How Spiritual Health Can Be Achieved
It was the day of my dad’s open heart surgery when I received a prophecy that would come true 12 years later. The heart surgeon met with my brother and me and described the surgery. He then said something that I will never forget. “You boys are next!” That is exactly what every young man in their 20’s wants to hear. He went on to say, “There is nothing you can do to avoid it. You can’t deny the genes you were given.” He then went on to tell us this story. “I have a great friend and colleague who is an avid cyclist. After one of his rides he wasn’t feeling well. He demanded I give him a heart cath in light of his family history. I thought he was crazy! I did it, and he ended up with bypass surgery.”
After hearing those words I walked away with a choice. I could either live life however I wanted, enjoy Little Debbies and fried food seeing I was destined to die soon anyway, or I could try to beat the odds. I opted for the latter. Did it keep me from a heart attack, no, but it did save my life when the prophecy came true.
Spiritually life is the same way. Paul is much like my Dad’s surgeon when he said, “All that live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution.”
In light of this prophecy should we quit? Should we just live it up any way we want knowing our doomsday is coming? No, we should work on our spiritual well being so when trials come we survive and do not get destroyed.
If you know what I am talking about, either spiritually or physically, you also have most likely received instruction on how to handle it. It’s amazing when one goes through a crisis how many counselors, “doctors” and “nutritionist” are out there wanting to help and offer advice. They might have experienced healing, but it does not mean you would
I don’t think people mean to come across in a negative way, and I honestly believe they want to help, but when the whole nation chips in with their thoughts and ideas it can be and is overwhelming.
When it comes to our spiritual health we tend to do the same thing. We have attributed God’s blessing to certain programs or prayers we have done. Due to the results, we tend to promote the method instead of the means.
That is one reason why there are so many books on prayer. We can pray like Daniel and see results. We can pray 2 Chronicles 7:14 everyday at 7:14 and see results. We can pray the prayer of Jabez…well…I’ll stop there. God does not honor one prayer over another because of the time we pray it, or if we eat Daniel’s diet or Domino’s pizza after we pray.
Spiritually speaking, much like our physical health, what works for us is not necessarily the answer for all. There is no right or wrong way to help yourself spiritually. There is no secret book or program for you to buy that will bless you or your family in a special way. There is no pastor or evangelist that can give you the secrets of spiritual success so you never struggle again. It just does not exist.
Bottom line is, I need to do what works best for me. If McDonald’s french fries is the only thing I can eat without causing me pain and agony bring on the basket of fries! If it’s blueberries and protein shakes so be it. If it is an infusion every 8 weeks then I’ll open my schedule up for these appointments.
I must do what works for me and what will give me life and health in the long haul.
So my encouragement to you today is to pray. “Pray without ceasing.” “In everything by prayer and supplication…”. “Brethern, pray for us…” Read. “Study to show thyself approved…”. “Continue in the perfect law of liberty…”. “Continue steadfastly in the apostles word and doctrine…”.. Spend time with your Savior. There is only one way to know Him (Phil. 3:10) and that is to spend time with Him!
Treg Spicer is pastor of Faith Baptist Church – Morgantown, WV. Follow his blog here. We republish his articles by permission.
Photo by RAPHAEL MAKSIAN on Unsplash