Exactly one week ago from today, I had every intention of ending the sporadic posting on both my blog and Instagram page and instead, beginning to post on both on a regular basis. Looking back, it definitely brings to mind the verse “do not boast about tomorrow, for you do not know what a day may bring forth” Proverbs 27:1. The next day, I was hit with severe symptoms caused by health problems I’ve had since I was a kid. I could barely function, let alone be productive. Both my brain function and my body were giving out on me, and it was a tremendous struggle just to get through the day. To say it knocked the wind out of my sails is an understatement.
This has been going on since I was about 11-years-old, but was bearable until it hit with an entire new intensity and array of symptoms when I was 25. Once it escalated and hit full force, I started the exhausting but hopeful journey of going to see numerous doctors and undergoing countless tests. As with all things, it is completely in the Lord’s hands and I know He can continue to provide answers as to why my body is constantly crying for help. I also know He can provide miraculous healing at any moment and to never give up faith in His power and timing.
Eventually, I did get some long awaited answers from a very helpful doctor. Then late in 2015, I found some additional answers that began to help me feel better. I was so excited, and could taste a glimmer of a whole new lease on life. But I knew there was so much more to the puzzle and only some of the issues had been uncovered. We are, after all, fearfully and wonderfully made, and our bodies are so intricate and complex. I began praying for more answers, which the Lord revealed in 2016 and earlier this year. I was finally getting somewhere, and wasn’t feeling nearly as sick every day. I was also in less pain, and it was so exciting. I knew I hadn’t unlocked all of it yet, but it was a substantial start and a true gift from God to have finally made so much progress. I had always wondered what it is like for healthy people to wake up every day and get to function with fully healthy bodies. I can’t even imagine the energy they must feel, and the potential there is to utilize each day to its fullest. I, in contrast, feel like I am ripping my aching, suffering body out of bed every day and forcing it, with every ounce of energy I have, to get through the day. But I started to get some relief – a taste of a better life.
The glimmer of hope I started to experience earlier this year came crashing down again in May when I began to have symptoms in a way I had never experienced before. A lot of my problems are gland and hormone related, so the symptoms can be sporadic and fluctuate in intensity. Last Friday through Tuesday of this week they hit hard. There are so many times I wonder how I am going to take on work responsibilities and day-to-day life when I am feeling my sickest, but I know the Lord has the strength to get me through. He does every single day, despite how often I think, “I can’t do this anymore”. It gives me so much perspective, though, to think of people with far worse health conditions and illnesses than I face. So many are in hospital beds, reliant on around-the-clock meds and care, wheelchairs, etc., so I have SO MUCH to be thankful for. Despite not feeling well, I still have an able body and mind, and a very blessed life, and my heart grieves for people who are suffering and going through so much more than anything I have ever faced.
I say all of this, however, not to tell some sob story or receive sympathy. We all have our battles, and I am simply sharing mine because it’s always interesting to hear what other people are going through. It’s always helpful to remember that you are not alone when you think that life is not easy. But the real reason my post today revolves around my health is because of how it led me to today’s verse. The Lord has used what I have been going through to give me fresh insight to the metaphor between our natural health and our spiritual health.
Pay attention to what I say; turn your ear to My words. Do not let them out of your sight; keep them within your heart; for they are life to those who find them and health to one’s whole body. Proverbs 4:20-22
Whether you have a chronic health condition or just think back to the last time you had a cold or the flu, you have experienced the difference between a healthy body and a sick one. Whenever I am hit with a cold or flu, I think longingly of my body’s normal, healthier state, and eagerly wait for it return. I think of how I take a normal day for granted and long for my healthier, stronger, better-functioning body to return. Being healthy is incredible, and it is one of God’s greatest gifts. Whenever we get sick, we always do whatever we can to get better: get more rest, take medicine, go to the doctor, seek treatment and medical attention, eat foods that will help us heal, drink more water, seek out any remedies that could help, etc. Yet it usually isn’t our natural tendency to react so proactively when our spiritual health declines. We should make just as eager of an effort to restore our spiritual health as our physical health, immediately recognizing when we are sick and doing whatever it takes to get back to a better place spiritually as soon as possible.
Health is a wonderful thing; it is something to fight for, strive for, and dedicate consistent effort to achieve and maintain. Think of the contrast between being physically sick and physically healthy, and then think about the contrast between spiritually sick and spiritually healthy. Wouldn’t you rather have “health to one’s whole body” than the horrible feeling of being sick? Aren’t the moments in your life when you’ve been spiritually strong and healthy FAR BETTER times and memories than the times when you were spiritually sick and weak? Being sick is absolutely awful, yet so many of us live day-to-day with spiritual illness.
We do so much to maintain our physical health. We try to get enough sleep, eat right, drink plenty of water, exercise, keep our mind sharp, keep stress to a minimum, take vitamins, drink healthy shakes, eat organic, cut the bad stuff out of our diets, take sick days, and try earnestly to restore our bodies to their healthy states when we are sick. We should do the same for our spiritual health—it is far more important than our physical bodies, and yet we often do not put forth the same amount of effort to maintain its health, nor do we recognize as quickly when it has fallen into a sick state. Instead of immediately clamoring to restore it to a healthy state as we do with our physical health, we instead often let our spiritual health slip away into deeper decline with minimal effort to fix it. We should value it above our bodies, and not allow it to take a backseat to anything else. When we are healthy and strong in our relationships with the Lord, then life flows the way God intended. If our spiritual well being is our priority, the strength to do everything else naturally pours from it. We will have the guidance and help we need.
Take an honest look at your spiritual health right now, and ask God to heal the areas where you are “sick”. Ask Him to open your eyes and see the areas that are suffering, and diligently seek to heal them by diving into His Word and prayer. If in contrast you can honestly say you are doing well at the moment, then thank the Lord for His strength and continue to feed yourself spiritually. Do whatever it takes to maintain this healthy state, and ask Him to remind you to immediately seek treatment the next time you fall ill. It is vital that we all strive to maintain and protect our spiritual health.