Have You Really Tried Everything?

As a little boy back in St. Vincent, there was this song that I heard that somehow stayed with me through the years.  The main lyrics were, “If you’ve tried and everything and everything failed, try Jesus.”  I haven’t heard or thought of that song in years but last week it came to me, out of nowhere and set my mind to thinking.  Sometimes when things are going bad for us, we say “I’ve tried everything.”  Doctors, shrinks, card readers, psychics, friends with bad advice, whatever, but did we really? Everything?

Back in St. Vincent, the wise old ones had a cure for whatever ails you.  Everyone had their own concoction, some bordering on ridiculous and some downright ridiculous.  I suffered from asthma and drank everything ranging from old water collected from a tree with mosquito larvae and all.  The next step was to drink the water from a boiled lizard.  Boiled live by the way, but thank goodness, my aunt balked at the idea and couldn’t go through with it.  Even though we were a strong christian family, no one thought to pray.  In fact it might have seem ridiculous at the time.  Even more so than boiled lizard.  Lying there praying to God when I could be drinking some fix-me-upper?  Well as Christians who believe their God can do anything, why wouldn’t I?  He works in mysterious ways so one really doesn’t have to literally lie there and pray.  Maybe we could ask him about the lizard and the larvae infested water?  Maybe he wants us to drink it.  It’s like asking your parents if you could eat the candy you found at the park.  Well somewhat.

If we can’t use God when we are sick and hurting, then seriously when can we use him?  Today, if you are ailing or facing obstacles that you cannot navigate through, why not give God a shot at fixing it?  If you are a non-believer, it could still work in your best interest because you really have nothing to lose, do you?  But you have everything to gain.   A win-win situation.  When your life is at stake, you deserve to try everything, so don’t shortchange yourself, try everything.  Try God.

Related articles

• God Never Fails (thanksforlettingmeshare.com)
• Song of the Week: “Jesus Messiah” (3pastorsofperinton.org)