From the moment I had my first seizure, I tried to hold on to this verse.
Having peace in God in the midst of my world of seizures, addiction, and depression required much faith.
Faith is belief in something that cannot be seen. Having faith is a decision based on life experiences, which are different for everyone.
I became a Christian when I was seven years old. I went to church, did Bible studies, and said my prayers. But something was always missing.
Is it possible to have faith in someone you don’t really know?
I knew about a lot about God, but I didn’t know him personally. For seven years I struggled with my demons and with God, questioning his plan and his purpose. I pleaded with him to help me understand my situation—why all of this was happening to me.
It took seven years for me to get to the end of myself. It was then that my desire to know him overcame the desire to solve my problems.
Once my greatest desire was to know Him, my life changed overnight. He healed me completely of the seizures, depression, and addiction.
Now for the sciency stuff:
Research conducted at Duke University and the Durham VA Hospital has shown that individuals who pray, read scripture, or participate in regular religious services are less likely to suffer with depression than non-religious control subjects and achieve remission more readily if depression does develop.
This type of research is really a no-brainer to me, as it would be to most Christians.
What this study could not evaluate, however, was faith. It is the people who pray and read scripture that will have faith, and faith is essential for happiness.
If we get to know God—build a relationship with him—it will be much easier to trust his plan, for He has overcome the world.
Making the conscious choice to get to know Him and have faith in Him decreases stress, reduces anxiety, and relieves fear…all of which decrease the amount of cortisol and increases the amount of serotonin we have in our bodies.
My hubby loves the book “The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People” in which Steven Covey describes our circle of influence and our circle of concern.
Our Circle of Influence encompasses those concerns that we can do something about. They are concerns that we have some control over.(1)
Our Circle of Concern encompasses the wide range of concerns we have, such as our health, our children, problems at work, the amount of government borrowing, or the threat of war.(1)
When we have faith in a God that has already overcome the world, we don’t worry about those situations in our Circle of Concern. We put those concerns in His hands.
There is much happiness to be found in faith. Faith gives you freedom. Freedom from worry. Freedom from fear. Freedom in knowing that God has everything under control. He’s got this!
I challenge you to get to know Him. Ask God to help you get to know Him. Search for Him. Just be ready. When you find him, your life will never be the same.
From my heart,
Celeste
