PRAISE AND SOUND HEALTH

“BLESS THE LORD, O my soul; and ALL THAT IS WITHIN ME, bless His holy name!” – Psalm 103:1

Psalm 103 unveils the divine connection between a LIFE of PRAISE and SOUND HEALTH: “BLESS THE LORD, O my soul; and ALL THAT IS WITHIN ME, bless His holy name!...Who heals all your diseases…” (Psa.103:1,3b). David was commanding His soul and everything within him to “bless” the Lord and His Holy Name! I had read this verse of Scripture thousands of times, until few years ago when it suddenly dawned on me that God desires that “all that is within me” – every organ, every vein, every artery, every bone, every muscle, and every cell – should praise Him, my Creator and their Maker!

All the organs in my body and faculties of my soul were designed for specific functions: “But now God has set the members, each one of them, in the body just as He pleased...And the eye cannot say to the hand, “I have no need of you”; nor again the head to the feet,” I have no need of you” (1Cor.12:18, 21). Verse 26 says: “And if one member suffers, all the members suffer with it; or if one member is honored, all the members rejoice with it.” I believe by the inspiration of God’s Word and Spirit, that the more my members “bless the Lord” the healthier they’ll become; and the more effective their performance will be. Praise is an evidence of Life: “Let everything that has breath praise the LORD”! (Psa.150:6a). Why should organs that offer profuse praises to God malfunction, degenerate or lose vitality? The Giver of Life will simply breathe afresh on them!

Praise prevails over the enemy and over all evil; and disease is undoubtedly evil: “Out of the mouth of babes and nursing infants You have ordained strength because of Your enemies, that You may silence the enemy and the avenger” (Psa.8:2). The giants of sicknesses and diseases bow before Praise on the lips of infants! Psalm 149:5-6a proclaims: “Let the saints be joyful in glory; let them sing aloud on their beds. Let the high praises of God be in their mouth, and a two-edged sword in their hand…This honor have all His saints. Praise the LORD.” Praise is an honourable engagement for the saints: “For it is pleasant, and praise is comely” (Psa.147:1b). Praise pleases God. Those who live to please God live to praise Him. David, a model of praise was a man after God’s heart; he lived to demonstrate and proclaim God’s praises (1Sam.13:14; Acts 13:22).

God created and redeemed us to proclaim His praises: “This people I have formed for Myself; they shall declare My praise” (Isa.43:21; 1Pet.2:9). Praise is therapeutic: It is a therapy that never fails; a divine cure that attracts peace and clears anxiety (Phil.4:8). Praise is a supernatural lubricant – “the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness” (Isa.61:3b). Through praise, burdens are lifted, yokes are destroyed; and blessings flow seamlessly.

I choose the Psalmist’s posture and command every organ in my body to bless and praise the Lord!

My heart praises God as it pumps blood around my body.

My brain blesses my Creator as it controls thoughts, memories, and other systems in my body.

My lungs launch out in praises to the Lord as they inhale oxygen into my bloodstream and exhale carbon dioxide.

My stomach and intestines offer God praise as they digest, ingest, and absorb nutrition into my system.

My liver lives in constant praise of my Maker as it processes substances within my body’s system.

My kidneys never cease to bless my Keeper as they maintain my body’s chemical balance.

My bladder blesses the Lord as it stretches to store urine and contracts to release the same.

My skeleton, muscles, nerves, hormones, arteries, veins, excretory and reproductive organs, all submit to God’s Praise!

I lift up holy hands to my God. I walk in His holy paths. I speak of His praises. In Him I live and move and have my being!

I declare with the Psalmist: “BLESS THE LORD, O my soul; and ALL THAT IS WITHIN ME, bless His holy name!”