On the Way to Wonder

Proverbs 17:22

“A cheerful heart is a good medicine,
    but a downcast spirit dries up the bones.”

         As we journey to Thanksgiving with all the stresses of this season, Proverbs reminds us that giving thanks is like taking medicine.  Grumbling dries up our strength.  Monday we talked about giving thanks being like Lamaz training for childbirth.  Lamaz teaches us to focus on the good so the brain does not fixate on the negative experiences in life.  So how is giving thanks also like medicine?  Medicine does not help us refocus or distract us from our problems, medicine actually fights the disease by activating our antibodies and encourages our bodies to fight disease.  I am not a doctor, but I know my chiropractor sold me on the idea that as my spine is correctly aligned and nerve synapses are connecting properly, my body is stronger and more healthy. 

         Medicine can dull the pain so I can see the bigger picture and cope with life.  Faith gives us a bigger view of life and the God who is working in our lives so that we are not overwhelmed by the pain of hard times.  Faith lets us know that there is a God walking with us and we are not alone. We have community in the fellow Christians to support us.  Faith activates hope.  Faith can lead to peace.  The antibodies of faith are activated by giving thanks.

         James 2:2-8 encourages us, “² My brothers and sisters,whenever you face trials of any kind, consider it nothing but joy, ³ because you know that the testing of your faith produces endurance; ⁴ and let endurance have its full effect, so that you may be mature and complete, lacking in nothing. ⁵ If any of you is lacking in wisdom, ask God, who gives to all generously and ungrudgingly, and it will be given you. ⁶ But ask in faith, never doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, driven and tossed by the wind; ^{7, 8} for the doubter, being double-minded and unstable in every way, must not expect to receive anything from the Lord.”

Today let us use the letters in antibodies for our acrostic of thanks:  A is for….., N is for ……, T is for….., I is for ….., B is for ….., O is for ….., D is for….., Y is for …….]  Blessings.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ur5V7Yfrpyc

This entry was posted on Wednesday, November 9th, 2022 at 6:23 am and is filed under Spiritual Vitamins. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.