Thoughts That Heal
We are blasted by stressing circumstances and challenges every day. How do you deal with them or do you even try? The things that you do and say begin with the things that you think and believe.
If I were to eat a steady diet of junk food, excessive amounts of sugar and preservatives, I can probably bet I’ll inherit a life filled with health problems later on. If I were to fill my mind with unhealthy and immoral images, violence, torn relationships and hypercritical attitudes, it’s safe to say, I will begin to act out what I put in.
In Matthew 15:11 it says, “Not what goes into the mouth defiles a man; but what comes out of the mouth, this defiles a man.” Our thoughts directly impact everything about us including our physical health.
What Do Thoughts Have to do With Health
Stress is a natural part of life. Author & Psychologist Dr. Kevin Lehman said that stress was “the wear and tear on our bodies produced by the very process of living” 1. Stress comes from good things as well as from bad. If we remain stressed all the time, regardless of good or bad, we will wear out. A battery is a good example: if you leave it on all the time, eventually it will run out.
When dealing with stress, there are two critical stress hormones produced in your body: Cortisol and DHEA. Cortisol is a steroid hormone that affects the body in very similar to prednisone by blocking inflammation and suppressing the immune system. DHEA is the balancing hormone that reverses the effects of cortisol. DHEA lowers fat storage through improved thyroid response, improves mood and fights cancer. Both are manufactured by the adrenal gland.
When a person remains stressed for a prolonged period of time, the adrenals wear out and the production of DHEA suffers. Excess cortisol may open the door to infections, cancer, hyperthyroidism, pour wound healing, diabetes, infertility, and mental instability. Feelings of anger, resentment, unforgiveness, and a desire for revenge all trigger physical response in the body which causes the suppression of the immune system and gastric inflammation. Plainly said, unmanaged stress can kill you.
We can’t keep all stress out of our lives, but we do have control how we respond to that stress. In his book, What You Don’t Know May Be Killing You, Don Colbert, M.D., describes the story of a Jewish holocaust survivor during War World II 2. When the Germans discovered that he spoke German, they forcibly separated him from his wife, two daughters, and three sons – and then they shot them down, killing his entire family, right before his eyes.
For six years he lived on the same starvation diet, slept in the same airless and disease-ridden barracks as everyone else, but without the least physical or mental deterioration. What has his secret? The survivor said, “I had to decide… whether to let myself hate the soldiers who had done this. I had seen, too often, what hate could do to people’s minds and bodies. Hate had just killed the six people I love the most in the world. I decided then that I would spend the rest of my life, whether it was a few days or many years, loving every person I came into contact with.”3. This man had learned the secret that health starts and stops in the mind. Regardless of the outside circumstances that can cause a stressful environment, we choose how we think, what we dwell on and what we believe in.
How to Better Manage Our Stress
- Lifestyle Adjustments
-Take 30 minutes a day to be silent. Maybe you can find a quiet room in the house without your computer and cell phone, or taking a walk outside. Take this time to focus on how you are breathing , listen to each breath and feel it expand your lungs. Don’t allow your thoughts to be occupied with worry, irritation or uncertainty.
-Get proper rest. There is no substitute for quality sleep. Sleep is so vital to health - it is the most important non-nutrient you can get.
- Put your brain on a diet
-Garbage in, garbage out. What we bring in front of our eyes does matter. Philippians 4:8 gives an excellent guideline of what the Designer of our minds says it needs: “… whatever things are true, noble, just, pure, lovely, of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things.” You must decide what music, tv shows, movies, and books you will allow into your brain-diet. Does it pass through the Philippians filter?
-Surround yourself with like-minded people. We become like the ones we surround ourselves with. "He who walks with wise men will be wise, but the companion of fools will be destroyed." Proverbs 13:20
- Remove negative statements and words from your life
-Be intentional with what you say. Tune your ears to really hear what you are saying and stop yourself from speaking negatively. Rather than verbalizing each pain you are going through, speak praise over the moments that you aren’t in pain. Focus on the blessings in your life. Live moment by moment. “In everything give thanks for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” 1 Thessalonians 5:18.
Our body, spirit, and soul, were designed and created by a magnificent Creator. Faith and positive thinking in God are the vital keys to recovery your health and maintaining it. Hope begins with knowing that your Creator cares about you and that He has a plan for your life. Faith is very powerful because it produces hope. The story in Mark 5 tells of a woman who was diseased in her blood. She followed the multitude of people who were surrounding Jesus, believing if only she could touch the hem of His robe, she would be healed. In verse 34 Jesus says, “Daughter, your faith has made you well. Go in peace, and be healed of your affliction.” Faith in Christ, believing His promises and being obedient to the commands and guidelines He’s given us are the keys to a healthy living.
This is the personal testimony from the author of “The Maker’s Diet” Jordan Rubin, “When I started to believe I was well and to give thanks to God for the moments of well-being I experienced, I began to get well. It was a mustard seed of faith that sparked my healing; and it eventually moved the mountain of illness in my life. A seemingly far-fetched, ridiculous-sounding, positive thought, word, or action that you can choose to express in your moment of desperation can act as a seed of faith that will spark the healing process for you" 4. What he spoke about - he brought about.
"Death and life are in the power of the tongue:" Proverbs 18:21
Mediate on God’s Word, pray claiming the many promises in His word for your healing will cause your faith to grow and you will experience miracles like the woman in Mark 5.
"I will praise you, for I am fearfully & wonderfully made. Marvelous are your works and that my soul knows very well”. Psalm 139:4
- Kevin Lehman, Keeping Your Family Together When the World Is Falling Apart, (New York: Delacorte Press, Bantam Doubleday Dell Publishing Group, Inc, 1992), 273
- Jacobson, The Word on Health, 166.
- Don Colbert, M.D., What You Don’t Know May Be Killing You! (Lake Mary, Fl: Siloam, 2000), 94-95
- George Ritchey and Elizabeth Sherrill, Return From Tomorrow, (Grand Rapids, MI; Baker Book House, 1979).
- Jordan Rubin, The Maker’s Diet, (Shippensburg, PA; Destiny Image Publishers, 2005).