Love: The Power to Heal

Above all, keep fervent in your love for one another, because love covers a multitude of sins. (1 Peter 4:8)

Sin is the number one cause of all sickness and disease in the world today. When God first created the world, it was a perfect world with no faults: no sickness or disease, and no sin.

It is true that not all sickness is a direct cause of personal sin (personal sin in the life of the one who is sick). As we have seen in previous devotionals studying the life of David, for example, we see that David was often sick, and that the cause of his sickness was sometimes his own personal sin, but at other times the sins of others who were persecuting him. We also see in John chapter 9 that a man born blind was not suffering from his sins or the sins of his parents in his blindness. But ultimately, sin is the root cause of all sickness (whether it is our own personal sin directly causing it or not), because if sin had never entered the world, God’s perfect creation would have continued in its perfect state where sickness did not exist.

The Biblical pattern for dealing with sickness is much different than it is today, where most people view sickness as strictly a physical issue, and only seek physical remedies. In James chapter 5 we have the Biblical pattern: Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer of faith will save the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working. (James 5:14-16)

So if sin is the number one cause of sickness, shouldn’t we be concentrating our efforts in overcoming the effects of sin to live healthy lives? One of the things we see in the Bible that is very powerful in overcoming the effects of sin is love.

Above all, keep fervent in your love for one another, because love covers a multitude of sins. (1 Peter 4:8)

Hatred stirs up strife, but love covers all offenses. (Proverbs 10:12)

Of course, “love” is something that needs to be defined, because western culture and the English language has a very weak understanding of “love.” When we read the English translations of the Bible and read the English word “love”, there are actually many Greek words (Greek was the language the New Testament was written in) that are translated by our English word for “love.” The three most common ones are: philia, eros, and agape. “Philia” describes a “brotherly” love one has for family and friends. “Eros” describes a passionate or romantic love such as exists between a husband and wife. But the word used for “love” most often in the New Testament is “agape”, which often represents an unconditional love that is completely independent of feelings. It is the word that is used, for example, when Jesus tells his disciples to not hate their enemies, but to love them (see Matthew 5:43-44). Such an act of love is done independent of feelings (who “feels like” loving their enemies?!) It is an act of the will. When Jesus went to the cross to die for our sins as an act of the most supreme love ever demonstrated, the Bible records that he prayed to God to remove that hour of darkness from his life in the moments leading up to that event. He didn’t really “feel” like going through with it. In fact, he was in agony and sweated drops of blood. But he prayed “Nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done.” (Luke 22:42) That is an example of agape love, which is a love shown and done independent of “feelings” of love.

One of the best definitions of this kind of love is found in I Corinthians chapter 13: Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends. (1 Corinthians 13:4-8)

So when Jesus commanded his disciples to love one another, he used himself as the example of the kind of love he was referring to: “This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends.” (John 15:12-13)

If love is the beautiful flower and sweet fragrance that has the power to overcome ugly sins and affect healing in people’s lives, then forgiveness is the soil that supplies the roots to that kind of love. Without forgiveness, love is impossible!

…bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. (Colossians 3:13-14)

The power of forgiveness is so important in life and health, that we can withhold God’s own love from working in our lives if we do not forgive others: For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins. (Matthew 6:14-15)

This concept of forgiveness was hard for Jesus’ disciples to understand, so he illustrated the seriousness of this truth by telling them a story:

Then Peter came up and said to him, "Lord, how often will my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? As many as seven times?" Jesus said to him, "I do not say to you seven times, but seventy times seven. Therefore the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who wished to settle accounts with his servants. When he began to settle, one was brought to him who owed him ten thousand talents. And since he could not pay, his master ordered him to be sold, with his wife and children and all that he had, and payment to be made. So the servant fell on his knees, imploring him, 'Have patience with me, and I will pay you everything.' And out of pity for him, the master of that servant released him and forgave him the debt. But when that same servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii, and seizing him, he began to choke him, saying, 'Pay what you owe.' So his fellow servant fell down and pleaded with him, 'Have patience with me, and I will pay you.' He refused and went and put him in prison until he should pay the debt. When his fellow servants saw what had taken place, they were greatly distressed, and they went and reported to their master all that had taken place. Then his master summoned him and said to him, 'You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you pleaded with me. And should not you have had mercy on your fellow servant, as I had mercy on you?' And in anger his master delivered him to the jailers, until he should pay all his debt. So also my heavenly Father will do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother from your heart." (Matthew 18:21-35)

When we are reborn into the Kingdom of Light we experience God’s forgiveness first hand, and it transforms our life. We now have the power to forgive others, even those who have hurt us deeply. Such forgiveness brings peace, and physical wellness is a by-product.

