by Rex Banks

"No one can appreciate so fully as a doctor the amazingly large percentage of human disease and suffering which is directly traceable to worry, fear, conflict,…to unwholesome thinking and unclean living" (Dr. William Sadler).

Even without a medical degree, most of us instinctively recognize that the anxiety which chases away sleep, the fear which causes our heart to race, and the slow-burning anger which gnaws at our gut are the enemies of both our bodies and our souls. The very language which we use is instructive. We speak of being "sick" with fear, "insane" with jealousy, and "eaten up" by anger.

In more prosaic language, medical men have drawn our attention to the fact that a mind filled with negative and destructive thoughts threatens the health of the body: "With every passing year, we obtain a wider comprehension of the ability of the mind (psyche) to produce varied disturbances in the body (soma): hence the term psychosomatic. Invisible emotional tension in the mind can produce striking visible changes in the body, changes that can become serious and fatal" (Dr. S. I. McMillen: None Of These Diseases).

Now, for those of us who believe that the Bible meets man's every emotional and spiritual need, it is not surprising to hear inspired writers emphasizing that a garbage-free heart/mind is essential to human well-being. True, emphasis is quite rightly placed upon the spiritual, but the God who created us has given laws which enhance our lives physically and emotionally, as well as spiritually.

We are to "guard" or "watch over" the heart (mind) (Proverbs 4:23), because it is the "wellspring of life." We are also to consciously, deliberately choose the focus of our minds. The Psalmist affirms: "I will meditate on Thy precepts" (Psalm 119:15,23,27,48,78,148), using a word which speaks of "silent reflection." Isn't it obvious that the man whose mind is saturated with Holy Scripture is less likely to "look on a woman to lust for her" (Matthew 5:28) than the man who feeds his imagination on pornography?

What of the man who silently reflects upon the cross each day and treasures in his mind the words of a dying Savior, "Father, forgive them…"? Isn't he far less likely to hold a grudge or nurse a grievance than the one who gives no thought to our dying God?

Again listen to David: "When I remember Thee on my bed, I meditate on Thee in the night watches" (Psalm 63:6). Isn't it obvious that the heart immersed in the promises of God will enjoy a freedom from doubt and fear which is not known to the atheist and the agnostic? What better antidote for anxiety than David's words: "The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want" (Psalm 23:1)?

Poor, sad Bertrand Russell lamented: "…no fire, no heroism, no intensity of thought and feeling can preserve an individual life beyond the grave." That's the fruit of unbelief. Stephen died with heaven before his eyes, "the glory of God and Jesus standing at the right hand of God" (Acts 7:55). That's the fruit of a God-directed focus.

Friends, let's choose carefully the focus of our minds. When the garbage threatens to engulf our hearts and lives, let's fight back as the Psalmist did — "Thy word I have treasured in my heart, that I may not sin against Thee" (Psalm 119:11). Job was "blameless, upright, fearing God" simply because he could say with conviction, "I have treasured the words of His mouth more than my necessary food" (Job 1:1; 23:12b).

Let's choose deliberately and with determination a God-directed focus to our life — our physical, emotional, and spiritual health depend upon our doing so.

Thanks to The Voice of Truth International, Vol 35, pgs 12-13.