As we continue to see breakthroughs in medicine and technology our awareness of health – good health – continues to grow. Some people seem to be obsessed with healthiness while others pay no attention at all. Even in the Christian community we hear much about health and the importance of a healthy lifestyle. As believers we should pay attention to our health because God put us here for a reason; to glorify Him and to share His good news. It stands to reason that the healthier we remain, the more time we have to share the things of the Lord with a lost world. Take a look at the Christian quotes about health as you consider whether or not you are doing all you can do to glorify the Lord in your body.
“Numerous Christians do not know how to glorify God in their eating and drinking. They do not eat and drink simply to keep their body fit for the Lord’s use but indulge to satisfy their personal desires. We should understand that the body is for the Lord and not for ourselves; hence we should refrain from using it for our pleasure. Food ought not hinder our fellowship with God since it is to be taken purely to preserve the body in health.” ~Watchamn Nee
Sickness & Health
I wish you could convince yourself that GOD is often (in some sense) nearer to us, and more effectually present with us, in sickness than in health. ~ Brother Lawrence
I venture to say that the greatest earthly blessing that God can give to any of us is health, with the exception of sickness. Sickness has frequently been of more use to the saints of God than health has. ~ Charles Spurgeon
Health is a good thing; but sickness is far better, if it leads us to God. ~ J.C. Ryle
Healing [1] was a miraculous sign gift to be used for special purposes. It was not intended as a permanent way to keep the Christian community in perfect health. Yet today most charismatics teach that God wants every Christian well. If that is true, why does God allow Christians to get sick in the first place? ~ John MacArthur
Affliction brings out graces that cannot be seen in a time of health. It is the treading of the grapes that brings out the sweet juices of the vine; so it is affliction that draws forth submission, weanedness from the world, and complete rest in God. Use afflictions while you have them. ~ Robert Murray McCheyne
Health is not valued till sickness comes. ~ Thomas Fuller
Daily living by faith on Christ is what makes the difference between the sickly and the healthy Christian, between the defeated and the victorious saint. ~ A.W. Pink
Health of the Spirit and the Mind
Every Christian would agree that a man’s spiritual health is exactly proportional to his love for God. ~ C.S. Lewis
The trouble with always trying to preserve the health of the body is that it is so difficult to do without destroying the health of the mind. ~ G.K. Chesterton
We tend to think, ‘Life should be fair because God is fair.’ But God is not life [2]. And if I confuse God with the physical reality of life – by expecting constant good health for example- then I set myself up for crashing disappointment. ~ Philip Yancey
If the spiritual life be healthy, under the full power of the Holy Spirit, praying without ceasing will be natural. ~ Andrew Murray
Staying Healthy
Man does not live by soap alone; and hygiene, or even health, is not much good unless you can take a healthy view of it or, better still, feel a healthy indifference to it. ~ G.K. Chesterton
[3]Health is something that we should never take for granted but often do.
A woman’s health is her capital. ~ Harriet Beecher Stow
It is the greatest and dearest blessing that ever God gave to men, that they may repent; and therefore to deny or to delay it is to refuse health when brought by the skill of the physician – to refuse liberty offered to us by our gracious Lord. ~ Jeremy Taylor
Many people ruin their health and their lives by taking the poison of bitterness, resentment and unforgiveness. Matthew 18:23-35 tells us that if we do not forgive people, we get turned over to the torturers. ~ Joyce Meyer
The medical evidence is clear and mounting. It’s no exaggeration to say that bitterness is a dangerous drug in any dosage and that your very health is at risk if you stubbornly persist in being unforgiving. ~ Lee Strobel
Health & Personal Responsibility
Pay mind to your own life, your own health, and wholeness. A bleeding heart is of no help to anyone if it bleeds to death. ~ Frederick Buechner
When wealth is lost, nothing is lost; when health is lost, something is lost; when character is lost, all is lost. ~ Billy Graham
This blessed Book brings such life and health and peace, and such an abundance that we should never be poor any more. ~ Smith Wigglesworth
Where do you stand in your relationship with the Lord? People often say, God is good to me, by which they mean that they have experienced good health or prosperity. What a person possesses is not always a safe measure of his dedication to the Lord. ~ Theodore Epp
All excess is ill, but drunkenness is of the worst sort. It spoils health, dismounts the mind, and unmans men. It reveals secrets, is quarrelsome, lascivious, impudent, dangerous and bad. ~ William Penn
Final Thoughts
Health is something that we should never take for granted but often do. It is our reasonable service to glorify the Lord in our body (Rom 12:1-2); after all He took the nails for us. I hope that these quotes [4] about health caused you to rethink your purpose and consider your health and how important it is in your relationship with the Lord.
Related reading: Does the Bible Talk About Healthy Eating? [5]