“Beloved, I wish above all things that thou may prosper and be in health even as thy soul prospers”, this is God’s desire for us in III John 1:2. God’s plan for us as the elect and spiritual Israelite is all round prosperity including our health, which is the pivot of all other prosperity. Jehovah God took the Israelites through the wilderness forty years without any material or health challenge ”Yea, forty years didst thou sustain them in the wilderness, so that they lacked nothing; their clothes waxed not old, and their feet swelled not” – Nehemiah 9:21.
Our creator, knows that we can’t flourish and prosper in ill health (Career, financial, social, marital/relationship, academics, ministry), and that is why we see His thoughts and provisions for our health in diverse pages of the scripture:
Exodus 15:26 – “If thou will diligently harken to the voice of the Lord thy God, and will do that which is right in His sight, and will give ear to His commandment and keep all His statute, I will put none of these diseases upon thee….for I am the Lord that heals thee”
Proverbs 4:20 & 22 – “My Son attend to my words, incline thine ear to my sayings. For they are life to those who find them and Health to all their flesh”
Jeremiah 30: 17 – “I will restore health unto you, and I will heal thee of thy wound…”
As children of the living God (who does not fall ill and whose strength is as strong as His age) we are meant to enjoy wholeness in our health. We are to live a sickness/disease free life here on earth if we keep the terms of the covenant between God and us. It was recorded about Moses (a servant of God) that he lived in sound health in spite of the enormous work of leading millions of Israelites through the wilderness. “And Moses was an hundred years and twenty years old when he died: his eye was not dim, nor his natural force abated (reduced)”-Deuteronomy 34:7
Jeremiah 30: 17 – “I will restore health unto you, and I will heal thee of thy wound…”
As children of the living God (who does not fall ill and whose strength is as strong as His age) we are meant to enjoy wholeness in our health. We are to live a sickness/disease free life here on earth if we keep the terms of the covenant between God and us. It was recorded about Moses (a servant of God) that he lived in sound health in spite of the enormous work of leading millions of Israelites through the wilderness. “And Moses was an hundred years and twenty years old when he died: his eye was not dim, nor his natural force abated (reduced)”-Deuteronomy 34:7
Another provision that God has made for our health is in what we eat. At the creation of the world, God made the ground to produce the food we need.
Genesis 1:29 says “And God said, behold I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat (food).
Genesis 1:29 says “And God said, behold I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat (food).
Genesis 2:9 “And out of the ground made the Lord God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight and good for food…” God also categorically stated it to the Israelites in their pursuit of the promise land in Deuteronomy 20:19-20 “Thou shall not destroy the trees thereof by forcing an axe against them for thou may eat of them, and thou shall not cut them down (for the tree of the field is man’s life) only the trees which thou knows that they be not trees for meat…” Let your food be full of natural stuffs. Eat more of what grows from soil (fruits, vegetables, herbs, tubers etc.), less of processed and pre-packaged food.
One other provision of God for our health is to exercise our body and mind positively for our benefit and that of our environment. In Genesis 2:15 & 19, God made Adam and put him in the Garden of Eden to dress and keep it (physical activity) and to name all the creatures of God (mental activity). The first man (the prototype) was not sitting down idle but fully engaged. I Timothy 4:8 says “bodily exercise profits little, but godliness is profitable unto all things, having promise of the life that now is and of that which is to come”. Jesus Christ, our Lord did not sit down in a place and send His disciples to go about His assignment for Him like a boss to his servants, but was always on the go physically and mentally.
Godliness is a form of positive mental exercise; thinking through for solution is a positive mental exercise that even helps burn calories because you are using energy. The same energy you expend in anxiety is the same amount you will use to create solution for your issues. Productive thinking is the currency of the brilliant and the successful. Henry Ford said, “Thinking is the hardest work there is” so engage in productive thinking.
Finally, you must allow your body to have adequate Rest to prevent sudden health challenges. The Scripture said in Genesis 2:2 that after God finished with all of His creations, He rested on the seventh day. As an adult you should have at least six to seven hours of sleep in the night and like an hour nap during the day (maximize your weekend for this). Release your mind from every form of tension: Go on vacation with your family. Play, pray and discuss with your children and wife (indoor and outdoor), don’t make a mountain out of every issue and attend to issues as they come. Philippians 4:6 says “ Be anxious for nothing but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your request be made known to God”.
Our God is a God of purpose and plan, and He has made adequate provisions for all His creations. If you do have any form of health challenge, it’s root cause must be identified and then locate God’s thought and provisions for you as regards it. You will be amazed at the great transformation your health and life will experience by His grace – greater efficiency, greater productivity, emotional stability, no sluggishness, reduction in medical bills, reduction in frequency of hospital visit etc. May your health be whole!