Unforgiveness, on the other hand, imprisons us and gives power to the ruler of the kingdom of darkness, which can result in all kinds of sicknesses. Paul knew that unforgiveness was one of the ways that Satan uses to harm us and affect our health, and wrote:

Now instead, you ought to forgive and comfort him, so that he will not be overwhelmed by excessive sorrow. I urge you, therefore, to reaffirm your love for him… If you forgive anyone, I also forgive him. And what I have forgiven—if there was anything to forgive—I have forgiven in the sight of Christ for your sake, in order that Satan might not outwit us. For we are not unaware of his (Satan’s) schemes. (2 Corinthians 2:7-11)

Are you suffering today from some sickness or disease that may have spiritual roots in unforgiveness? Love has the power to overcome that and make you well! But medicine and most doctors probably cannot help you in this area. You need to seek out friends who know God, who have a relationship with him and can pray for you, helping you to overcome the power of unforgiveness, anger, bitterness, and hatred in your life. God forgave us for our sins at the cross when Jesus died in our place. Now we can receive God’s power and love in our life, a love so powerful that it covers up our sins and the sins of those who have hurt us. That’s REAL healing that is available for free, and cannot be purchased with money!

He does not deal with us according to our sins, nor repay us according to our iniquities. For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him; as far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove our transgressions from us. As a father shows compassion to his children, so the LORD shows compassion to those who fear him. For he knows our frame; he remembers that we are dust. As for man, his days are like grass; he flourishes like a flower of the field; for the wind passes over it, and it is gone, and its place knows it no more. But the steadfast love of the LORD is from everlasting to everlasting… (Psalms 103:10-17)

But now faith, hope, love, abide these three; but the greatest of these is love. (1 Corinthians 13:13)

Was this article helpful to you? Share it with others:

WHO You Know is More Important than WHAT You Know!

This is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent. (John 17:3)

As someone who spent many years studying language in school and abroad, and as someone who has earned a living at teaching language, one of my favorite activities is studying the history of specific words, and how their usage has changed over time. One word that has changed in meaning quite a bit since it entered the English language is the word “science.”

Our modern day English word “science” was originally a French word derived from Latin, and in the 1300’s its meaning was very similar to the word “knowledge.” It meant the opposite of “ignorance” and generally meant something obtained by “studying.” It was not originally restricted in meaning to any particular branch of study. In the 18^th and 19^th centuries its usage was becoming more restricted, referring to a “body of regular or methodical observations or propositions ... concerning any subject or speculation,” and was often linked to the study of “philosophy.” (science. Dictionary.com. Online Etymology Dictionary. Douglas Harper, Historian.)

From the 20^th century up until today, the meaning of “science” is restricted even further, as can be seen by this definition found in a medical dictionary: “knowledge or a system of knowledge covering general truths or the operation of general laws especially as obtained and tested through the scientific method and concerned with the physical world and its phenomena.” (science. Dictionary.com. Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary. Merriam-Webster, Inc.)

This narrow understanding of “science” or “knowledge,” which only looks at what can be observed in the physical realm, is now equated with “truth,” and is considered by modern society to be more valuable than any other kind of knowledge. It has become the religion of modern man. But there is much knowledge in our world that cannot be observed in the physical realm, or “proven” by scientific discovery!

When we read the Bible, we get a much different view of “knowledge.” The most valuable knowledge is seen not as an accumulation of data, but in relationships. To truly “know” someone is not possible by simply using modern scientific methods. You can know “about someone” by studying a book written about them, for example, but to truly know another person is only possible by spending time with them. If the president of the United States walked into a place where I was visiting, I would recognize him because I know some things about him, including what he looks like. But I do not “know” him personally. There is a huge distinction in these two different kinds of knowledge. The kind of knowledge that only recognizes the president of the United States is not nearly as valuable as knowing the president of the United States on a personal level, where he would also know me.

