Joy is good medicine

Frequently it seems that newly released studies are almost instantly retracted with opposite information. One day coffee is good for you, another it's not. Today dark chocolate is a healthier choice; maybe one day it won't be. Neither of which will change my position on coffee or dark chocolate. One consistent and timeless health benefit from the scriptures, though, is the importance of growing a joyful heart.

Proverbs 17:22 says, "A joyful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones." Having a heart of joy is good for your emotional and mental health. Most of us can tell easily what it feels like to be so discouraged that your bones feel like they will be crushed to powder. Most of us would rather be full of joy than to carry the weight of discouragement around. What the Bible tells us is that it is good for you, and good for those around you, to have a joyful heart. Why should your personal health plan include cultivating joy?

Joy is like Teflon. Teflon was accidentally developed in 1938. This heat-resistant compound forms a nonstick surface. Things just don't stick to Teflon. When God cultivates a heart of joy, your inner health becomes like Teflon. Discouragement has no room to stick. The discouraging and disgruntled people in your life cannot bring you down to their level of disheartened living because God has cultivated such a joy in your life that nothing negative sticks. Joy is good medicine.

Joy is contagious. I've notice in my own life how happy I feel after being around joyful people. I've noticed how laughing big changes not only my disposition but those around me. A joyful heart is contagious.

Those who believe in God, trust Him and have committed their lives to following His ways should be the most joyful people on the planet. They should laugh the most and the loudest. Joy contagiously shares the grace and goodness that God has given you.

Joy strengthens. Joy is good medicine. Good medicine takes on what is unhealthy. Good medicine attacks the sources of illness, weakens it while allowing the body to gain strength. Cultivating a heart of joy serves to strengthen your psyche.

God freely transforms lives, depositing joy in everyone who trusts in Him. That joy grows and spreads around the world. It is good medicine.

Robert Hurtgen is a husband, father, minister and writer. Read more of him at robhurtgen.wordpress.com.