Throughout the years, health has been something I have taken for granted. In some ways, I still do. But the one thing I’ve learned in 2024 is the “domino effect.” All it takes is one issue; before you know it, that carefully constructed life of happiness starts crashing down.
Hmmm… When you diagnose yourself without the benefit of professional insight or training, you are praying for the right path. But you may just be making matters worse.
The root word of the word “diagnosis” is the Greek word diágnōsis, which comes from the words dia, meaning “between,” and gnosis, meaning “knowing.” The word was first recorded in English in 1675–85.
In other words, diagnosis is the process of getting to the solution. There may be a right or wrong prescription, and doesn’t that make it worse than you can imagine?
Even doctors with years of training are still in the process of getting the right solution!
Prescribe comes from the Latin praescribere, meaning “to write at the beginning, dictate, order.” It attaches the prefix prae- (“before“) to scribere, meaning “to write.“
Before you think this only deals with health issues, think again.
I woke up during the night. Restless. I am too far awake than I should be. But this thought kept burbling to the surface.
Before you diagnose yourself,
perhaps you need some outside insight.
Relationships? Financial? Career? Family? Health? Yes!
But never more necessary than when it comes to spiritual matters.
This is foundational. Without the right spirit, you will never be successful. Someone can lead you to the right foundation, but it will be The Spirit that draws and you who will ask and receive.
You will always follow someone, even yourself, to the issue and resolution, so why not find someone with insight you can trust?
Search me, O God,
and know my heart;
Try me,
and know my anxieties;
And see if there is any wicked way in me,
And lead me in the way everlasting.
(Psalms 139:23-24 NKJV)
I’m growing weary of watching people diagnose their spiritual condition without a spiritual leader, time in prayer, pausing to listen, laying out a better plan, and making headway with life. Most self-diagnosis is ruinous.
Think about the psalmist with me for a moment.
He did not have the internet,
Nor a phone system to “Dial a Prayer.”
His Bible was stored in his heart
From years of hearing and remembering.
When trouble strikes, David turns to God.
“Here’s my problem. Lead me. I’m yours.”
Back up to the beginning of the chapter.
David will tell you what he knows.
For the Chief Musician.
A Psalm of David. O LORD,
You have searched me and known me.
You know my sitting down and my rising up;
You understand my thought afar off.
You comprehend my path and my lying down,
And are acquainted with all my ways.
For there is not a word on my tongue,
But behold, O LORD, You know it altogether.
You have hedged me behind and before,
And laid Your hand upon me.
(Psalms 139:1-5 NKJV)
With an attitude like this, David is known to be the man after God’s own heart.
How about you? I keep trying.
Thank you for reading.
Please share with others.
It helps me get my book written!
(Below, you may find other topics similar to this one. Please read on!)