What’s My Attitude Got To Do With It?
Jeanne Calment of Paris France was inducted into the Guinness Book of World Records on October 16, 1995 as the oldest documented human ever. There are many who have claimed to live longer but none have the paperwork to prove it. At the time she was 120 years young. Jeanne remembers watching the Eiffel Tower being constructed; she outlived twenty-seven French presidents, and remembers selling pencils to the famous artist Vincent Van Gogh. At the age of 100, Jeanne was still riding her bike. Jeanne lived to be 122 years 164 days. When asked, “What’s the secret to your long life?” she answered “Laughter!”
It is not just what you eat that determines how healthy you are. It is not how much exercise you get or even how spiritual you are, that will determine how healthy and how long you will live. It is everything the bible says about health and wellness, and one of the things that the Bible mentions often, that will affect your health and mine, is our attitude.
“A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones. (Proverbs 17:22)
The King James Version of the Bible translates Proverbs 17:22 “A merry heart doeth good like a medicine” Strong’s Hebrew dictionary defines the original word as “a cure,” so a more literal translation would be that “A merry heart is a cure.”
Norman Cousins, Editor of the Saturday Evening Post, found this to be profoundly true. Cousins was dying of cancer, he was told that there was nothing that modern medicine could do for him, his story is now famous. If he was going to die anyway, he decided to stop worrying and working, and spend his last days watching funny movies. As he watched and laughed, he discovered something amazing; ten minutes of laughter produced two hours of pain free sleep. The action he took eventually cured him of terminal cancer. 1
It is now known that laughter and a positive attitude cause your immune system to function better. The opposite is true. Depression, anger, hate, etc. will cause your immune system to shut down.
My wife and I have noted that many, not all, but many people who have cancer, were bitter first. A lot of them were quietly bitter, they put on a happy face but in their hearts they were dying. Often it was because they were in a bad relationship where they felt trapped and helpless. Some were outwardly bitter and it came out almost every time we would speak with them. Their intensity would begin to rise and we would feel a little uncomfortable as they went on and on about other people’s shortcomings or problems. If this sounds like you, one solution is to speak to your soul.
“Why are you downcast, O my soul? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God. For I will yet praise him my Savior and my God. (Psalm 42:5)
“Praise the Lord, O my soul; all my inmost being, praise his holy name. Praise the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits—– who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases. (Psalms 103:1-3)
King David spoke to his soul, he encouraged his own soul to hope, praise and not to forget all God’s benefits. As we do that the Bible says God will heal all our diseases. Yes, our attitude affects our health.
“Pleasant words are a honeycomb, sweet to the soul and healing to the bones.” (Proverbs 16:24)
The tongue has the power of life and death, and those who love it will eat its fruit. (Proverbs 18:21)
God is encouraging us to constantly remind our soul to remember all the good things He has done for us, then thank and praise Him. If we put our hope in God, and decide to fill our mind and soul with those thoughts, they will bring healing to our physical bodies. Philippians 4:6-8 sums it up…
“Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.”
If we make an effort to think on good things and we pray and trust God for the rest, God promises to take care of our hearts, minds and bodies.
Ephesians 4:26-27 instructs us “don’t let the sun go down on our anger.” Evidently going to bed angry will mess up our sleep, which can lower our body’s ability to fight disease. Also, from what we learned in the wellness gospel, article about rest, a lack of sleep can also make us stupid, not to mention give us ulcers. There is overwhelming evidence that anger can cause a number of illnesses and shorten our lives. The book None Of These Diseases2 does a wonderful job on this subject.”
“A wife of noble character is her husband’s crown, but a disgraceful wife is like decay in his bones.” (Proverb 12:4)
The attitude of shame and resentment will cause the bones to decay. (Osteoporosis and Arthritis) That is why two people can have the same diet, the same exercise, even the same genes, yet one gets Arthritis and the other doesn’t. Shame and resentment predispose one of them to the crippling bone disease. What is the cure? Open honest communication with the offending person. (See Matthew 18:15) Then if that fails, you will need to have some open honest communication with your Heavenly Father who can heal all wounds and mend every broken heart.
“He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.” (Psalm 147:3)
There is a book out called A More Excellent Way; this book catalogs many diseases and the attitude sins that seem to go hand in hand with each particular disease. If you have a lingering disease and nothing is working to heal you of it, you should get this book; it just may hold the key to your healing.
Someone has said that our attitude will determine our altitude. The most effective way I have found to adjust my attitude is to spend more time with Jesus. More time praying, more time reading his word, more time praising and worshiping him at home and church. Isaiah the prophet spoke about him…
“He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering. Like one from whom men hide their faces he was despised and we esteemed him not. Surely he took up our infirmities (diseases) and carried our sorrows. Yet we considered him stricken by God, smitten by him and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions and he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed. We all like sheep have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.” (Isaiah 53)
If you are struggling with unforgiveness, bitterness or any other disease-producing attitude, Jesus understands and can help. He has experienced every hurt and disappointment that you have and conquered it. The apostle Paul wrote…
“We do not have a high priest (Jesus) who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet was without sin. Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.” (Hebrews 4:15-16)
The Bible teaches that man is a three part being: spirit, soul and body. We have a spirit and a soul that reside in our body. Our thoughts and attitudes affect our soul and our soul can affect our bodies for either good or bad.
If you want to live to be over one hundred healthy years like Jeanne Calment of France, you will have to laugh a lot. The Bible says that the fruit of the Holy Spirit is joy (Galatians 5:22). Ask God every day to fill you with his Spirit and with his joy and he will do it. And, you just might heal someone else with your joy.
Biblical concept:
IF YOUR BODY IS SICK IT COULD BE THE RESULT OF A SICK SOUL! A CHEERFUL HEART COULD BE THE CURE.
To sum it up, here are 6 Biblical prescriptions for a healing attitude.
- Laugh a lot, spend time with people who make you laugh. Watch funny movies and videos, stay away from horrors and dramas.
- Set aside time each day to praise God. Make a list of the good things god has given you.
- Ask God to forgive you and then thank him that he always does.
- Guard your tongue, speak pleasant words, avoid negative speech.
- Control your thought life, reject negotive, depressing, critical thoughts and nurture uplifting, encouraging thoughts.
- Ask God to fill you with his Holy Spirit every day.
If you believe God knows best, join us and the Wellness Gospel team and spread the word, share this with your friends on social media and may God bless you richly.
If you want to keep improving your health and like this kind of biblical, scientific information, then I would like to recommend three must-read books.
- “None of These Diseases” by S. I. McMillen, M.D. and David E. Stern, M.D.
- “Let’s Play Doctor” by Dr. Joel Wallach
- “God’s Guide To Biblical Health and Healing” by Rev. Chris & Shary Schauermann
You can get all these books at Amazon,com
- “None of These Diseases” by S. I. McMillen, M.D. and David E. Stern, M.D.
- “A More Excellent Way: Be in Health” by Henry W. Wright