of God? Well, that means that you and I will be ministry-minded and ministry-mannered. And let me tell you what that means to me.
Speaker 2:I have lots of friends who like to fish. They have all the latest equipment the latest fishing rods, the latest lures. They have the latest fishing equipment in their boats the depth finders, the latest fishing rods, the latest lures. They have the latest fishing equipment in their boats the depth finders, the latest equipment and they go to seminars about fishing and they learn all the latest techniques and the best places to go fishing, but yet they never go fishing. And when I ask them why not? They always have excuses it's too hot, it's too cold, it's too windy, I'm too tired, I'm too old. They just never go fishing.
Speaker 2:Now I know Christian people that are the same way. They go to all the seminars about evangelism, discipleship and world mission. They learn all the latest strategies, all the latest techniques for evangelism and making disciples. They buy all the latest CDs, they buy the latest booklets, everything that's up to date about making disciples, doing world missions, sharing the gospel. But yet, when you ask them about it, they never make disciples, they never share the gospel, they never go on a mission trip. And if you ask them why, they have a whole list of excuses of why they cannot make disciples or share the gospel or go on a mission trip. They're just like my fishing buddies. You see, they may have the ministry mindset, but they're not ministry mannered, they're not doing the work of ministry.
Speaker 2:And in fact, if you ask them, what is your personal strategy for fulfilling the great Commission? Well, they look at you like a calf looking at a new gate. They just cock their head to one side and stare at you and they have no answer. And in fact, if I ask you, dear listener, what is your personal strategy for fulfilling the Great Commission? Do you have an answer? What are you doing right now to fulfill the Great Commission? Do you have a quick and ready answer? Are you ministry mannered? Are you all talk and no action? Are you concerning yourself with the kingdom of God?
Speaker 2:You see, god has promised to provide you and me with food, shelter and clothing, on the presupposition that we are concerning ourselves with the kingdom of God and His righteousness. The material needs will follow automatically when we concern ourselves with the kingdom of God. And more than that, jesus, who is the Prince of Peace, promised us that we can rest in His peace if we concern ourselves with the kingdom of God and His righteousness. You see, the peace of God follows on the heels and is the cure for anxiety when we concern ourselves with the kingdom of God. Isaiah 26, 3 tells us that thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee. When we fix our mind on Jesus, when we fix our mind on the kingdom of God and his righteousness, perfect peace is our inheritance. And then the last thing in this verse it tells us is not to worry about the future. You see, god is in control of the future. He holds the future in his hands and the passage of scripture tells us not to fret about the future. Don't worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will care for itself. Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness and not to fret yourself with tomorrow, about the future. Now, worrying and planning are two different things. I know people who worry and then they never, ever plan. And then I know folks who plan and then they still fret and worry, despite all their planning.
Speaker 2:My advice to you is to make your plans but then trust. Trust in the Lord. It's advisable that we do our planning, but then we have to put our trust in God. Proverbs 3, 5, and 6 is a good passage for all of us to commit to memory. The scripture says, verse 5, trust in the Lord with all your heart and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways, acknowledge Him and he will make your path straight. You see, we have to make our own plans, but at the same time we have to trust in God, and when we're trusting in him, god directs our steps. The heart of man makes a plan, but it's the Lord who directs our steps. We trust in the Lord with all our hearts but at the same time we acknowledge God and we acknowledge that he is the one who directs our steps. Make your plans, but trust in the Lord.
Speaker 2:My patients ask me all the time, doc, how are you doing? And I say to them I'm having more fun than a doctor ought to be allowed to have. Why am I having fun? It's because I'm serving the Lord and I'm trusting in the Lord. You see, I am ministry minded and I'm ministry mannered. I don't practice medicine to make money. I practice medicine to minister to my patients. I am there for the opportunities to share the gospel and to do biblical counseling, and the Lord takes care of the rest. He takes care of the finances, but I am there not for runny noses and coughs and colds and hemorrhoids. You see, I'm there to share the gospel with my patients. I'm there to pray with them. I'm there to hold their hands through the difficult times of life and to share biblical principles of life. And that's what's so much fun about practicing medicine. It's the ministry of medicine, and I hope that you look at your job, your vocation as a ministry an opportunity to minister and be the aroma of Christ in your workplace, to be friends with your coworkers and to share with them the life of Christ, to be a channel of blessing to all the folks that are around you. And when they ask you how you're doing, you just tell them you're having more fun than an engineer or a lineman or a homemaker ought to be allowed to have. Because, see, you're the aroma of Christ in your home or in your workplace and it's the life of Jesus flowing through you into the life of the people around you. It's because you're ministry minded and you're ministry mannered.
Speaker 2:Now go back to the original quote, the original story. When I came up to the gate and I asked my daughters, what are you girls doing? What did they say? Just playing, daddy, just playing.
Speaker 2:You see, you and I go through life and we all have cares, we all have responsibilities, and sometimes we allow those cares and stresses and anxieties to press us down, don't we? Well, the Bible says to cast all your cares on him because he cares for you. Don't let the cares of life press you down. Jesus has told us that we can roll those over onto him. Just like we can roll money from one bank account to another. You can roll your cares onto Jesus and he's got big, broad, strong shoulders and he can take those cares away.
Speaker 2:He intends for you and me to go through life having fun, just like my daughters did, in that safe, protected backyard. Your Heavenly Father loves you, he provides for you, he protects you and he intends for you and me to go through life having fun. He intends for you and me to go through life serving and trusting Trusting in Jesus and loving Him and enjoying the life that he's given to you and me. He offers us the peace of God that passes all understanding. You're listening to Devotions with Dr Papa. If you like it, follow it, share it, download it, tell your friends about Devotions with Dr Papa Until next week. I pray the Lord will bless you. Real good.
Speaker 1:Thank you for listening to this edition of More Than Medicine, and until next week, I pray the Lord will bless you. Real good.
