In this world so full of information regarding health, it is hard to know what to do. So many people are looking for answers. They are looking for just that right “thing” that will prolong their life. The answer for me is Christ. He is the glue that holds all things together. In John chapter 1, we are told that all things came into being through Him and without Him nothing would exist. In Him is Life and this Life is the Light of men. God created the heavens and the earth and said “Let there be Light” and there was Light.(Genesis 1:3). Jesus called Himself the Light of the world, so essentially God said “Let there be Christ Jesus”! It has become apparent to me that the source of life is in relationship with the Light, the true Light- Christ. He is the energy that holds all things together.
Colossians 1:16-17 For it was in Him that all things were created, in heaven and on earth, things seen and things unseen, whether thrones, dominions, rulers, or authorities; all things were created and exist through Him [by His service, intervention] and in and for Him. And He Himself existed before all things, and in Him all things consist (cohere, are held together).
As I studied the periodic chart, I found that our bodies consist of 66 elements. Is this a coincidence? I think not! There are 66 books of the bible. Furthermore, the average 150 pound human contains 7 x 10 to the 27th atoms. As you may know, 7 and 10 are important numbers in the bible. 7 is the number of completion and 10 represents government and completion. If you study the number 27, you will find that the sun orbits its axis every 27 days and that there are 27 books of the New testament. The Hebrew alphabet is composed of letters that correspond to numbers . Each letter has a picture associated with it. I mention this to spark your interest in the deeper things of God and to emphasize that Christ is the energy that hold the very atoms together. Nothing in this earth or the universe is by mistake!
God created man from the dust of the ground then He breathe into mans nostrils the spirit of life (Genesis 2:7). God blew the soul of life into man nostrils. The Hebrew language is so fascinating to me. In the bible, there are 3 words used for the soul–Nefesh, Ruach, Neshamah.
Nefesh- from root word Nafash meaning to rest.
Ruach-means Spirit but in some places means wind.
Neshamah- comes from Neshimah the Hebrew word for breath.
In essence, God blew the Neshamah or the soul of life into man’s nostrils breathing His spirit or Ruach into him causing His Spirit or “soul of life” to rest on man. The Spirit of God is felt when it moves through us. God is spirit and He is all around us like the air but not always detectable. Air is only felt when it moves. Ruach also means wind, so like the wind, God can only be detected when His Spirit moves through us. The Ruach is the Holy Spirit that connects the soul of man to God. In Hebrew, the word most often used to describe enlightenment is Ruach HaKodesh or Holy Spirit. It is through the Holy Spirit that enlightenment or wisdom from above comes to us. The beauty of today is that the Spirit of God does not just rest on a believer in Christ but dwells permanently in him or her. This means that every believer can commune with His spirit and receive wisdom, understanding, and knowledge (Meditation and the Bible by Aryeh Kaplan).
The problem today is that most believers are not connecting with the Father. To connect with Him, we must set aside a time to turn our hearts and minds to Him. This is done not only in prayer but in meditation and contemplation. The dictionary defines contemplation as the act of looking at something thoughtfully for a long time. From a Christian perspective, contemplation is a form of prayer or meditation where a believer seeks to go beyond concepts and mental images to a direct experience with the divine–God. Thomas Merton in his book called Seeds of Contemplation, describes contemplation as a gratitude for life and an awareness that life proceeds from an “invisible, transcendent and infinitely abundant Source”. I want to share with you an excerpt from his book Seeds of Contemplation:
“In other words, then, contemplation reaches out to the knowledge and even to the experience of the transcendent and inexpressible God. It knows God by seemingly to touch Him. Or rather it knows Him as if it had been invisibly touched by Him…Touched by Him Who has no hands, but Who is pure Reality and the source of all that is real! Hence contemplation is a sudden gift of awareness, an awaking to the Real within all that is real. A vivid awareness of infinite Being at the roots of our own limited being. An awareness of our contingent reality as received, as a present from God, a free gift of love. This existential contact of which we speak when we use the metaphor of being ‘touched by God’.”
“Contemplation is also the response to a call; a call from Him Who has no voice, Who speaks in everything that is, and Who, most of all, speaks in the depths of our being: for we ourselves are words of His. But we are words that are meant to respond to Him, to answer Him, to echo Him, and even in some way to contain and signify Him. Contemplation is this echo. It is a deep resonance in the inmost center of our spirit in which our very life loses its separate voice and re-sounds with the majesty and the mercy of the Hidden and Living One. He answers Himself in us and this answer is divine life, divine creativity, making all things new. We ourselves become His echo and His answer.”
So in other words, in contemplation, we connect with His spirit being transformed into His image in order that we can express His true nature to this world. I love how Thomas Merton said the we “are words of His”. Psalm 33:6 says: By the word of the Lord were the heavens made, and all the host by the breath of His mouth. Contemplation is simply worship. It’s a deep knowing that there is One who is greater and that I am one with Him, known by Him, and loved by Him. I am part of something much bigger than myself. I am just a very small part of His creation yet He is mindful of me and has crowned me with honor and glory (Psalms 8:4-5). He who created the world deeply loves me. Contemplation or worship is a deep appreciation and awe for the Giver of Life. It’s an understanding that in His perfect love, He cares about my every need and concern. This includes my health. Have you asked Him about your health? Have you asked Him about your diet and whether you should exercise? Have you searched scripture for these answers?
Sadly, many of us use God’s grace as an excuse to stay where we are in life instead of using His grace to overcome every obstacle. We use phrases like “He knows my heart” to stay in our sin. Grace is the power to overcome sin. Grace empowers us to go from glory to glory. Sin should not have dominion over us. We are over comers in Christ. Sickness should not reign in our bodies for by His strips we were healed. I believe the answers to health lies in relationship with the Father, listening and obeying His instructions. His Words are Spirit and Life. He says “Call to Me and I will answer you and show you great and mighty things, fenced in and hidden, which you do not know (do not distinguish and recognize, have knowledge of and understand). Jeremiah 33:3
In the next blog, we will look at the life of Daniel. Daniel exemplifies a life devoted to God. He had health as well as deep insight like no one else. We can learn important keys to living the abundant life from him.
Healthy Mind Healthy Body 