Health and Faith
Human health is something that should not be overestimated. You can have everything in the world, but without good health, there’s nothing to enjoy. How great it is to be healthy! But what if we suddenly got sick? In this case, most of us reach for pills. We reduce body heat, normalize blood pressure, and what’s next? Do we suddenly become healthy again? Hardly. By easing the symptoms of one disease today, you will most likely have to deal with another one tomorrow.
Unfortunately, many modern people don’t even think that physical disorders are indications of a disease of the soul. The body of a spiritually poor person is also doomed to suffer endlessly.
However, there is a way out. It lies in the salvation of the soul. In faith in Our Lord. In prayer and repentance. A person who knows that God loves him and is merciful to him will be calm and have peace of mind. And as a result, he’ll get rid of all physical disorders.
Let’s compare diet and fasting. In the first case, a person is trying to meet the imposed beauty standards. He deprives himself of food in order to lose weight. Or, on the contrary, in order to gain mass, he poisons himself with dangerous supplements. As a result, the body is damaged. And if he wasn’t able to get or lose a certain number of kilos, there may also appear anxiety.
In the second case, the believer gets rid of passions and sin. He restrains himself from eating too much food and avoids gluttony and getting drunk. He cleanses his body. At the same time, he prays hard, removes negative thoughts from his mind, and tries to think about good things, do good deeds, and help others. A true Christian finds all this the same important as the dishes he places on his table. As a result, a believer feels lightness, joy, and grace.
Of course, faith in God and healing with His help doesn’t mean forgetting about professional medical help. Prayer in church doesn’t replace a visit to a doctor. For example, you’d be very naive to expect that a broken bone will heal by itself. Anyway, a plaster cast should be applied.
It’s important to understand that religion and medicine should never be separated, they are intertwined. If a person needs surgery, it will simply be a crime to refuse it. But how will this surgery end? How will the body react to this procedure? What about the recovery? All this depends on a person’s faith and the mercy of the Almighty God. Patients with the same diagnosis and with similar treatment can recover differently.
Sometimes it may seem that recovery is successful thanks to medication. But the actual hero behind the healing is often the protection of heavenly powers. Our Lord gave the patient strength to fight the disease and helped the doctor to make right diagnosis and find the proper treatment.
There are also scientific facts acquired from research studies that are not related to religion. For example, an experiment involving 1,500 people showed that those who don’t hold grudges are less prone to depression and have better mental health than resentful people. And isn’t the ability to forgive one of the main Christian virtues?
No one says that a faithful Christian can’t get sick. But even a serious illness will be easier for him. A person understands praying and having faith will ease his suffering. Perhaps, these spiritual tests were sent to atone for his sins and strengthen his faith. Therefore, he prays even harder. Even if the disease is terminal, a Christian calmly prepares to appear before the Almighty God by making his last days more comfortable with prayer.
The important thing for healing and health improvement is going to church. Our Lord will hear a prayer that comes from the heart, no matter where you say it – at home, on the street, or in any other place. But in the church, we have a chance to attend a service, listen to the sermon, confess, light candles for the living and the deceased, and meet with brothers in faith.
People who regularly participate in such activities have a natural desire to visit as many churches and monasteries as possible. Pilgrimage allows you to visit the holy sites associated with the lives of saints, bathe in the springs, get acquainted with local traditions, and pray in front of ancient icons.
It can be difficult to decide if you should go on a long trip to unknown places. For everyone who’s hesitating, there are organizations such as the Andcross Pilgrim Ecclesiastic Educational Center. Since 1999, it has been helping believers to visit holy sites in different parts of the world. You can find the upcoming tours on the website of the Orthodox corporation https://www.andcross.ee
For more than 20 years, there have been many pilgrim tours. They helped many Christians heal their souls and bodies. Visiting holy sites strengthens faith, gives grace, and allows people to be spiritually cleansed and become better.