Potential Side Effects

Does this worry you, as it does me?  Television commercials for new medications have long been required by the government to clearly present all of the major Potential Side Effects which the patient is exposed to by taking this medication.  The other day I noticed that even for very different medications the Potential Side Effects were virtually the same.

Check out this list of Potential Side Effects and remember that this list is coming from the company who created this new medication, so I cannot doubt that by taking this medication these side effects actually have occurred with the sample of humans who took the drug prior to it being accepted and available to the public.  Here is the list: “If [any of the following happens, call your doctor and go to the Emergency Room right away]:  pancreatitis, gall bladder and kidney problems, heart attack, stroke, low blood pressure, high blood pressure, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, and (rarely) death.”

Seriously, I always respond very negatively to this listing of Potential Side Effects and come away saying to myself [and sometimes out loud if no one else is in the room with me], “Whew, sure am glad I don’t have to take that medication!”  Then I immediately start thinking about the pills I am taking and whether those same Potential Side Effects were listed by the manufacturer when my medication first came on the market. 

The Christ-follower has a list of Potential Side Effects from being “all in” with devotion and commitment to the Lord Jesus Christ.  I have mentioned before the Dolindo Prayer of Surrender and the application to this topic is too rich to overlook.  [See my January 10, 2023, blog “Take Care of Everything”]. If we “surrender all things in our life to the Lord, then he is faithful to take care of everything.”  So, the Potential Side Effects of taking the “total surrender” pill boil down to this: “if we take that pill of surrender, then He is faithful to take care of everything.”

However, can it be that the Lord’s “taking care of” something in my life may not at all be exactly what I have concluded should happen!  Dealing with the Lord’s will for my life may indeed result in Potential Side Effects which are polar opposite of what I have been praying for.  When Jesus prayed in the garden for God to change the plan for Him to suffer death on the cross, His honest prayer was “nevertheless, not my will but thine be done” [Luke 22:42 KJV]. 

To me, the real question for us is this: as we Christ-followers pray for God’s will to be done in our lives, will we be guided by this part of The Merton Prayer: “Lord, I hope and pray that everything I do in my life pleases you and that I do nothing which does not please you.”  So, if I take the pill called “surrender to God” then I can feel confident that God is in control of my life so that He will only allow the Potential Side Effects which He desires for me to experience, be it joy, happiness, suffering, pain, or (even rarely) death.  Lord please bless us and help us honestly seek your will for every aspect of our lives.                                                                                                                                                                                                         

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