The three Aspects of life that we highlighted last month are Security, Health and Spirit.  Previously, we covered the first aspect of Security and now we will move onto Health.

Physical health is an important aspect of one’s life, and we are not only talking about a workout routine or dietary habits. Important as staying in shape and eating right is, we would like to discuss the ramifications that one’s spiritual status and emotional well-being has on his/hers health.  Peace cannot be found in the form of a pill.  This is not an attack on modern medicine, as there are many benefits to it, but it is to show you realities that science also recognizes the fact that fear, stress, sorrow, resentment, bitterness, hatred, and all forms of bad emotions affect a person’s health.  In the medical world, there is study that is intricate to new drug treatment trials known as the placebo effect: Definition - beneficial effect, produced by a placebo drug or treatment, that cannot be attributed to the properties of the placebo itself, and must therefore be due to the patient's belief in that treatment.  Basically, the placebo effect is a test where a patient is given a pill, or some form of treatment, that is nothing more than a useless tablet or treatment holding no known medical healing properties. However, the patient is told that it is, actually, a pill or treatment that will heal or help the ailment in their body.  Thus, as a result of the patient’s belief or faith in that treatment, a response can be measured as to the placebo effect and the power of belief, or more accurately, their faith.  So, if a measured response can be had by the power of believing in a tablet, how much more can you unlock the health and healing found by believing in the Living God?  We’ll get into this a bit later, but one point we want to show is that modern medicine also agrees in the power of belief and even proves the power of faith in their medical trials.  If you want a healthy body, you need a healthy mind and spirit.  People everywhere are sacrificing their health by exchanging their happiness and peace for the endless drive of inflated security needs.  Stress kills.  Worry kills.  Heartache kills.  All forms of emotions that are bad will kill.  These oppressive emotions are the driving forces of disease and a shortened life.  Even doctors will tell their patients, you need to have less stress and worry in your life.  But many times, especially in the case of emotional sickness and stress, doctors will only prescribe a pill.  If you want healing, know this--GOD CAN HEAL YOU!  However, even in the Christian community, many believe that God doesn’t heal the sick anymore.  Critics will say, God did away with healing in the early church.  Well, we would then ask, did God also do away with faith or the prayer of faith? (James 5:14-15). If the faith is done away with, then there is no salvation.  The scripture states that we are saved by faith, and therefore, if He did away with one of His promises, then all of them must be gone, because all the promises of God are received by faith (Heb. 11:33). James emphatically states that the prayer of faith will save or (heal) the sick (James 5:15). You cannot believe for healing if you don’t know that it is God’s will for you to be healed, and you cannot be saved if you do not know it is His will to save you. The same principle of faith that applies to salvation, also applies to healing.  God heals today the same as he did throughout all time to those that have faith (Heb. 13:8). Health and healing are in your midst, you must only believe.

How do I get healing?  The Bible is very clear about divine healing (Isa. 53:4-5, Ps. 103:3, Ex. 15:26, Ps. 107:20, Matt. 8:17, James 5:14-15, 1 Peter 2:24) but to summarize it: it’s about your faith.  Even Jesus himself could not work miracles if it was not coupled with faith to receive it (Mark 6:5-6).  

I am a Christian, I believe, so why don’t I have my Healing?  Well here is an illustration that might help to answer that question:  If a doctor prescribed you an antibiotic to take 3 times a day for one week until the infection was suppose to be gone, what would do?  Follow the doctor’s orders, right?  If you didn’t do that, then you would have your answer as to why you were still sick with an infection.  Similarly, many times Christians do this:  I have a sickness and need healing.  I will do a quick five minute prayer and hope for the best.  Is this faith?  No.  Are we then suggesting it takes work to get healing? Never.  But it does take a faith and belief in your heart and that has to be built up in you. (Romans 10:17).  For this reason (not understanding faith), many Christians form the belief that healing is mysterious and will tell others the clichéd statements that sound like this, “God’s will be done. If He chooses, He will heal you.”  Statements like this are just empty and uncertain talk that only destroys faith and not encourages it.  Here is a fact you need to get into your heart--God wants you healed!  God doesn’t want you sick, hurting or downtrodden.  His body was broken for our healing! (Isa. 53:5).   

So how does a person build up their faith for healing? Without beating around the bush, we want to lay out a very direct path for you to start building up your faith and seeing healing come into your life immediately.  If you do this, you will see mountains move, divine healing happen and the peace of the Lord flood your entire being.  What is it you ask?  Meditate on the Word of God concerning the promises of healing. Reading the Bible is commendable, but reading scriptures about the end times will not secure your healing. You must read, study and meditate on the scriptures concerning faith and healing to secure that in your life. No amount of pleading, begging and crying to the Father God will obtain the healing that we desire. We must come on the basis of faith, for without faith, it is impossible to please God (Heb. 11:6).  If you abide in Him and His words abide in you, you will believe healing is yours.  Faith is more than just mantras and repetition of words, it is knowing it in your heart and believing it as truth.  If this is working in your life you will say in confidence, “I am healed in Jesus’ name.  According to the word of God, healing is mine. By His stripes I am healed.”   

Ever present Health:  Having Health is not only about getting divine healing or getting freed from sickness, it is also about stopping the diseases before they even come.  John states that believers should be in good health (3 John 1:2) but this is contingent on our soul prospering. This means that you have to deal with the burdens, cares, worries, fears, sorrows, heartache, nervousness, anger, hatred, or anything of the sort.  These bad emotions are all like a virus in your soul that will affect your physical body if not stopped.  Check yourself, are you happy?  Are you at peace? Are you fulfilled?  If you feel the answer is no, then the enemy will heap all the wrong emotions upon you and grind you down to sickness and mental fatigue.  Do you remember when you were most happy in your life?  No one would ever answer it was when they were sick.  So sickness goes hand-in-hand with oppression.  Pay attention to your body.  If you are out of shape, it will produce the emotions of condemnation, self-hate, and worry.  Be active and change it.  For even if you are the richest person in the world and you are suffering from an illness or are emotionally unhealthy, you will be miserable.  You get one body in this life.  Is it worth it to destroy it for only the pursuit of money or temporal things of this world?  Find a balance and treat your temple of the Holy Spirit right.  Be in tune with your spirit and you will see your heart happy and your body healed.  God wants you healthy and leading a full life.  You can have it.  Believe it and take faith!