So since there is valuable knowledge that can only be obtained via relationships (as opposed to scientific discovery or the observation of facts), which relationship is the most important? Obviously, man’s relationship to his Creator is the most important relationship! We know God by knowing Jesus:

Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me. If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also; from now on you know Him, and have seen Him.” (John 14:6-7)

My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me; and I give eternal life to them, and they will never perish; and no one will snatch them out of My hand. (John 10:27-28)

You can get to know about a person by reading a book about them, but you cannot really know a person that way. Imagine if you tried to build a marriage relationship by simply studying facts that were written about your spouse! You could read volumes and volumes of books (if they existed) about a person, but you would never really know them personally. You could never really love them simply by knowing things about them, and never having met them in person. To love someone requires a different kind of knowledge; a knowledge which is based on experience – subjective experience from spending time with them and developing a relationship.

But in our modern day culture which worships a narrow view of knowledge called “science,” a knowledge which only recognizes the observation of the physical realm, subjective experiences are considered “invalid” ways of knowing truth. So the accumulation of data, bolstered by the belief in evolution, becomes the most valued knowledge in our modern society. And what does God think of this “knowledge” which attempts to deny (or at least ignore) his existence?

For it is written, "I WILL DESTROY THE WISDOM OF THE WISE, AND THE CLEVERNESS OF THE CLEVER I WILL SET ASIDE." Where is the wise man? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not come to know God, God was well-pleased through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe. (1 Corinthians 1:19-21)

We cannot know God simply by studying his physical creation. Such knowledge may teach us some things about God, but it will do us no good when we die the physical death and then meet him face to face for the first time. The only knowledge that will lead us to eternal life is the knowledge that comes with a personal, subjective relationship with Jesus Christ: This is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent. (John 17:3)

When we know Christ, we come to love him, and to know his love for us. And this love is more valuable than knowledge, and more powerful than any knowledge on earth.

For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith--that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. (Ephesians 3:14-19 italics added)

Knowledge makes arrogant, but love edifies. If anyone supposes that he knows anything, he has not yet known as he ought to know; but if anyone loves God, he is known by Him. (1 Corinthians 8:1-3)

The Bible also makes it clear that the people who go around pretending to know Jesus, but really only know some things about him (maybe they read his book), and don’t know him personally, are NOT going to be able to enter the kingdom of heaven:

Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter. Many will say to Me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?' And then I will declare to them, 'I never knew you; DEPART FROM ME, YOU WHO PRACTICE LAWLESSNESS.' (Matthew 7:21-23 italics added)

So in the end, it really is true that who you know is much more important than what you know! If you know the love of Christ first hand, and have experienced him personally, you don’t need to know anything else to enter the Kingdom of God!

But whatever things were gain to me, those things I have counted as loss for the sake of Christ. More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish so that I may gain Christ, and may be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own derived from the Law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith, that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death; in order that I may attain to the resurrection from the dead. (Philippians 3:7-11)

Do you know Jesus? Have you experienced his love first hand, the kind of love that led him to voluntarily give up his life as a sacrifice for your sins? Or do you only know some things about him, having simply an intellectual (“scientific”) knowledge about him? In the case of Jesus, the intellectual knowledge about him is not worth too much. The personal subjective knowledge, however, is much more valuable, both now and in the future. It is more valuable than anything else this life has to offer! So get to know Jesus and his love for you: your life depends upon it!

Was this article helpful to you? Share it with others:

What You Believe About Tomorrow Affects Your Health Today!

But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body, by the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself. (Philippians 3:20-21)

When we are born again into God's family and enter the Kingdom of Light, we obtain a new citizenship and a new future. We become citizens of heaven, and aliens (or foreigners) here on earth. We remain here on earth in the natural realm to accomplish God’s purposes in our life. Our pilgrimage here on earth ends either when Jesus returns physically to earth to set up a new physical kingdom, or when we go through physical death and go to heaven to be with Jesus. At that time our “lowly bodies” will be transformed into “glorious bodies.”

