HealtH is WealtH
So we’ve said “Goodbye!” to 2016, and we meet together at the beginning of 2017. For a limited amount of time, we are able to look ahead and think about how 2017 will be better for us than 2016. With the aid of our New Years resolutions, we can aim to be Healthier, Wealthier, and Wiser. For those of us who have at least a modicum of will power, these resolutions may last up until mid January. For the rest of us, sadly only January 2nd! I’m reminded of that African Proverb:
“Wherever a man goes to dwell, his character goes with him.”
It’s often difficult to shake off those old habits, which seem to be holding us back. Our spending habits, which keep us struggling with debt; our personal habits, which seem to sabotage our relationships; and, of course, our eating, drinking and lifestyle habits, which rob us of our health for today and tomorrow. In fact, the majority of resolutions made during this time of the year, are related to our health: “I must lose weight.” Or “I need to start drinking less.”“I’m going to start exercising more.”These are, without doubt, noble and legitimate aspirations for someone wishing to improve their health. But let me kindly suggest to you that our health is really a matter of ‘How We Look!’ ........ Now, I’m not referring to what we see in the mirror, although clearly it has some part to play. No, deeper than what we eat or drink or how often we exercise is how we look at Life.
The late, great motivator, Zig Ziglar used to say:
“look back with Forgiveness, look Forward with hope. look Down with compassion and look up with gratitude.”
It’s difficult to think of a better prescription for a healthy life. For more than 20 years, I’ve had the privilege of helping people regain their health by reversing High Blood Pressure, Diabetes, Obesity, Heart Disease, Arthritis and much more. Yes there are practical changes that need to be made. A diet change, an exercise routine, all of that is necessary. But at the core of those bad habits that keep us from enjoying great health, are our negative states of mind and emotions: Stress, Worry, Fear, Guilt, Anger, Bitterness etc. The evidence is overwhelming that these negative emotions lead to ill-health. Dr David Williams, at Harvard medical school, demonstrated that African-American women who perceived that they were being racially discriminated against, suffered a 300% increase in
It’s important to forgive for our own sakes, irrespective of what someone has done or is still doing to us. We forgive to help ourselves, not them. We are releasing ourselves from a self-imposed prison.
Those bitter and stressed thoughts also encourage us to eat more sugar and fat which leads to more illhealth, there must be a reason why the word “Stressed” is “Desserts” spelled backwards.
“look Forward with hope…”
“Man can live about 40 days without food, about 3 days without water, about 8 minutes without air…but not 1 second without Hope.”
Hal Lindsey Looking forward with Hope rather than Fear is a perfect antidote to Stress. But I hear you say “But what if the future looks really terrible? How do I change that fear into hope?” I’m reminded of the story of David and Goliath. My question is: if David never met Goliath, where would he be? He would have still been a great shepherd, but not a King. It seems that God sent Goliath not to defeat David, but to promote him. What about the Goliaths in our own lives? The financial Goliaths, the relationship Goliaths, the health Goliaths. Could it be that God wants to use them, not as Stumbling Blocks for defeat, but Stepping Stones to success?
“even though i walk through the valley of the shadow of Death, i will fear no evil; for you are with me…”
Psalm 23:4 This helps us to change our view of a perceived
I pray that 2017 will be the year where we look Well. Whether it’s Backwards, forwards, downwards or upwards. And then, when we look in the mirror, we’ll see what God wants us to be….Healthy in Body, Mind & Spirit.
Wishing you all a Happy, Healthy and Hopeful New Year!