Your Thoughts Can Bring Healing

When it comes to your health, your thoughts are key. The Bible tells us to fix our thoughts on what is true, honorable and right. We’re told to meditate on those things that are pure, lovely and admirable (see Phil. 4:8).

You must consciously monitor your thoughts on a daily basis, choosing forgiveness and love over the dangerous emotions that ultimately destroy your health. At first it may take minute-to-minute monitoring until you get control.

One way to overcome playing old tapes of pain, self-doubt and anxiety is to go deep into the Word of God. Invest in inspirational tapes or praise and worship music.

God heals today as He did in the past; He is the same yesterday, today and forever. So it follows that we can be healed of our past, set free in the present and be all that we can be in the future. In other words–whole, healed and free!

Your current state of physical health is a reflection of your emotional health. Many chronic complaints–headaches, backaches, fatigue, muscle tension, panic attacks, anxiety and depression–are triggered by stress, buried or repressed pain, unforgiveness and grief that was never released.

Letting go of dangerous emotions will make room for positive emotions to emerge and for healing to take place. Every day is a new beginning, another chance to live in forgiveness, unconditional love and truth.

YOU ARE WHAT YOU THINK Thoughts of love cause a release of healing substances in the body. Anxious thoughts cause your body to release cortisone and adrenaline, which suppress your immune response. Peaceful, tranquil thoughts release chemicals that help your body relax and adjust.

You must learn to love yourself and others unconditionally. The power of love can heal us of the dangerous emotions that threaten to destroy our lives and our health. Choose to love, and you’ll be able to live life to the fullest.

When you let go of harmful emotions, you are free to experience pure love without fear. You will know a peaceful trust that will replace the mistrust that has held you captive in the past.

This is the way God made us. We thrive mentally, physically and spiritually when we develop a lifestyle of loving people unconditionally.

Love is the healing emotion that cancels out dangerous ones. It is so powerful that it eliminates fear (see 1 John 4:18).

I believe that you can be healed if you have the willingness and desire to do the work. Looking within yourself takes courage, but that is where God comes in. Prayer and a close walk with Him are imperative.

God will hold you up, and with His help, the healing process will be accelerated. You can be free to experience life as God intended it to be.

EMOTIONS AND ILLNESS Dangerous emotions can create a pathway to illness. Many times when we are suffering from anxiety, depression, stress and resultant physical illness, a spiritual depletion has taken place.

We are body, mind and spirit. Neglecting the spiritual portion of our beings will not bring wellness. There will always be an emptiness that only God can fill.

Spiritual depletion is an unnatural state of being. No wonder there is an epidemic of depression, anxiety and chronic disease. It’s because one-third of our total being is not being fed.

Research has uncovered one of the greatest healing miracles of all time–spirituality. More than 300 studies confirm that people of faith are healthier than nonbelievers and less likely to die prematurely from any cause. Having faith can also speed recovery from physical and mental illness, surgery and addiction.

According to Dale A. Matthews, M.D., an associate professor of medicine at Georgetown University School of Medicine in Washington, D.C., and author of The Faith Factor: Proof of the Healing Power of Prayer (Viking Penguin, 1998), the body responds positively to faith. Blood pressure and pulse rate tend to be lower, oxygen consumption better, brain wave patterns slower and immune function enhanced if you practice your faith regularly.

Faith also gives us a sense of peace and an ability to look beyond our present problems with hope. Looking ahead can reduce stress and lower our risk of anxiety and depression. For many of us the church is a place where we feel connected and have a sense of meaning and purpose. There we are surrounded by people who care and take an interest in our lives. We are also nourished spiritually.