Beloved, I pray that all may go well with you and that you may be in good health, as it goes well with your soul. 3 John 1:2
God desires fullness of health and freedom from any bodily affliction which is one of God’s greatest gifts to mankind. Most importantly, he also invites us to participate in the work of restoring and stewarding our bodies. The state of the body exercises a great influence on the mind and soul.
When unhealthy, our impressions of the outward will be untrue, and our influence upon the outward will be limited and feeble. Our spiritual feelings and expressions are also considerably toned and stained by our physical condition.
Proverbs 17:22 says “A joyful heart is a good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones”.
God’s plan for man was never to be unhealthy or out of shape. So many people including us believers fall into the trap of thinking that God finds no worries in seeing a sick Christian (but no, he does). That is far from the truth. As Jesus walked on this earth fully reincarnated as man, one of His most proactive ministries was the healing of sickness and affliction.
The Scripture tells us in Matthew 4:23, “And he went throughout all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction among the people.”
An unhealthy lifestyle can be caused by so many things, not just what we eat or drink but through sin passed on from generation to generations and most importantly ignorance of God’s laws (take a look at the Laws of Moses especially Leviticus which is regarded as a book of health laws) or sometimes simply just affliction from an enemy that doesn’t want you to experience the fullness of God’s plan in your life.
Psalm 38:3 reminds us that, “There is no soundness in my flesh because of thy anger; neither is there any rest in my bones because of my sin.” This simply implies that the absence of God in our spiritual life can lead to sickness and disease. This is not to say that all the people who are sick are not right with God, but we live in an imperfect world that needs more of God’s grace to sustain us.
God’s goodness and fullness have always brought forth a flow of healing and goodness not just upon the body, but even our souls and spirits. As God heals hopelessness, uncertainty, anxiety, lack, fear and so much more, He also brings healing upon our physical bodies. And just as God gives us the enabling grace to say no to the sin that entraps our spirits, He also gives us the grace to be good stewards of our body to exercise, eat right and still live a healthy life in Christ.
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