Do you know who created you? God created our bodies! It makes sense then that He knows what will cause us to function properly. Not only that, butHe has seen to it that we have ample ways to care for our bodies. Let us examine what provisions the One who created us has made for us.

God provided Adam and Eve with fruit trees. “And out of the ground made the Lord God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food.” (Genesis 2:9). This food was perfect in its simple, raw form and contained the proper balance of nutrients to sustain health and life. Do we still consume fruits and vegetables in their natural form, or do we cook them until all the life force is depleted? “Let [our people] preserve the health and increase the strength by avoiding the large amount of cooking which has filled the world with chronic invalids. We are coming to the time when recipes for cooking will not be needed, for God’s people will learn that the food God gave Adam in his sinless state is the best for keeping the body in a sinless state.”1

Large industries make billions of dollars from the public by selling them synthetic vitamins, protein shakes, energy drinks, and medications after convincing them that we need these products to stay healthy. But one does not need to purchase an inferior form of what God has provided for us naturally. I would encourage all to find the freshest, most organic food available, and use it abundantly rather than rely wholly on a synthetic version of nutrition. More often than not, most supplements available are not absorbed, but rather thrown off to the liver and kidneys to be dealt with as intruders, before being eliminated from the body. God provided us with all we need to have perfect health, and it didn’t come in a bottle!

It was never God’s intention for the human race to become a sit-down, drive-around, elevator-riding society. When God created Adam, He put him in a beautiful garden and instructed him to tend it. “The Lord God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it” (Genesis 2:15). If we were meant to be sedentary, God would not have given us muscles and bones that need exercise for growth and health. Digging around in the soil is still one of the best sources of physical activities today. It increases circulation without increasing heart load, mobilizes joints, stretches tendons and ligaments, and has a calming effect on the mind. In situations where gardening is not practical, brisk walking is also a beneficial form of exercise. It increases circulation and has an energizing effect.

In contrast, over-exerting exercise such as running triggers the hormone adrenaline to kick in. This is the same hormone that is released when you are afraid (fight or flight response) or stressed out. Runners usually become addicted to this type of exercise because it gives them “a rush.” This “rush” is the initial effect of this hormone, but excessive amounts of adrenaline entering the blood often enough will eventually bring illness. While it is not a bad thing to increase your heart rate by a small percentage, completely exhausting yourself during exercise is not necessary to have a healthy heart. Combined with a healthy diet, gentle exercise is all that is needed.

Today’s world bumps along 24/7 (24 hours a day, 7 days a week), but was this ever God’s plan? Our bodies need periods of rest to heal and restore. Lack of proper rest taxes both body and mind which eventually results in illness. Long-term fatigue and exhaustion result in nervous system dysfunctions.

The world’s way of dealing with the body’s natural need of rest is by flooding it with caffeine, sugar, and other various stimulants, so people can stay awake and get things done that they evidently think are more important. These unnatural methods, of course, then require the opposite unnatural method to undo them: Sleeping medication. Life becomes a constant cycle of uppers and downers, and is a sure way to lose health and vitality.

How can those of us who consider ourselves “night owls” get more rest? We must make it a priority or it will always end up “on the back burner,” so to speak. Turn off the computer, turn off the lights, and start going to bed 15 minutes earlier each night. Staying up late can be a difficult habit to break, but it can be done a step at a time! Establishing some of the following guidelines will help:

Avoid all stimulants (we discard coffee, black and green teas, chocolate, sugar, stimulating spices). Do not eat within 3 hours before bedtime. If the stomach is working to digest food, itcan keep you awake.

Start winding down an hour or two before bedtime. You can’t expect your body to fall into “sleep mode” if you’re still wired to the activities of the day. 
Refuse the temptation to get up and start doing other things if you can’t immediately fall asleep.

If you are a worrier and can’t “turn off your mind,” it may help you to keep a paper and pen near your bed, quickly jot down the problem, and resolve to think about it tomorrow. “It isvain for you to rise up early, to sit up late, to eat the bread of sorrows: forso he giveth his beloved sleep” (Psalm 127:2).

Today we are constantly being told that the sun causes cancer and to stay out of it as much as possible. Is not God the creator of the sun? Would He have created something for us that is a poison? I am not suggesting that we go to the extreme and stay outside and uncovered during the midday heat to burn. However, people today have generally gone to the other extreme, spending minimal time outdoors after they’ve lathered themselves in carcinogenic chemicals (sun-block lotions). In doing this, they cause injury to themselves. Yet some evidence indicates that those who spend most of their time outdoors actually decrease their risk of skin cancer.

What about the many of us who have office jobs that keep us indoors for 8-10 hours a day? Spend your breaks and time off outdoors! If smokers can take every hour their break outdoors to pollute their lungs, surely someone who wants to get sunshine and fresh air can spend his or her breaks outside, too.

We can always make excuses for why we do not eat properly, exercise, sleep, or spend time in God’s creation, but in doing this, whom are we cheating? Only ourselves! We are the ones who will suffer the results of our own carelessness. It is true that we reap what we sow. Now is the time to establish good health habits so that we may live the healthful and prosperous life that God intended for us to live. “Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosperand be in health, even as thy soul prospereth” (3 John 2).