I laid a doctrinal foundation for divine healing in the first article and followed up with the importance of faith for divine healing and health last week. Some Christians will still be confused as they know many believers who stood on God’s Word and ‘died in faith’.

I was 23 years old and pastoring a fast growing church when I took ill in what will become the only time I had been hospitalized in my life till date. For at least five (5) years, I had caught a revelation of Faith through the teachings and example of my pastor Rev George Adegboye. Teachings of Dr David Oyedepo, Kenneth E Hagin and others, whose resources had propelled me to an assurance of divine healing in redemption to a point of ignoring my symptoms and holding on to the Word till healing manifested.

Alas, after two weeks of steadfastly standing on the word, the symptoms had aggravated and refused to recede. I was hospitalized after a series of tests that revealed I was walking around miraculously. The level of ‘immuno compromise’ led my doctor to demand for an investigation of my lifestyle which revealed I fasted four times weekly and ate once a day most times and also lacked basic food supplies at home. I was unmarried at the time and hated to cook while lacking sufficient money to feed well. Unknown to me, Faith cannot replace good nourishment.

Like I did at the time, many Christians disregard good nutrition in the presumption that the truth of God’s Word guarantees their health regardless. The human body was made from the soil and as the soil requires certain nutrients for health, so does the human body. Malnourishment leads to sickness and disease.

The modern lifestyle has led to the inclusion of lots of processed foods with added additives to elongate their shelf life. Many varieties of chemicals are employed in these processes that are harmful to the human body, leading to poor health.

Many preponderant modern diseases are products of our modern diet and nutrition. The wide use of processed sugar, hydrogenated oil and other chemicals combined with external sources of contamination through fossil fuels, air fresheners, detergents, petrochemicals and chlorine requires regular detoxification that we seldom allow through partial or complete fasting.

Land and water pollution by industrial waste, oil spillage and changes in the eco systems of many environments have affected the quality of the soil and consequently of botanical, aquatic, and other animal life in such places.

As products of the earth and water, animals find it hard to survive where there is massive depletion of natural resources from which they are nourished and where the quality of air is grossly lowered. The human body is subjected to a similar fate. While the human spirit is from God and is nurtured by His Spirit, the body is nurtured by good nutrition and the environment.

Believers must learn basic things like good nutrition, drinking clean water, eliminating or limiting processed food, regular detoxification through fasting and exercise. The body of a believer is yet to be redeemed(Romans 8:23-24), hence, it is subjected to the same challenges as that of unbelievers to a large extent.

Many believers push their bodies beyond limits, especially ministers of the gospel. It’s amazing how powerful we feel when supernaturally energized by the anointing under which we function. Many times I drag myself to church or other Christian events in spite of fatigue. Once the anointing comes on me, all the weakness recedes as I become supernaturally empowered to minister. It can be deceptive as it gives the feeling we can keep going on and on like that without realizing our health is failing.

Under high levels of stress, blood pressures soar, circulatory and nervous systems are pressured and sometimes men of God have strokes and slump behind the pulpit. God sanctified the seventh day for rest because of the limited capacity of the human body. Modern life is characterized by inadequate sleep and mental relaxation, yet, the divine energization of our being from within is taken for granted in the illusion that we are stronger than our bodies really are. This illusion is also responsible for lack of regular medical check ups which are helpful for prevention as they reveal nutritional and chemical imbalances, ensure early detection of disease before it aggravates beyond medical intervention and allows for more focused prayer and attention where necessary.

I will like to however end this article with a honest admission; I have not always been able to explain all premature deaths. According to Deutoronomy 29:29, the secret things belong unto the Lord. To claim we have all the answers to life’s issues is to assume too much. For now, knowledge can only be in part and not perfection till we see Jesus face to face(1 Corinthians 13:9–10). There are many divine secrets that we know nothing about and will only know in eternity. Many historical occurrences will remain shrouded in mystery till we see our loved ones in heaven or till we see the Lord Jesus Christ there. When we cannot unravel the death of loved ones, our best attitude will be to surrender to God’s sovereignty and give Him the glory for the life lived and eternity gained by the one who has slept in the Lord.