Rarely do I dream. This night I had a dream. It has inspired me to write: God loves you and me. God wants what is best for us. He wants us to trust Him enough that we could have enough faith to move mountains, believe we can do all things through Christ who will give us the strength and He wants us to have the spiritual power to heal ourselves. However, if we had that kind of faith we could have a problem with pride. Chances are Satan would do everything to deceive us and our pride could destroy our faith and our health. Scripture tells us that God detests those who are prideful. He wants us to have tremendous faith yet, He wants us to be Christ-like by being humble and having heavenly wisdom.
The more I read and study Scripture, God shares with us what will keep us healthy and well. It is estimated that how long we live, 25% depend on our genes and the other 75% depend upon the decisions we make daily. What we eat and what we think affects our health. Should we make the right choices our chances of living another 10 to 20 years longer are enhanced greatly. The problem most every one of us has concerning how long we live is not important until we reach the age of 50. By then, the life we have lived could subtract 10 to 20 years.
The chance of living to 100, according to statistics, improves with our attitudes, our eating habits and one’s faith in God. Those who are devoted in their relationship with God normally live longer. Yet, many Christians do not study the Bible realizing that God is writing personally to every one of us. He has given us a manual for living and yet we often ignore it. If we read carefully we can become better off financially and live healthier lives.
I recently read some medical reports suggesting that about every health problem we have is normally a result of a person’s attitude and behavior. Anger, bitterness and an unforgiving spirit can tremendously affect one’s health. Often times, anger and bitterness are learned responses. The problem is that ill health often does not show up until our later stages of life.
In Scripture Jesus told His disciples that if anyone held a grudge against another person or if they became angry or bitter over something that was done to them or if they had an unforgiving heart they had better get over it if they wanted their prayers answered. Being self-centered human beings that we are and having a carnal nature it is sometimes difficult to overlook something that someone has done to us. Life is not always just a “big bowl of cherries”. However, if we as Christians want to remain healthy, we had better learn to get rid of the baggage of anger, bitterness and having an unforgiving heart.
How many believers come to God praying for something specific and God did not answer their prayer? Are you praying that God will help you financially or get a special promotion and you receive neither? You wonder why God did not bless you or answer your prayer? Could it be that you have an attitude of anger, bitterness or an unforgiving spirit?
Ephesians 4:26 & 32 – “In your anger do not sin: Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, and do not give the devil a foothold. Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.”
Matthew 6:14 – 15 – “For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins
Do we please God with our attitudes and our actions? God’s mercy and compassion has forgiven us of our sins. It is now required that we forgive others as He has forgiven us. Scripture says that if we are unwilling to forgive others we shall not become one with Christ. But you may say: You have no idea what others have done to you. My answer would be, have you ever been placed on a cross and asked God to forgive them for they do not know what they are doing? Living a Christian life is so different from how the world lives. If we are trying to live a Christian life on our own without the Holy Spirit’s guidance chances are we will fail. It is only when we totally die out to self, allow the Holy Spirit to completely guide us, that we will become more and more Christ-like. The sooner we begin listening to the Holy Spirit the sooner we will become spiritually mature and the more we will be blessed. Then we can expect to see more blessings in our lives. Scripture says: God wants to bless us! Are we allowing Him to?
We know that anger can cause anxiety and frustration. But do we realize how much it may affect our health? When we become angry our blood pressure goes up, our heart beats faster, we become tenser and our adrenalin starts pumping. An angry person is susceptible to heart attacks and strokes.
Romans 8:5 – 10 – “Those who live according to the sinful nature have their minds set on what that nature desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. The mind of sinful man is death, but the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace; the sinful mind is hostile to God. It does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so. Those controlled by the sinful nature cannot please God. You, however, are controlled not by the sinful nature but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ. But if Christ is in you, your body is dead because of sin, yet your spirit is alive because of righteousness.”
Have you ever looked at an older person and thought, it looks like they lived a very tough life? What about looking at someone whose face looks like they have been a very angry person in their life-time? Talk to them for a short-time and that confirms it. You may think how you look when you get older depends on your family’s genes. But that is not always true.
I have had some of my relatives live past 100 but some died in their sixties. Sometimes it has been for unexplained medical reasons but usually it has to do with how they lived and what they believed. Some were taught and believed in God but they also walked away from God. We can have our minds set on what our nature desires or it can be set on what the Spirit desires. Our mind and soul must decide which we will choose.
Do you know Christians who have an unforgiving spirit? Their problems are because of what someone else did to them. What about those who do not trust God and continually worry? What our mind dwells on, can affect our health to a major degree. If you realize stress, depression or anger can cause physical problems don’t you think it is time to change? Knowing what we conjure up inside of us will come to the outside; do we want to live that way? Then if we have anger, bitterness or an unforgiving spirit aren’t we just asking for physical problems later? Isn’t now the time to do something about it?
Don Boyd Blog 