A cheerful heart is good medicine,
but a crushed spirit dries up the bones Proverbs17:22
The word "Psychosomatic" is an interesting one. It is made up of two Greek words: "Psycho" - to do with the spirit. And "Soma" - to do with the body. For nearly 3000 years Proverbs has been telling us what the doctors have only recently started researching - that our mental and spiritual attitudes can have a profound impact on our health.
Sometimes our feelings exhaustion and tiredness have more to do with our mental and spiritual tiredness than our physical tiredness and sleep is not always the right answer for that sort of exhaustion. Sometimes when I am feeling really run down and tired, the right answer is to take the phone off the hook, put on some good music and read a good book or _the_ Good Book!
Sadness, depression, hopelessness and doubt have a huge impact on our well-being as people. We are not always aware that our spirit has been crushed and so our dried up bones are the warning signal. Inasmuch as we need to nourish our bodies, give them rest, and care for them, so also we need to care for our spiritual and emotional needs as well.
Are you feeling run down and exhausted? Before you run off to the doctor and get vitamins or even anti-depressants ask yourself: "What have I done to meet the needs of my crushed spirit? What have I done to cheer up my heart?"
Please don't misunderstand me - there is a time for a visit to the doctor and/or medication, all I am saying is that we should take the time to see what is happening in our hearts first...
When last did you feed your soul?
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Theo Groeneveld theo@emmanuel.org.za
You can see past EmmDevs at http://emmdev.blogspot.com/
