Doctor’s Orders

Everyone wants to be healthy, but not everyone is willing to take the necessary steps. A doctor can prescribe the medicine, but it’s up to the patient to take it. Thinking further about the Health Wheel this week (see https://mitchellmalloy.blogspot.com/2020/01/2020-vision.html), I’m considering the importance of physical health and how it plays a critical role in our entire outlook.

Maintaining our physical health is a matter of good stewardship. There are things that we can control and things that we can’t. My dad had Multiple Sclerosis, and there were times when he lost the ability to control his limbs. In my personal battle with chronic Lyme disease, I’ve also experienced times when I was literally crippled and unable to walk. However, even in the midst of that helpless situation, I was able to make healthy decisions: how I ate, choosing to exercise in whatever capacity was possible, getting my sleep and taking the medication that was prescribed.  

It’s easy to see the effects of healthy decisions on our physical bodies when we diet and exercise or when we take the prescribed medicine: our health improves, our fat melts away, our muscles grow, our endurance increases, etc. However, as Dr. Daniel Amen points out in the Brain Health 101 podcast, the health of the brain is much less obvious. There’s so much that we are still learning about this critical organ. Being able to think clearly is something that we often take for granted, but as Dr. Amen points out, there are things we can do today to have better brain health in the future. 

Likewise, the health of our soul is not clearly visible, and similar to our brain there are things we can do to nurture our souls (see What a is Soul?). How we choose to build our soul or tear it down is a series of actions and decisions. Ultimately, it is a simple matter of surrendering our will and embracing God’s, fighting against the inertia of our natural resistance until our continued obedience shifts inertia toward our benefit. 

Do you want good health? Then at a minimum you should eat well, get your sleep and exercise. Do you want to represent God well? Then surrender your will to His will: trust and obey. This mental discipline is the food for your soul that nourishes God’s people. Listen to God through prayer and scripture, trust that He is faithful, and obey. 
The prudent see danger and take refuge, but the simple keep going and pay the penalty.. ~ Proverbs 27:12
Is God calling you to something? Are you listening? Are you willing to surrender your will to His? The Great Physician prescribes the medicine, but it is up to you to take it and experience the results. 

copyright ©2020 Mitchell Malloy (http://mitchellmalloyblogspot.com/)

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