Therefore, we no longer belong here on earth. It is not our permanent home. We should never allow our hearts to become too attached to earthly things, since they will all be destroyed in the future anyway. That includes our physical bodies. They are a part of the natural realm, and we will have new spiritual bodies in heaven. So any sickness or disease that we have to endure now is only temporary.

The first Adam, made of earth, came from the earth; the second Adam came from heaven. Those who belong to the earth are like the one who was made of earth; those who are of heaven are like the one who came from heaven. Just as we wear the likeness of the man made of earth, so we will wear the likeness of the Man from heaven. What I mean, friends, is that what is made of flesh and blood cannot share in God's Kingdom, and what is mortal cannot possess immortality. Listen to this secret truth: we shall not all die, but when the last trumpet sounds, we shall all be changed in an instant, as quickly as the blinking of an eye. For when the trumpet sounds, the dead will be raised, never to die again, and we shall all be changed. For what is mortal must be changed into what is immortal; what will die must be changed into what cannot die. So when this takes place, and the mortal has been changed into the immortal, then the scripture will come true: "Death is destroyed; victory is complete!" "Where, Death, is your victory? Where, Death, is your power to hurt?" Death gets its power to hurt from sin, and sin gets its power from the Law. But thanks be to God who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ! So then, my dear friends, stand firm and steady. Keep busy always in your work for the Lord, since you know that nothing you do in the Lord's service is ever useless. (1 Corinthians 15:47-58)

So our current body of “flesh and blood” is a body weakened by sin, and as such we groan and eagerly wait for the day when we will come to receive our inheritance and receive a new body:

For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now. And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. (Romans 8:22-23)

But knowing what is heading our way in the future gives us a whole new perspective on our current life of pain and suffering! Based on the incredible promises of God, we know that we are co-heirs with Christ in inheriting the Kingdom. Therefore, we can patiently endure the pain and struggles of this life knowing they are temporary in nature! In the meantime, we have God’s Spirit living inside these sickly bodies renewing our spirits as we wait for our glorious future!

For in this hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience. Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. (Romans 8:24-28)

The Holy Spirit gives us power to endure anything this life throws our way, as we wait patiently for our time to come. We now take on a new perspective to all the lousy events and happenings in this life, knowing that it is all part of a grand scheme that God has put into place, and that the end results are going to be wonderful for those of us trusting in him. That new perspective is called “faith”: “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” (Hebrews 11:1) Those without faith see the events of life as a result of impersonal random “luck” or “bad luck” produced by evolutionary processes, where life is seldom “fair.” Only the strong and powerful survive. The future offers no hope, but only despair, fear, and doubt. This view of the future usually has negative physical consequences in our body. “A joyful heart is good medicine, but a broken spirit dries up the bones.” (Proverbs 17:22)

But for those of us walking by faith, we see everything as happening according to a master plan where justice is ultimately served at a future time, and where the weak and helpless can become strong and confident in the present, based on our view of the future and God’s ultimate purposes becoming reality at a future time.

For those of us walking in the Kingdom of Light in faith, and following a path of spiritual renewal, we no longer fear sickness or physical death, because our hope is for the future. As we walk in faith, we also begin to see that this Spiritual power that we now have at our disposal can also have a dramatic effect on our physical health in the present. Things that are “impossible” or cannot be explained in the physical realm can actually become common events in the life of a believer who is being transformed in the Spiritual realm! So we stop running to physical solutions as a first course of action for our problems, and instead look to unleash God’s love and power into our daily problems through faith. We are not limited to the small realm of scientific processes for our knowledge which is based simply on the observations of the physical realm and the faulty premise of evolution. We have the power of knowledge and wisdom that comes through a changed life and a relationship with our Creator. And as we learn to listen to God speak to us and allow him to direct the course and events of our life, we find that nothing is impossible!

For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified. What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? Who shall bring any charge against God's elect? It is God who justifies. Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died--more than that, who was raised--who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? As it is written, "For your sake we are being killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered." No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 8:29-39)

Was this article helpful to you? Share it with others:

Physical vs. Spiritual Health: Which is More Important?

