The Hit Won't Heal You
Hebrews 12:11 (NIV)
No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.
We live in a culture addicted to the next hit—another scroll, another sweet, another swipe, another show. The problem isn’t just that these pleasures exist; it’s that we’ve come to depend on them as our emotional medicine. When we feel bored, anxious, rejected, or restless, we reach for the thing that numbs instead of the One who heals. But dopamine—our brain’s feel-good chemical—was never meant to medicate our pain. It was designed to motivate us toward purpose. If we keep spending it on distraction, we’ll have nothing left for destiny.
Science tells us that passive pleasures—like sugar, social media, or impulsive shopping—give a quick dopamine spike, followed by a crash that leaves us more depleted than before. But active effort—like prayer, forgiveness, honesty, or fasting—releases dopamine more slowly and sustainably. In other words, you feel better after doing the hard thing, not before. Hebrews 12:11 confirms this: discipline is painful in the moment, but it’s producing something real and lasting—righteousness and peace.
The truth is: the hit won’t heal you. It may soothe your emotions for a second, but it can’t restore your soul. Only Jesus can. And He often meets us not in the escape, but in the endurance—in the choice to feel the weight, hold the line, and walk through it with Him instead of around it. The more we choose discipline over distraction, the more we experience the reward of joy that actually satisfies.
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Prayer:
Father, help me recognize the cheap hits I’ve been chasing. Show me where I’ve been numbing instead of healing. Teach me to crave what is good, even when it’s hard. I want the joy that lasts, not the thrill that fades. Give me the strength to choose discipline, knowing it’s producing peace in me.
In Jesus’ name, Amen.
⸻
Action Step:
Today, identify one “quick hit” you tend to run to (social media, food, spending, etc.). When you feel the urge, pause and replace it with something that requires purpose—pray, journal, stretch, or simply sit in silence with God for 5 minutes.
No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.
We live in a culture addicted to the next hit—another scroll, another sweet, another swipe, another show. The problem isn’t just that these pleasures exist; it’s that we’ve come to depend on them as our emotional medicine. When we feel bored, anxious, rejected, or restless, we reach for the thing that numbs instead of the One who heals. But dopamine—our brain’s feel-good chemical—was never meant to medicate our pain. It was designed to motivate us toward purpose. If we keep spending it on distraction, we’ll have nothing left for destiny.
Science tells us that passive pleasures—like sugar, social media, or impulsive shopping—give a quick dopamine spike, followed by a crash that leaves us more depleted than before. But active effort—like prayer, forgiveness, honesty, or fasting—releases dopamine more slowly and sustainably. In other words, you feel better after doing the hard thing, not before. Hebrews 12:11 confirms this: discipline is painful in the moment, but it’s producing something real and lasting—righteousness and peace.
The truth is: the hit won’t heal you. It may soothe your emotions for a second, but it can’t restore your soul. Only Jesus can. And He often meets us not in the escape, but in the endurance—in the choice to feel the weight, hold the line, and walk through it with Him instead of around it. The more we choose discipline over distraction, the more we experience the reward of joy that actually satisfies.
⸻
Prayer:
Father, help me recognize the cheap hits I’ve been chasing. Show me where I’ve been numbing instead of healing. Teach me to crave what is good, even when it’s hard. I want the joy that lasts, not the thrill that fades. Give me the strength to choose discipline, knowing it’s producing peace in me.
In Jesus’ name, Amen.
⸻
Action Step:
Today, identify one “quick hit” you tend to run to (social media, food, spending, etc.). When you feel the urge, pause and replace it with something that requires purpose—pray, journal, stretch, or simply sit in silence with God for 5 minutes.
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