God's Word on Health

This is taken from a list I posted on the CMOMB forum in response to some questions.

What the Bible has to say about health:

Luke 7:18 The disciples of John reported all these things to him. And John, 19 calling two of his disciples to him, sent them to the Lord, saying, “Are you the one who is to come, or shall we look for another?” 20 And when the men had come to him, they said, “John the Baptist has sent us to you, saying, ‘Are you the one who is to come, or shall we look for another?’” 21 In that hour he healed many people of diseases and plagues and evil spirits, and on many who were blind he bestowed sight. 22 And he answered them, “Go and tell John what you have seen and heard: the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, lepers [5] are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, the poor have good news preached to them. 23 And blessed is the one who is not offended by me.”

God is about health and healing. Christ's ministry was about healing and restoration of our souls, minds, and bodies.

Ps. 38:1 O Lord, rebuke me not in your anger,
nor discipline me in your wrath!
2 For your arrows have sunk into me,
and your hand has come down on me.
3 There is no soundness in my flesh
because of your indignation;
there is no health in my bones
because of my sin.
4 For my iniquities have gone over my head;
like a heavy burden, they are too heavy for me.
5 My wounds stink and fester
because of my foolishness,
6 I am utterly bowed down and prostrate;
all the day I go about mourning.
7 For my sides are filled with burning,
and there is no soundness in my flesh.
8 I am feeble and crushed;
I groan because of the tumult of my heart.

Our sins and mental attitudes, even the judgment of God can affect our health and our ability to heal.

Prov 16:24 Gracious words are like a honeycomb,
sweetness to the soul and health to the body.

Prov 13:12 Hope deferred makes the heart sick,
but a desire fulfilled is a tree of life.

Grace and hope are healing and healthy emotions. A lack of these in one's life may indicate a lack of spiritual and physical health.

James 5:13 Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing praise. 14 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. 15 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. 16 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.

Sickness and healing are at least partially under the purvey of the church. Confession and prayer are part of (if not essential to) healing.

Prov 3:5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart,
and do not lean on your own understanding.
6 In all your ways acknowledge him,
and he will make straight your paths.
7 Be not wise in your own eyes;
fear the Lord, and turn away from evil.
8 It will be healing to your flesh
and refreshment to your bones.

Need I say more?

Prov 17:22 A joyful heart is good medicine,
but a crushed spirit dries up the bones.

Again, joy is good medicine but a crushed spirit dries up to bones. Arthritis? Osteoporosis? MS? This could have bearing on a number of crippling conditions.

Prov 4:20 My son, be attentive to my words;
incline your ear to my sayings.
21 Let them not escape from your sight;
keep them within your heart.
22 For they are life to those who find them,
and healing to all their flesh.

Quite explicit

Prov 14:30 A tranquil heart gives life to the flesh,
but envy makes the bones rot.

Prov 15:4 A gentle tongue is a tree of life,
but perverseness in it breaks the spirit.

Again, see the above comments.

Ps. 31:9 Be gracious to me, O Lord, for I am in distress;
my eye is wasted from grief;
my soul and my body also.
10 For my life is spent with sorrow,
and my years with sighing;
my strength fails because of my iniquity,
and my bones waste away.

Grief, excessive sorrow, sin --all these things affect our health.

Prov 10:27 The fear of the Lord prolongs life,
but the years of the wicked will be short.

Prov 14:26 In the fear of the Lord one has strong confidence,
and his children will have a refuge.
27 The fear of the Lord is a fountain of life,
that one may turn away from the snares of death.

Prov 19:23 The fear of the Lord leads to life,
and whoever has it rests satisfied;
he will not be visited by harm.

The fear of the Lord, being in right relationship with Him, is health and life to us.

Prov 21:21 Whoever pursues righteousness and kindness
will find life, righteousness, and honor.

Romans 8:6 For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace.

How we live and how we think affects us physically.



Not just in these verses, but throughout the Bible we see the importance of the spiritual and emotional to our physical health.
How we think and act -what we really believe about God- affects our bodies. I know this experientially. There have been times when my husband and I have had to repent and confess our sins to each other before our bodies would begin healing. Other times I have needed to seek peace or repent of my anger and unforgiveness in order to heal. The Word of Life is just that. It is life to our souls and our bodies. This does not mean that every cancer or cold is necessarily caused by sin and unbelief. You have merely to look at the blind man who sinned not, neither did his parents, but had been born blind that the glory of God may be revealed. However, I believe that we should look to our hearts and souls first if we really want to enjoy good health. Jesus didn't just heal people to get attention -it was an integral part of the Good News of salvation. Healing for our souls and our bodies.

I hope this explains a few things. I'll post about muscle testing later. It was important to get this up first though because it gives a pretty good foundation for how I think about health.