The Problem

For while we were in the flesh, the sinful passions, which were aroused by the Law, were at work in the members of our body to bear fruit for death… What shall we say then? Is the Law sin? Let it not be said! But I did not know sin except through the Law. For also I did not know lust except the Law said, You shall not lust. But sin, taking occasion by the commandment, worked in me all kinds of lust. For apart from Law sin was dead... And the commandment, which was to life, was found to be death to me. For sin, taking occasion by the commandment, deceived me, and by it killed me. So indeed the Law is holy, and the commandment is holy and just and good… For we know that the Law is spiritual, but I am of flesh, sold into bondage to sin. For what I am doing, I do not understand; for I am not practicing what I would like to do, but I am doing the very thing I hate. But if I do the very thing I do not want to do, I agree with the Law, confessing that the Law is good. So now, no longer am I the one doing it, but sin which dwells in me. For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh; for the willing is present in me, but the doing of the good is not. For the good that I want, I do not do, but I practice the very evil that I do not want. But if I am doing the very thing I do not want, I am no longer the one doing it, but sin which dwells in me. I find then the principle that evil is present in me, the one who wants to do good. For I joyfully concur with the law of God in the inner man, but I see a different law in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin which is in my members. Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? (Romans 7:5-24)

This passage of scripture written by Paul in the book of Romans clearly states the problem we all have with our physical bodies, or our “flesh.” Our flesh is weak and sinful, and totally incapable of obeying the perfect, spiritual Law of God that was given to the Israelites through Moses. As sin works through our bodies via lusts (and pride: see 1 John 2:16), it separates us from God and kills us spiritually, working towards its ultimate outcome, physical death. Our ultimate problem in our bodies is one of sin – our inability to keep God’s laws. We find ourselves in bondage as slaves to sin and its working in our bodies, which results in sickness and disease along the way, the by-products of sin.

The Solution

The solution to this problem in our bodies is a spiritual solution – not a physical solution:

Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death. For what the Law could not do, weak as it was through the flesh, God did: sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and as an offering for sin, He condemned sin in the flesh, so that the requirement of the Law might be fulfilled in us, who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. For those who are according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who are according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. For the mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace, because the mind set on the flesh is hostile toward God; for it does not subject itself to the law of God, for it is not even able to do so, and those who are in the flesh cannot please God. However, you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. But if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Him. If Christ is in you, though the body is dead because of sin, yet the spirit is alive because of righteousness. But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you. So then, brethren, we are under obligation, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh-- for if you are living according to the flesh, you must die; but if by the Spirit you are putting to death the deeds of the body, you will live. For all who are being led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. (Romans 8:1-14)

Jesus’ physical death and resurrection broke the power of sin, and he now offers us the solution to our problem of sin and physical bondage. The solution is to receive the Spirit of Christ into our lives through the spiritual rebirth process, so that our spirits will be recreated. The wonderful truth of Christ’s breaking the power of sin and death on the cross is that God’s Spirit can now live in our sinful, imperfect body! AWESOME!!

But notice that this process of spiritual rebirth, where God’s Spirit comes to live within us, is said to “also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.” The text is very clear here. It is not referring to the future when we die the physical death and take on new immortal bodies. (See 1 Corinthians chapter 15 for the wonderful details about this.) It is referring to the present time. It refers to those of us alive physically right now and living in our “mortal” bodies, which Paul calls “this body of death” at the end of Romans chapter 7. The Spirit of God living in us can make even these corrupt, sickly bodies alive! It is not a once for all event like dying the physical death will be, but instead it is a process where we are led by the Spirit of God to be “putting to death the deeds of the body” in an ongoing process of spiritual renewal.

So once we are reborn spiritually and become a part of Jesus’ spiritual kingdom, our life is to be a process of learning how to live by the Spirit, as opposed to living by the flesh: “For those who are according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who are according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. For the mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace..” (Romans 8:5-6) “Living by the flesh” is living in bondage to the lusts of our bodies where sin still exists. But the spiritual process of “living by the Spirit” is to consume our life, as opposed to being consumed by the lusts of our flesh. Paul addresses this very clearly in his letter to the Galatian churches:

But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit. (Galatians 5:16-25)

Considering the fact, therefore, that our spiritual life is what gives life to our physical/mortal bodies, what is more important: our spiritual health, or our physical health? What good is spending all our time and financial resources to purchase physical “health” for a “body of death” that is going to completely die sometime in the near (compared to eternity) future anyway? Taking care of our bodies and respecting it as the “temple” (dwelling place) of God’s Spirit is certainly something everyone needs to do, but are our bodies more important than our spiritual life? Are we to be totally consumed with taking care of our bodies to the exclusion of our spiritual health? What effort are you taking today to either obtain spiritual life, or to nourish the new spiritual life you already have and to be constantly “putting to death the deeds of the body?”

