I’ve recently “re-branded” this blog for various reasons. One
is that I’m changing the focus just a little bit…
Where is God in our pursuit of health and handling of
illness? He created the world and our bodies perfect and to live forever.
But since sin has messed everything up, where does that leave us? How should we
view health and illness?
Health is not
valued till sickness comes. - Thomas Fuller
I chose this quote as the header for this blog because it’s
very true. Most of the time when a baby is born God gifts them with a perfectly
formed body, healthy and fully-functioning organs and an amazing immune system.
Yet how often do we think about this gift and thank Him for it? Further, how
much do we strive to care for this gift He has given?
Don’t you realize that your body is the temple of the
Holy Spirit,
who lives in you and was given to you by God?
You do not belong to
yourself, for God bought you with a high price.
So you must honor God with your
body.
- 1 Cor 6:19-20
The Bible actually has some things to say about how we care
for our bodies, what we should eat and put into our bodies and how we should
treat the world that gives us our food. How we care for our bodies impacts our
long-term health. He’s also given us a mind in order to think and learn, and we
are responsible to find out what’s best for our bodies.
There’s also a strong inter-connection between spirit and
body. We are both body and spirit, and the two are so interconnected it is sometimes
almost impossible to separate them. A person can be unconscious and still
hear what is going on around them. They can be “brain dead” but their spirit
still be aware of what is happening. We are called in Scripture to “love God
with all our hearts, mind and strength” (Deut. 6:5). I took a spiritual and physical
fitness class once where we learned about physical exercise but also how the
attitude towards fitness carries over into our spiritual life and how our spiritual
and physical fitness affect each other. I do not like to run… but I did run for
a few years not just because of the physical benefits, but because I actually
found it spiritually strengthening as well. We are to “run with endurance the
race set before us” (Heb 12:1), and physically running reminded me of this and
encouraged me to press on spiritually as well.
The medical evidence is clear and mounting. It’s no
exaggeration
to say that bitterness is a dangerous drug in any dosage and that
your
very health is at risk if you stubbornly persist in being unforgiving.
-
Lee Strobel
It’s also true that things like stress and sins like anger
and bitterness can affect our physical health. Anxiety is exhausting.
Depression weakens the body. Anger makes you tense.
Mental health struggles can often mask physical problems as
well…. Or vice versa. And sometimes they can be so intertwined it can be hard
to tell what is causing what.
I venture to say that the greatest earthly blessing that
God can give
to any of us is health, with the exception of sickness.
Sickness
has frequently been of more use to the saints of God than health has.
- Charles
Spurgeon
It’s important to remember that sickness, while an effect of
the curse of sin, is not a “punishment of God” or “lack of faith”. It is
something He allows – usually for reasons we cannot understand. And Scripture
is clear that God uses and even redeems sickness for His glory!
In John 9, Jesus encounters a man who was born blind from
birth. Something didn’t form right when he was growing in his mother’s womb.
Why did God allow this? Jesus’ disciples were wondering to… “Rabbi, who sinned,
this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” (verse 2). Jesus’ response is
amazing, “It was not that this man sinned, or his parents, but that the
works of God might be displayed in him.” One’s disability, one’s sickness,
is an instrument for God to display His glory. (For an amazing sermon on this
passage by John Piper see here.)
Sickness, illness, disability…. They are sometimes
unavoidable. But when things are avoidable or treatable, we should want to know
about them. And at least in our culture, good health is never the result of careless living (although
sometimes it might seem like it). Good health, like all good things, must be
pursued and cared for.
While I’ll continue many of the same things as before
(sharing things I’m learning, reviewing companies/products, etc.) I’m going
to seek to look at things more with a Biblical lens and why to pursue
healthier options as well as discussing current events and research in the
medical/health field.
Thanks for reading, I look forward to this adventure and welcome you to share things you've learned as well!
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