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Marijuana

November 5, 2019
11052019WEEKLYDEVOTIONS

“Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:6-7, NIV 1984).

 

She was middle aged, chronically anxious and doing well from her past cancer. When I asked her about her weight, she replied, “I was losing weight until I started smoking marijuana.”

 

“Don’t you know that marijuana is harmful to you?” I cautioned her. “How often do you smoke it?”

 

“About seven nights a week. It makes me feel good, and I don’t feel anxious when I smoke it.”

 

She would not listen to my warnings, but I was able to negotiate her down to three nights a week. My parting shot as she walked out of the examining room was, “Please, smoke less and pray more.”

 

We all have times of anxiety. Most of us suffer such feelings for short periods, around difficult life circumstances. A few of us face anxiety every day, as a fabric sewn into our lives. Even those who follow of the Prince of Peace have times of anxiety.

 

The root of anxiety is a fear of the future. Sometimes the cause of that fear can be identified. Sometimes it cannot. Even the Prince of Peace felt fear for His future (Mark 14:33-34).

 

The question is not whether Christians have anxiety. The question is how we deal with it.

Perhaps, we should do what Jesus did with His fear in Gethsemane:

 

We should pray.

 

We should surround ourselves with those who will watch and pray with us.

 

We should ask God to take the cause of our fear away from us, if possible.

 

We should accept His will whatever it is.

 

And now, with a risen Christ, we should ask His Spirit to walk with us through the valley of our fear.

 

I have never tried marijuana, but when it comes to managing anxiety, I bet this plan beats it, hands down.

 

“I steadier step when I recall that, if I slip, Thou dost not fall.” —Arthur Hugh Clough

 

Dear Father,

Let me rest in Thee.

Amen

Al Weir, MD

Al Weir, MD

After leaving academic medicine, Dr. Weir served in private practice at the West Clinic in Memphis, Tennessee from 1991-2005 before joining the CMDA staff as Vice President of Campus & Community Ministries where he served for three years from 2005-2008. He is presently Professor of Medicine at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center and Program Director for the Hematology/Oncology fellowship program. He is also President of Albanian Health Fund, an educational ministry to Albania where he has been serving for 20 years. He is the author of two books: When Your Doctor Has Bad News and Practice by the Book. Dr. Weir’s work has also been published in many medical journals and other publications. Al and his wife Becky live in Memphis, Tennessee, and they have three children and three grandchildren. Dr. Weir is currently serving on CMDA's Board of Trustees.