THE REALITY WITHIN (II)
“They that observe lying vanities Forsake their own mercy.” Jonah 2:8 KJV
Yesterday we looked at the placebo effect and how faith can activate the body’s own healing systems. While some may place their faith in the treatment itself, we who have been called into His glorious light know to place our faith in God above all else.
With that said, there is an opposing concept known as the nocebo effect, a phenomenon where negative expectations or beliefs can produce harmful or unpleasant physical effects, even when the treatment or stimulus is harmless.
For instance, if someone is told that a certain food, drink, or activity causes headaches, they may actually develop one, even if the substance itself is benign. Likewise, studies have shown that when people anxiously anticipate side effects from a diagnosis or medication, some go on to experience real symptoms, and in severe cases, these stress-related responses can significantly worsen their health.
This happens because the brain’s fear and stress pathways (through hormones like cortisol and adrenaline) can create tangible physical changes in the body.
When Christ declared, “I am the way, the truth, and the life,” He was not referring to a road one travels by foot or a destination to be reached, but to a divine mode of living and perceiving; a higher consciousness of truth and life in God. To walk in the Way is to align your thoughts, emotions, and responses with His nature, not the world’s fears.
Beloved, as our theme verse reminds us, there is such a thing as observing lying vanities, which is giving undue attention to illusions that contradict the truth of God’s Word. Many of the ailments and anxieties we see, even among Spirit-filled believers, are rooted in this misplaced focus.
Let your testimony be different. Let it be said of you that your unshakable confidence in the One who dwells within you defines how everything else responds in your world.
Prayer: My Father, I thank you for the gift of your Holy Spirt dwelling in me bodily. As my mind is transformed, as every thought that opposes truth is held captive, I experience a life of victory and triumph that the world cannot offer. In you I live and have my being, and I am kept by Christ through truth, until that day — to the glory of your name. Amen!
CI.
RELATED RESOURCES
• Isaiah 26:3
• Proverbs 4:23
• Philippians 4:6
