WHERE DO WE PLACE THE BLAME NOW? – Part I

Rev. Ann White, SW Washington

Instead of finding someone or something to blame, should we instead be looking inside ourselves for the situations we are in now?

When we become sick, we begin to seek an explanation for our suffering and ask ourselves, why? One of the most common responses is to blame God, someone else, or something else for our suffering.

But, for the sake of discussion here, I would like to suggest a paradigm shift in our thinking and consider a question e.g., “Could there be a connection between behavior, attitudes, thoughts, emotions and disease?”

The purpose of this information is to share information with you from the Scriptures, the medical studies of immunology and endocrinology, as well as psychoneuroimmunology.

Did you know that thoughts related to disease and death have existed for over three thousand years? Hipocrates (500 BC) theorized that health was related to the balance of four bodily humors which contributed to specific temperaments. Galen (AD 131-201) took this idea further, proposing that a balance of the “passions” was essential for physical health. He believed that severe emotional reactions were considered causes of diseases such as stroke, birth defects, asthma, ulcers and, ultimately, even death (Sternberg 1997). These beliefs persisted through the medieval period and the early Renaissance. In the Anatomy of Melancholy, Robert Burton said, “the mind most effectively works upon the body, producing by his passions and perturbations miraculous alterations … cruel diseases and sometimes death itself.”

I recently heard a commercial on TV that talked about the fact that we are a “multi-tasking society” and we need “multi-tasking medications.” I dare say this shouldn’t be the case.

I basis of knowledge, which I will be presenting over the next several months, will help you understand the connection between our mind, will and emotions and our health issues we have today.

You may have been given a terminal diagnosis, which the medical community has given to you. It may well be that according to medical science, it is not curable. But, there can be answers for you related to your mind, will and emotions, as well as the Scriptures that can bring you healing and deliverance. Remember, “with God, all things are possible.”

Let’s continue. Today, despite overwhelming evidence, medical science mostly ignores the mind-body connection. Today’s drug-oriented medicine seeks to find the “magic drug” to miraculously cure all our diseases. But, is this the true answer?

There is today available, extensive evidence from medical science itself which demonstrates the connection between the mind and the body – how negative thoughts and emotions contribute to disease and death through immune dysfunction.

If you are not medically knowledgeable, this information can become very exciting for you to learn. At the same time, it will require you to perhaps look at yourself and discern where you are emotionally, and maybe make some very important changes that could save your life, as well as the lives of those you love.

The endocrine system in our bodies serves as one central gateway for psychological influences and health. Stress, depression, and other negative emotions can provoke the release of hormones that have multiple effects on the immune system.

The central nervous system also responds to our thoughts and emotions. Fear or alarm causes the adrenal glands to secrete neurotransmitters that create an immediate fight-flight response which also can have multiple effects on the immune system.

There is also an interconnectedness between the spirit, soul, and body that is plainly experienced in psychology, medicine, and in our walk with God.

III John 2 says, “Beloved, I wish above all things that you may prosper and be in health, even as your soul prospers.” This requires some effort on our part doesn’t it? So, if you are not prospering, and you’re not healthy, stick with me, and hopefully you will learn some new things.

I Thessalonians 5:23 says, “And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless to the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

When we also look at the Lord’s Prayer, which by the way is actually an Old Covenant prayer, it says, “Thy will be done in earth as it is in heaven.” There is no sickness in heaven to my knowledge. If that is the case and that is the actual prayer the Lord Jesus prayed when He was here in the earth, I think we can learn some new things. Would you agree?

When we are talking about our “soul” or “psyche,” we are talking about our mind, our will and our emotions. Our soul cannot be separated from our spirit and body. As we will see, the sciences of psychology and medicine clearly demonstrate the effects of negative emotions on our physical and mental health, but they fail to understand the connection to the Spirit.

The use of terminology in Scripture plainly teaches the connection between the spirit, soul, and body. For example, the terms for salvation, soteria, and the verb form sozo, are used over one hundred and fifty times to mean, “to save, cure, heal, preserve, keep safe and sound, rescue from danger or destruction, deliver, to save from peril, injury or suffering, to make whole from physical death by healing, and from spiritual death by forgiving sin and its effects.” How exciting can that be? Scripture references here are Matthew 21-22, Mark 6:56, Acts 4:9, James 5:15-16.

Rapha means “to cure, heal, repair, mend, and restore health” (Genesis 20:17). Rophe or doctor means “the one who heals (Exodus 15:26) diseases and sins (Psalms 103:1-3) and broken hearts” (Luke 4:18-20, Psalms 147:3). Marpe refers to the healing of the body, but is also used to promote the soundness of mind and moral character (Proverbs 4:22, 16:24). The word health comes from hugiaina, which denotes soundness in the body and good health (III John 2). Therapeuo means “to service and care for, to medically treat, heal, and restore” (Matthew 10:8, Luke 10:9). This is the root for the English word “therapy.”

The redemptive plan of God has implications for spirit, soul, and body. His blessings cover the spiritual, emotional, and physical.

The purpose of this information is to expose you to the truth of God’s Word. King Solomon wrote the following verses in the Book of Proverbs about 1000 BC:

Proverbs 16:24 “Pleasant words are as a honeycomb, sweet to the soul, and health to the bones.” Our immune system is formed in the marrow of our bones.

Proverbs 12:25 “Heaviness in the heart of man makes it stoop: but a good word makes it glad.”

Proverbs 14:30 “A sound heart is the life of the flesh: but envy the rottenness of the bones.”

Proverbs 15:30 “The light of the eyes rejoices the heart: and a good report makes fat the bones.”

Proverbs 17:22 “A merry heart does good like a medicine: but a broken spirit dries the bones.”

King David said in Psalms 31:10 “For my life is spent with grief, and my years with sighing: my strength fails because of my iniquity, and my bones are consumed.”

In the information I will be presenting to you as we move forward will demonstrate how the sciences of immunology, endocrinology and psychoneuroimmunology support the Word of God. There is a definite connection between our thoughts and our health. While the sciences can demonstrate the truth of God’s Word, they do not provide the cure or answer to the problems.

In the series of articles, I will demonstrate that the Word of God has the answer or cure for all sicknesses and diseases.

It will be of the utmost importance that you decide you will be honest with yourself, being accountable where the need arises, and learn how to be healed.

SITE-MAP & GUEST-BOOK