An acquaintance of mine, with whom I spent time, was recently diagnosed with a COVID infection. We were both vaccinated so it came as a surprise to both of us. I last saw him four days earlier when he informed me of his diagnosis. Coincidentally around the same time, I had been having some mild flu-like symptoms. In fact, others who had also been exposed to this same person also began reporting similar symptoms. Naturally, we all assumed it must be COVID. As I searched for a location to perform the rapid COVID testing, I sensed my symptoms worsening. I grew dizzy and at one point, needed to lie down. I isolated myself from my family and the rest of my office staff as I waited out the few hours until my test appointment.
I took the test and within thirty minutes, I had my answer. Negative! I immediately praised God and texted my family with the good news. However, there was still an unanswered question, what was causing my symptoms? I was grasping at every disease and making my signs and symptoms fit a disease, reinforced by the feelings of others who were exposed to the same person. Circumstantial evidence is very persuasive. I should have taken a step back and re-evaluated everything. I had not been sleeping well and my workload had been much higher than usual. Add in a couple of late nights during the week and the fatigue caught up with me. I simply needed to rest and slow down.
Two years after I became a Christian, I graduated from college and began to explore options for a new home church. At the invitation of a friend, I spent several months in a church and was exposed to teachings that were in conflict with what I learned when I first became a Christian. The believers I met appeared sincere and as I spent more time with this church, I allowed myself to accept many of their teachings, in spite of nagging doubts. As I searched the Bible for answers, prayed to God, and sought the counsel of wise brothers and sisters in Jesus Christ, I learned how many of the teachings were heretical and un-Biblical and left this church.
Then we will no longer be little children, tossed by the waves and blown around by every wind of teaching, by human cunning with cleverness in the techniques of deceit.
Ephesians 4:14 (CSB)
Like the recent scare of my possible COVID infection, I allowed myself to be influenced by circumstances, persuaded by those around me instead of carefully examining the situation. How many other times has this happened in my life? Perhaps it has also happened to you? It is difficult to accurately interpret our circumstances. Alone, we are helpless. Only by turning to God and accepting His invitation to place Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior will we be able to find wisdom and stability in a world that pulls at us in every direction in a desperate attempt to turn our attention away from the Truth.
Amen!
Love and trust the Lord; seek His will in your life.
The Bereans Blog 
An outstanding share! I have just forwarded this onto a co-worker who has been doing a little research on this.
And he actually ordered me lunch simply because I found it for him…
lol. So allow me to reword this…. Thank YOU for the meal!!
But yeah, thanks for spending some time to discuss this subject here
on your web page.
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