Several days ago, my son had a very bad sore throat. It was hard for him to swallow. He had a fever of 101. You could tell just by looking at him that he was sick.

We gave him ibuprofen to help relieve the pain, but knew we weren’t curing him of anything. He needed medicine to deal with the infection. Our family doctor prescribed an antibiotic and within several hours of taking the first dose, my son was already beginning to feel better.

That was four days ago. Today, he feels 100% better, but knows he needs to finish out the course of the antibiotic to be completely well. The symptoms may be gone, but it doesn’t mean the bacteria that caused the infection are all gone yet.

The first migraine I ever remember was during my sophomore year of high school. I was almost 16-years-old. The Green-White intra-squad football scrimmage was coming up and I was very worried. I was afraid I would have to play against the seniors who were much bigger, stronger and faster. My anxiety led to the migraine.

If I had only known the truth, I could have avoided the severe pain that a migraine causes. The scrimmage wasn’t a big deal after all. Mostly I played against other sophomores. There never was anything to worry about.

I wish I could say I’ve never experienced another migraine, but I have. Just about any time I allow myself to become overly worried, I get a migraine.

Fortunately, I have a prescription that I can take when I feel one coming on. It knocks it out in about 45 minutes. What I really need to do though is get my worry and anxiety under control.

I could take another pill to do that, but I would still only be treating symptoms. Would that be wrong? No, I believe it could be helpful to sometimes take medication that would help control worry or anxiety or depression, especially when a chemical imbalance is involved. But along with the medication, there’s some more work to be done. Some more digging. Digging to get us to the root.

There’s something deeper than worry and anxiety just as there is something deeper than a sore throat. We’re still only dealing with symptoms. The goal is to attack the root of the problem.

So what was at the root of my migraine leading up to the football scrimmage?

The root problem was a wrong belief. I believed I would have to play against much bigger players, which might lead to me getting injured or at least playing poorly and being embarrassed. My wrong belief caused me to worry and feel anxious. My body’s reaction to the stress was a migraine.

Maybe you don’t get migraines, but you probably can relate because you have other symptoms. Fatigue? Stomach pain? Neck or back pain? Hives? If not those, then probably something else.

Do you feel angry or depressed?

Are you worried? Anxious? Afraid?

Are you ashamed? Lonely? Guilty?

Maybe you’re bored or confused or disappointed.

What is it?

And how are you dealing with what you’re feeling? There’s a healthy way to deal with your symptoms, but there are also many destructive behaviors.

Destructive behaviors include denying you have a problem, substance abuse, blaming others, isolating yourself from others and rebelling against authority. There are others, but that covers a lot of what we do.

Engaging in those destructive behaviors don’t really even deal with the symptoms we’re experiencing. In fact, they make them even worse. That’s why they’re called destructive behaviors!

The real solution is to believe the truth. And ultimately, that requires that we know what God says about our situation, about ourselves and most importantly–what He says about Himself.

John 8:31-32 says:

To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”

If you believe (trust) Jesus and will live according to His teaching, then you are a disciple of His, a learner of His, a follower of His. Then you will know the truth and it will set you free. You will be free from the bondage of fear or worry or any other negative emotion…and the potentially destructive behaviors we engage in to deal with them.

The truth sets us free, but it can’t set us free if we don’t know what it is.

If we don’t choose to spend generous amounts of time in His word, then we will fall victim to the lies the world tells us. We will believe something. If it’s not the truth, then it will be a lie.

The truth leads to freedom.

The lie leads to bondage.

Which are you experiencing today?

Actually, I can tell you.

If you spend hours everyday watching television and movies, cruising around on Facebook, listening to secular music and listening to the opinions of friends who are also spending hours everyday in the same activities, but hardly any time in God’s word, then I’ll bet you’re in bondage. To something.

You may be involved in some of the destructive behaviors I mentioned earlier. You’re probably experiencing one or more physical symptoms. And I’m sure you’re dealing with negative emotions.

How could you not be?

Again, the only real solution is to get to the root of the problem–your wrong beliefs–and then replace them with the truth of God’s word.

By the way, I’m not suggesting it’s wrong to watch television or spend time on Facebook (I enjoy both)…unless it consumes so much of your time that you’re not consuming the truth.