We need to be led by the Spirit of Christ and follow him on a daily basis! He is our personal counselor who will guide us each day in the way we should walk, (the sins we need to confess, the relationships we need to repair, the people we need to show love to, etc.) and empower us to follow him on the specific path he has just for us. That path is a path to health and fulfillment, but it is also a path to suffering as we constantly wage war against the sin in our flesh and the kingdom of darkness around us. Our hope is not for this life, the current physical life, but for the eternal life to come after our physical death, when we receive new perfect bodies:

For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, "Abba! Father!" The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs--heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him. For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us. For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now. And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. For in this hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience. (Romans 8:15-25)

Was this article helpful to you? Share it with others:

Who do You Run to When You are Sick?

The words of King David:

O LORD my God, I cried to you for help, and you have healed me. (Psalms 30:2)

The LORD sustains him on his sickbed; in his illness you restore him to full health. (Psalms 41:3)

David is one of the most amazing people in the Bible, because he was a simple person who had a simple faith. We have more text about David than anyone else in the scriptures, because we have both historical narrative about his life, and numerous Psalms written by David himself which give us great insight into his child-like faith. The wonderful thing about the account of David’s life that we find in the Bible is that he was a person with a lot of faults who made a lot of mistakes, just like you and I do. He made terrible mistakes as a husband and father, with his failures clearly recorded, and at times he did not follow the Lord’s leading in his life and abused his power as king. He actually lost the kingdom for a while and that to a rebellious son. He often blew it, just like you and I do. But his trust was NOT in himself. It was in God’s unfailing love for him. He freely confessed his sins before God. As king, he felt it was his duty to lead the people to praising and serving God, not himself. As he wrote in Psalms 40 after being rescued by the Lord from his enemies: “He taught me to sing a new song, a song of praise to our God. Many who see this will take warning and will put their trust in the LORD. Happy are those who trust the LORD, who do not turn to idols or join those who worship false gods.” (Psalms 41:3)

One other thing I have noticed while studying the writings of David, is that he was often sick – physically sick. The cause of his sickness is varied. Sometimes it was because of stress and attacks by his enemies (sins of others). Other times it was because of his own sin.

Many bulls encompass me; strong bulls of Bashan surround me; they open wide their mouths at me, like a ravening and roaring lion. I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint; my heart is like wax; it is melted within my breast; my strength is dried up like a potsherd, and my tongue sticks to my jaws; you lay me in the dust of death. For dogs encompass me; a company of evildoers encircles me; they have pierced my hands and feet-- I can count all my bones-- they stare and gloat over me; they divide my garments among them, and for my clothing they cast lots. But you, O LORD, do not be far off! O you my help, come quickly to my aid! Deliver my soul from the sword, my precious life from the power of the dog! (Psalms 22:12-20 – Sickness from sins of others)

Blessed is the one whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. Blessed is the man against whom the LORD counts no iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no deceit. For when I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long. For day and night your hand was heavy upon me; my strength was dried up as by the heat of summer. I acknowledged my sin to you, and I did not cover my iniquity; I said, "I will confess my transgressions to the LORD," and you forgave the iniquity of my sin. (Psalms 32:1-5 – Sickness from his own sins)

In all these circumstances where he was physically sick, he saw the cure the same way he saw the remedy for all other troubles he went through: God’s unfailing love and forgiveness. He did not deal with physical problems on just a physical level, and he did not turn to “health authorities” to purchase health.

Interestingly, we do have an account of one of David’s descendants who became king many years later that DID deal with his physical sickness by turning to “health authorities” instead of trusting in God’s unfailing love. That was King Asa.

