A joyful heart is good medicine!

(Proverbs 17:22) “A joyful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones.”

For those who love God we know all things work out for good, stop! what am I saying? What if someone loses a child or loved one, could that work out for good? If one discovers they are HIV positive, have Cancer which is terminal, lose their job or have their house repossessed. Surely it is a curse from God and not a blessing! If I reason in the realm of suppositions then that would have to be my conclusion. However when I look too the Holy Scriptures, the Word of God, the Bible! I see “pattern” unfold before my very eyes. I see a very wise master builder at work in the lives of believers. Lives full of examples of encouragement, discipline and apparent calamity, whatever it takes to help to get God’s people to unite in the faith, to be drawn together into true fellowship.

Let us look at the human anatomy and use it as an illustration to highlight scripture and help us understand the doctrine behind true fellowship. First we will need to understand how the body protects itself against unwanted virus and bacteria and then how our immune system builds resistance to defend against any unwanted toxins.

The Bible is full of “pattern or typology” where parallels are drawn from the human anatomy and the body of Christ, the church!  If we want our physical bodies to heal when sick we need it to work together as it combats that which is unwanted.

Some facts on the immune system…

“An immune system is a system of biological structures and processes within an organism that protects against disease by identifying and killing pathogens and tumor cells. It detects a wide variety of agents, from viruses to parasitic worms, and needs to distinguish them from the organism's own healthy cells and tissues in order to function properly. Detection is complicated as pathogens can evolve rapidly, and adapt to avoid the immune system and allow the pathogens to successfully infect their hosts.

To survive this challenge, multiple mechanisms evolved that recognize and neutralize pathogens. Even simple unicellular organisms such as bacteria possess enzyme systems that protect against viral infections. Other basic immune mechanisms evolved in ancient eukaryotes and remain in their modern descendants, such as plants and insects. These mechanisms include peptides called defensins, phagocytosis, and the complement system. Jawed vertebrates, including humans, have even more sophisticated defense mechanisms.[1] The typical vertebrate immune system consists of many types of proteins, cells, organs, and tissues that interact in an elaborate and dynamic network. As part of this more complex immune response, the human immune system adapts over time to recognize specific pathogens more efficiently. This adaptation process is referred to as "adaptive immunity" or "acquired immunity" and creates immunological memory. Immunological memory, created from a primary response to a specific pathogen, provides an enhanced response to secondary encounters with that same, specific pathogen. This process of acquired immunity is the basis of vaccination. Primary response can take 2 days and up to 2 weeks to develop. After the body gains immunity towards a certain pathogen, when infection by that pathogen occurs again, the immune response is called the secondary response. Disorders in the immune system can result in disease, including autoimmunediseases, inflammatorydiseases and cancer.[2] [3]Immunodeficiency diseases occur when the immune system is less active than normal, resulting in recurring and life-threatening infections. Immunodeficiency can either be the result of a genetic disease, such as severe combined immunodeficiency, or be produced by pharmaceuticals or an infection, such as the acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) that is caused by the retrovirus HIV. In contrast, autoimmune diseases result from a hyperactive immune system attacking normal tissues as if they were foreign organisms. Common autoimmune diseases include Hashimoto's thyroiditis, rheumatoid arthritis, diabetes mellitus type 1, and lupus erythematosus.” (Wikipedia)

Therefore we see how involved all parts to the immune system are with one another in order for it to function correctly, if its process is broken down, the body then starts to deteriorate. And it is no different in “type” or “pattern” to how God has intended for the body of Christ to function. What and who make up the body of Christ? “Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it.” (1Corinthians 12:27): - Therefore individual believers make up the body of Christ it goes far deeper than belonging to a church or being a church member. It is not about attending a church on a Sunday but being involved with fellow believers, this is true fellowship, and friendships must be established. When one suffers all suffer, when one is happy all share in their happiness etc.

This then is God’s design for His children, the body of Christ; “And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ {similar to all the components of the immune system to keep the enemy at bay}, until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.” (Ephesians 4:11-16)

With that understood and this in mind, what about my opening statement in light of tragedy in believers lives? How can they be beneficial? Without the trial of life, without the immune system recognising the enemy how will it learn to function as intended. It is the harsh trials of life that teach us to come together as a unit and stand with the one in need. Without it there would be no need! It is the trial that teachers us unity! We could on the other hand, build resentment to it, but then we would have missed the boat. It is for this exact reason that we can now stand on the truth of scripture not only because we are told to believe its instruction but we now understand the mechanics behind it.

Christianity is about true fellowship and not simply church attendance!

Therefore: - “And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.” (Romans 8:28)

No matter what the trial of life, if you belong to God and He is your heavenly Father, He is working the trial out for your benefit and for the profit of those whom you are in fellowship with, it is a given! No if’s and but’s! If it is sin that has brought about the trial or if it is simply something that will glorify God at our own expense, in other words the loss of a loved one who will open their eyes in heaven, if they are believers or sanctified by their parents. Yes, we will miss them here on earth but they would have arrived in heaven to ever be with the Lord. Ultimately both these scenarios will be worked out in our favour.

It is all about finding unity in a body of believers and God often uses Calamity to teach us these valuable lessons.

I hope this helps, as it has helped me reason with a sound mind as I now have to deal with an unpleasant scenario amongst our own body of believers.

Signing off

Tyrone