The first principle of healthy living is simply to understand that God truly wants you to be healthy.
It is natural for all of us to desire physical health with a body that is free of disease and functioning at its best.
I personally believe that it is also God’s desire that we be healthy; this was certainly part of His plan for us as we see it in the Garden of Eden.
In 3 John 2, the following prayer is offered: “Dear friend, I pray that you may enjoy good health and that all may go well with you, even as your soul is getting along well.” And in John 10:10, Christ says, “ ... I came so that they might have life and have it more abundantly” (New American Standard Bible).
Now the abundant life would seem to include our mental, emotional and spiritual health, which are far more significant than our physical health, but I think that “abundant life” could normally be interpreted to include our physical health as well. If that were not true, then why would Christ’s ministry here on earth have so heavily emphasized the physical healing of the sick and related it so closely to the principles of spiritual health?
Medical science tells us that many of our bodily illnesses are really psychosomatic — that is to say, they are mind-induced or at least mind-assisted. Therefore, when we become exposed to a disease or when we think we might be coming down with one, our mental reaction to the situation might be a key to the outcome. There is nothing wrong with taking all the reasonable medical precautions, but it would also be appropriate to claim God’s basic intention that we be healthy and to pray for good health.
Of course, if we do become ill, we should not necessarily interpret this as an indication of our lack of trust in God. Often, God has some very worthwhile lessons to teach us in sickness. If we become ill, then the appropriate step is to fully receive and apply to our lives whatever it is that God wants to show us.
This article was originally published in “Managing Yourself” by Steve Douglass.
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