King Asa started out as a good king, trusting in the Lord as his forefather David had. Early in his reign the Lord gave him a great victory:

And Asa did what was good and right in the eyes of the LORD his God. He took away the foreign altars and the high places and broke down the pillars and cut down the Asherim and commanded Judah to seek the LORD, the God of their fathers, and to keep the law and the commandment. He also took out of all the cities of Judah the high places and the incense altars. And the kingdom had rest under him. He built fortified cities in Judah, for the land had rest. He had no war in those years, for the LORD gave him peace. And he said to Judah, "Let us build these cities and surround them with walls and towers, gates and bars. The land is still ours, because we have sought the LORD our God. We have sought him, and he has given us peace on every side." So they built and prospered. And Asa had an army of 300,000 from Judah, armed with large shields and spears, and 280,000 men from Benjamin that carried shields and drew bows. All these were mighty men of valor. Zerah the Ethiopian came out against them with an army of a million men and 300 chariots, and came as far as Mareshah. And Asa went out to meet him, and they drew up their lines of battle in the Valley of Zephathah at Mareshah. And Asa cried to the LORD his God, "O LORD, there is none like you to help, between the mighty and the weak. Help us, O LORD our God, for we rely on you, and in your name we have come against this multitude. O LORD, you are our God; let not man prevail against you." So the LORD defeated the Ethiopians before Asa and before Judah, and the Ethiopians fled. (2 Chronicles 14:2-12)

By trusting in the Lord, Asa was able to defeat an army that was attacking him which was almost twice the size of his own army, because the Lord intervened in answer to his faith and trust in him.

But sadly, Asa did not continue to trust in the Lord. Later on in life he had another threat to his kingdom, but this time he trusted in his wealth and the strength of alliances with other countries rather than trusting the Lord:

In the thirty-sixth year of the reign of King Asa of Judah, King Baasha of Israel invaded Judah and started to fortify Ramah in order to cut off all traffic in and out of Judah. So Asa took silver and gold from the treasuries of the Temple and the palace and sent it to Damascus, to King Benhadad of Syria, with this message: "Let us be allies, as our fathers were. This silver and gold is a present for you. Now break your alliance with King Baasha of Israel so that he will have to pull his troops out of my territory." Benhadad agreed to Asa's proposal and sent his commanding officers and their armies to attack the cities of Israel. They captured Ijon, Dan, Abel Beth Maacah, and all the cities of Naphtali where supplies were stored. When King Baasha heard what was happening, he stopped fortifying Ramah and abandoned the work. At that time the prophet Hanani went to King Asa and said, "Because you relied on the king of Syria instead of relying on the LORD your God, the army of the king of Israel has escaped from you. Didn't the Ethiopians and the Libyans have large armies with many chariots and cavalry troops? But because you relied on the LORD, he gave you victory over them. The LORD keeps close watch over the whole world, to give strength to those whose hearts are loyal to him. You have acted foolishly, and so from now on you will always be at war." This made Asa so angry with the prophet that he had him put in chains. It was at this same time that Asa began treating some of the people cruelly. (2 Chronicles 16:1-10)

Then came his physical disease:

In the thirty-ninth year that Asa was king, he was crippled by a severe foot disease; but even then he did not turn to the LORD for help, but to doctors. Two years later he died… (2 Chronicles 16:12-13)

Maybe the doctors were able to manage his disease for a couple more years before he died, but they apparently were not able to heal Asa using whatever healing arts they performed and sold to the king. On the spiritual level, King Asa did not turn to the Lord for help. He died in failure.

Who do you run to first when you are sick? Who do you trust to bring you healing? Do you seek first the Creator of the universe who made you and knows you better than anyone else, or do you turn first to “health experts” who may or may not know you, and who can usually only deal with health on a physical level based on human knowledge? Do you willingly pay huge sums of money to these “health experts” for access to their limited knowledge? Who do you trust the most? As we noted in last week’s devotional, physical death is a certain event in your life, and simply trying to delay that event will not deal with the more important spiritual issues in your life that will carry you into eternity. Like David, we don’t have to be good people to call upon God in our weakness. We simply need to trust that God created us, that he put us on this earth, that he loves us, and that when we call upon him he hears us and takes care of us, just like David did - over and over again. And if you feel overwhelmed by your sickness or problems and think you don’t have enough faith to trust God, find others who have faith and ask them to pray for you! That is your first step to healing.

Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing praise. Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer of faith will save the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working. (James 5:13-16)

Was this article helpful to you? Share it with others: