As a ministry leader, I’m sure you are aware of the tri-part being of man. We are a spirit, and we possess a soul (mind, will and emotions), and we live in a body. That fact is clearly spelled out in various Scriptures, but most succinctly in 1 Thessalonians 5:23—And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Your soul affects your physical body; it is a proven medical fact. Scripture confirms those findings of the scientific community. Proverbs 17:22 tells us, A merry heart doeth good like a medicine: but a broken spirit drieth the bones. In my forty-two years of ministry, I have seen that Scripture repeatedly realized in people’s lives. Mental health affects spiritual health. Anxiety Doctors tell us that anxiety is the most common mental health issue in America. The 1828 edition of Webster’s dictionary defines anxiety as, “having a concern respecting some event, or future, or something that is uncertain, which disturbs the mind and keeps it in a state of painful uneasiness; it springs from fear or serious apprehension of evil.” In other words, anxiety springs from having faith in something you don’t want to happen. God does not intend for you to carry your worries. Jesus carried them for you. Isaiah 53:4-5 says, “Surely he hath borne our grief(s), and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions [rebellion], he was bruised for our iniquities [sin]: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes [bruise] we are healed.” Now the Hebrew word here for grief is choli, and that word refers to malady, calamity, disease, sickness, and then there is one other meaning of this word grief and it is the word anxiety. Anxiety is not something of the body; it is something of the soul. Jesus took your anxiety, worries, and concerns upon Himself. If Jesus carried them, why do you still have them? Worry opens the door for Satan to do things that you don’t want. It’s the opposite of faith, which opens the door for God to do things that you do want! Grief Isaiah 53:4 says that the Messiah would carry our sorrows. I looked up that word sorrow, and just like the word grief(s), it does not refer to a physical problem, but an issue of the soul. Sorrow is anguish, or affliction, grief, or mental pain. The 1828 Webster Dictionary says it is the “uneasiness or pain of the mind which is produced by the loss of any good, real or supposed, whereby disappointment in the expectation of good.” Many people have become ill because they became disappointed. They became disappointed in themselves, in circumstances, in people or disappointed in who knows what. Disappointment grew to depression, and depression led to physical impairment. I am certain that I have laid hands on thousands of people who were afflicted with sickness and disease because they allowed anxiety and grief to remain in their souls. Fear Not Faith is the opposite of fear, anxiety, and sorrow. Jesus charged us to, “Fear not,” not because He was insensitive to our concerns and hurts, but because He knew the repercussions fear would have in our lives. Jesus has carried our sorrows and our grief. He bore our disappointments. “Yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions.” (Isaiah 53:4-5) He was bruised for your iniquities or sin. You should put your name in that verse. The word chastisement means the restraining of our peace was upon Jesus. Peace The Hebrew word for peace is shalom. The word shalom means a number of things. It means health, prosperity, favor; it also means happy. The restraint of our happiness, the restraint of our well-being, the restraint of our health, the restraint of our prosperity, and the restraint of our favor was upon Him. Satan is the one who is trying to hold back all good things concerning us; all of the anxiety and pain came as a result of man's rebellion. Jesus paid the price as our substitutionary sacrifice— He bore all of our emotional, mental, and physical pain on the cross; which means you should be healthy - you should be wealthy - you should have favor - you should be happy - you should have no anxiety – you should not be full of disappointment about things real or imagined. Your Peace Will Attract People Born again Christians who have knowledge of the Word should be individuals that attract people. People will want to be around you because you are not bitter, you're not unhappy, and you're not depressed. You are somebody about whom people say, “Oh here comes that Christian again.” You will be healthy in spirit, mind, and body, and you will be a powerful witness to the truth of the Gospel.
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