You likely have heard the scripture John 10:10 where Jesus says, “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. . . “, but what does that have to do with your health? A lot! The enemy wants to destroy everything good in your life, especially your health. How can you be at your best physically, mentally, emotionally, professionally or spiritually if you are living with obesity, diabetes, cancer, ulcers, migraines, dementia, arthritis, chronic pain or a host of other ails?
This may sound harsh to your ears to hear someone is trying to steal your health, but when someone steals, they do it in a very cunning and deceptive way. Rarely is it blatant. If it were outright, it would be recognized. Health can be lost before the person realizes it’s stolen from them because it’s happening subtly.
In the 2008 movie Wall-E about a distant, but not so unrealistic future, the people of Earth ride around a space resort on hovering chairs which give them a constant feed of TV, video chatting and meals sipped through a straw. Out of laziness and toxic foods and are all so over-fat that they can barely move and they are numb to what has happened. They are completely removed from what is natural.
The stealing begins with thoughts injected into your mind such as, you don’t have time to shop for healthy groceries, or exercise is too hard. Have you made inner vows such as; “I will never buy organic, it’s a scam”, “Cooking is too much work”, “Gyms are not for me”, or “Fast food is not bad a few times a week”? How about “I only need 5 hours of sleep.”? Ultimately all of these commitments re-play in your mind until they become believable. Before you know it, those lies become beliefs and eventually your nature and habits.
In time, health is being stolen by inactivity, malnutrition, sleep deprivation, chronic stress, environmental toxins, addiction and even negative media. The common reaction is to turn to an over the counter or prescription medication to remedy all that ails. The sign Rx, representing prescription, has been traced to a pagan symbol. The serpent is also used as a symbol for medicine, wisdom and enlightenment.
Not only does the thief come to steal, he also comes “to kill.” The Greek word for kill is thuo, which means to sacrifice; to surrender; or to give up something that is precious and dear. We are quick to sacrifice our health by eating convenient genetically modified food or the time to participate in physical activities we enjoy. Taking care of ourselves moves low on the list of importance as other worldly distractions appear to take priority. It’s not uncommon to abandon sleeping 7 hours a night because of TV viewing and then the next day devote more than 12 hours to working. That slowly sacrifices healthy years of life.
After steal and kill, next, the scripture says that the thief also comes “to destroy.” The word “destroy” is from the Greek word apollumi, meaning something that is ruined, wasted, trashed, devastated, and destroyed. If the thief is unsuccessful in his attempts to steal from you or convince you to sacrifice healthy habits, he will then try to ruin your health!
Your health is your greatest wealth. Having financial means when you have failing organs or chronic health distractions is futile. The thief is looking for any way to wiggle deeply into your lifestyle decisions so that your health fails and fast. That may be through deceptive advertising about health claims or conditions and situations so stress-filled that you’ll see no way to solve the problem except to sacrifice everything that keeps you healthy. It’s not unusual for people to end up feeling exhausted, heavy, with clouded thinking, addicted, toxic, depleted, depressed or lacking well-being.
But the good news is that Jesus went on to say in that same scripture, “I have come that you might have life and have it more abundantly”. The words “you might have” are from the Greek tense that means to have and to continually possess. The “life” Jesus offers us is zoe, which suggests a life that is filled with vitality. The word “abundantly” is from the Greek word periossos, and it means to be above, beyond what is regular, extraordinary, or even exceeding. This is not just abundance; it is super- abundance.
What a comparison! The devil comes to steal, kill and destroy, but Jesus comes to give life, including health as we have never known it! We are all given the promise of vitality. Now that you know how the enemy works, don’t let unhealthy thoughts or habits enter your mind.
The devil wants you to be defeated, to struggle with your health and be sick, depressed, and miserable, feeling worthless of good things. But Jesus wants to give you a life that is unrivaled, unequaled, matchless, incomparable, richly loaded, and overflowing with good health!
I urge you to put on the brakes and stop the ill thoughts from robbing your health. Jesus will give you the power to resist every attack against your health and to overcome every strategy the devil ever tries to use against you! Miracles happen every day. They start by believing they are possible.
Kelli Calabrese is the owner of the Divine Health Studio and coach of Argyle Adventure Boot Camp where for the past 6 years people have been acquiring high levels of health and fitness. www.ArgyleBootCamp.com – 817-490-1296 – [email protected]
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