“But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.” – Matthew 4:4
It amazes me how God’s Word fits in with every aspect of my life. I know it is the foundation of my faith, but today as I read Psalm 37, I realized that so much of what I read, that I normally would ponder in a spiritual context, could also be applied to my journey to optimal physical health as well.
Psalm 37:3 states, “Trust in the LORD, and do good; so shalt thou dwell in the land, and verily thou shalt be fed.” At first when I read this, I chuckled at the latter part of the verse because my mind was drawn to my new eating plan, but then I reread it with a bit more seriousness. If I trust the Lord and do my part… the part that is good and right in His sight, I will be nourished well. Spiritually, I can see the connection easily. If I trust God, He will keep me spiritually healthy through the wisdom and guidance of His Word. Physically, if I follow my health plan well, I also can trust God to help me. I will be fed via a nutritionally sound food plan and live a good healthy life in “the land.” That is such an encouragement for me to stay on my health journey!
Verse 4 records, “Delight thyself also in the LORD; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart.” In this season of my life, I am striving for a healthy lifestyle, both spiritually and physically. Keeping the Lord the top priority in my life is not always easy for me. I can get caught up in the things of everyday life, forgetting about my spiritual well-being and my need to be close to God. However, when I make time to be with Him through my devotions and prayer first thing in the morning, I am blessed beyond measure! Starting my day off with the Lord is truly delightful, and I take hope that God will grant me the desires of my heart that are good and right and aligned with His will for my life! In faith, I believe that God will grant me the desire to have a healthy body and stay faithful to my health journey.
The next verse tells me to “Commit thy way unto the LORD; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass.” When I determine to honor God with my life’s needs, trusting Him in the outcome, I know that He will be faithful to bring it to pass. On the spiritual side of it, I know that when I start my day with God, He will always order my steps (Psalm 37:23), bringing His plan for my life to fruition. Physically, if I trust Him to help me, the Bible constantly reaffirms that He will. I must remember that it is His Spirit’s temple I am trying to “rebuild,” and I know that if I commit this work to Him, He has promised to make it happen! I cannot fail with Jesus helping me every step of the way!
This last verse is perhaps the most difficult for me whether physical or spiritual. Verse 7 instructs me to “Rest in the LORD, and wait patiently for him: fret not thyself because of him who prospereth in his way…” Waiting for God to respond to a prayer or act on my behalf is sometimes very hard for me to do, yet the Bible repeatedly calls for me to do just that. In my physical journey, I am not to compare my successes to another person’s victories and then worry about it if I have not done as “good a job” as that other person. Instead, I am to be content (to rest) and wait patiently for God to move. I am not to take matters into my own hands, but instead, I am to continue doing what I know is good and right in the sight of the Lord and trust Him for the outcome. I must always remember that God has His reasons for the timing in which He acts. His ways are much higher than mine (Isaiah 55:8-9), His knowledge more vast, and His abilities more capable than mine. All I need to do is wait on Him.
My responsibility as a child of God is to trust in Him, delight in His ways, commit my life to Him, and then wait patiently to see the hand of God move mightily. When I purpose to do that in my life, I will see and experience the great things that my Father has planned for me!
Sing them over again to me, wonderful words of life,
Let me more of their beauty see, wonderful words of life;
Words of life and beauty
Teach me faith and duty.
Beautiful words, wonderful words,
Wonderful words of life;
Beautiful words, wonderful words,
Wonderful words of life
(from “Wonderful Words of Life” by Philip P. Bliss)
“All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:” – 2 Timothy 3:16
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If you seek optimal heath, the Word of God must be applied to all three aspects of your being: body, spirit, and soul!