Have you ever wondered whether God really does desire good health for us? As funny as it may seem, I always felt that God didn't care about good health because He made all the good food to be unhealthy -- cholesterol, fat, sugar and all those tempting things that just make you want to skip the gym.
However, I realized much later on that God desires nothing more than fullness of health and freedom from any bodily affliction. More importantly, He also invites us to participate in the work of restoring and stewarding our bodies.
Jeremiah 33:6 says, "Behold, I will bring to it health and healing, and I will heal them and reveal to them abundance of prosperity and security." Just as God desires to prosper your soul and spirit, He also desires to prosper your body. God wants His people to be fit and healthy.
God's design for man was never to be sickly and out of shape. So many people fall into the trap of thinking that God finds no worries in seeing a sick Christian. That is far from the truth. In fact, as Jesus walked on this earth fully reincarnated as man, one of His most proactive ministries was the healing of sickness and affliction.
Matthew 4:23 tells us, "And he went throughout all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction among the people."
Bad health can be caused by so many things -- sin of ancestors passed on to generations, ignorance of God's laws (take note that Leviticus is a book of health laws, too) or sometimes simply just affliction from an enemy that doesn't want you to experience the fullness of God's plan. Yes, the devil is in cholesterol!
But kidding aside, Psalm 38:3 reminds us, "There is no soundness in my flesh because of your indignation; there is no health in my bones because of my sin." The absence of God can lead to sickness and disease. That's not to say that all the people who are sick are not right with God, but we live in a flawed world that needs more of God's grace.
God's goodness and wholeness has always brought forth a surge of healing and goodness not just upon the body, but even our souls and spirits. As God heals depression, doubt, worry, lack, fear and anxiety, He also brings healing upon our physical bodies. And just as God gives us the enabling grace to say no to the sin that ensnares our spirits, He also gives us the grace to be good stewards of our body -- to exercise and eat right.
Acts 3:16 says, "And his name—by faith in his name—has made this man strong whom you see and know, and the faith that is through Jesus has given the man this perfect health in the presence of you all."
My hopes are not to condemn anyone for not taking good care of their body because I've been there before, but I hope that God's Spirit can inspire you and motivate you to be good stewards of the gift of life that God has given us here on earth.
