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Proverbs 17:22:
"A merry heart doeth good like a medicine; but a broken spirit drieth the bones."

"A rejoicing heart doeth good to the body." YLT

"A joyful heart worketh an excellent cure." RHM

"A cheerful heart makes a quick recovery." Knox

According to Dr. Ern Crocker of Sydney, Australia, those who find it easy to laugh seldom have heart attacks. Surely this scripture can be believed and acted upon. If so, this one ought to be a favorite of all Christians.

As a pastor of many years' experience, I never visited a sick person and found him laughing. A marriage counselor has yet to have a troubled couple come into his office laughing. How many very tense moments have been broken by one party suddenly laughing? God intended laughter to be a way of life for His people.

"And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit, and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ" (1 Thess. 5:23).

This scripture teaches not only that we are tri-partite in nature, but that each part is to be in right relationship…even each part whole and sanctified.

There is a part that the body plays, the soul plays, and also a part, which the spirit plays. This wholeness, this healing, is lacking in so many of the Lord's people. The very fact that so many say, "body, soul and spirit" instead of the Biblical, "spirit, soul, and body," bears out this misunderstanding.

Inasmuch as many books are written on this subject, it is not my intention to do a special treatise, but rather to point out the proper relationship each will play in order to contribute to the completeness of the whole man.

Now You Know...
The subject of the body is best understood in its positive role rather than its negative. Inasmuch as the body cannot sin by itself, or act independently, suggests that most of our time should be given to discussing the soul and spirit.

The body is the tabernacle, the house for the inner man or the eternal man. It is a temple for the Holy Spirit. The body obeys those signals it receives from the five senses of the soul and spirit. Romans 12:1, the body presented a living sacrifice in worship, is sufficient as a definition at this time. The body "under control" not "controlling."

The soul, the seat of the emotions, will and intellect, is where and from where we have our earthly existence. It is the "real us"…our personalities, our likes, dislikes, etc.

When we are born again, it is our spirit, dead in trespasses and sins that is made alive unto God. Thus the new creature is being formed. If, after this experience takes place, we are yet controlled by the same old soulishness, then we will yet be carnal and not much change will be evident.

Our souls must be influenced by our new spirits and hearts, which are from God. Old things must pass away. According to 1 Peter 2:1, "we must lay aside malice, guile, hypocrisy, envying and all evil speaking, vain conversations received by traditions." The soul and its emotions must change if we are to receive benefits from the born-again spirit.

Jesus said in John 15:11, "…that my joy might remain in you (spirit) that your joy (soul emotions) might be full."

Thus the joy and redemption (born-again spirit) must be expressed by the soul through the body. You can express how you feel from your soulish realm and it will be the same as when you were in your lost condition. When you make yourself express the joy of your born-again heart (spirit), you then express the joy, through your soul, that Christ gives.

The joyful sound is here, it is happiness, it is laughter. Thus it is the joy of the Lord that is our strength. It is this joy that comes from the well of salvation…the joy that no man can take (John 16:22).

The whole man, standing before the Lord, expresses himself in many ways. When I bow my head to reverence Him, my bowed head is saying, "My whole nature bows before you." When I lift up my hands in worship, my lifted hands say, "My soul and my spirit worship You." And when you hear my clap my hands in joy, my whole tri-partite nature is expressing joy.

Often we hear folks say, "I am not as others. I can't express what I feel." Perhaps they have inherited a very introverted nature from their parents. They need to be reminded that they now have a new Father. They need to make their bodies respond to that new-found joy in Christ and in salvation.

Jesus said your joy might be full. The Amplified Version reads, "that your joy and gladness may be full measure and complete and overflowing." Overflowing joy will come out as laughter just as overflowing sorrow comes out as crying. We all know that the physical body responds to the soulish emotions. That is why medical science teaches us that up to 90 percent of all our sicknesses are psychosomatically induced.

In the part of the country where I was brought up, we branded some people as being whiners, or some might have been called complainers, always whining or always complaining. It has become a way of life to them. They could change if they wanted to and become joyful. Perhaps some of them need to become converted by receiving Christ. If they do, one of the characteristics ought to be joy.

Food experts can recommend all types of diets to aid the human body in thwarting sickness…fat-free diets, vitamins, health foods, nature foods, protein, carbohydrates…all types, shapes and sizes of packaged advice. But then we notice the expert in diets dies of a heart attack.

Probably it is best summarized by saying, "It is not what you eat, but what is eating you." All medical experts agree to this: It is tension, anger, resentment, jealousy, fear, stress and worry that eat away at our source of strength. We allow everyday living conditions to upset us and we allow other people to transfer their problems to us.

I recall a time when a person came to me with a problem. He looked like he had a serious one, downcast and dejected. I said, "I will be glad to help you if I can," and then braced myself for what I thought would surely be a spinechiller of a problem.

He instead related this problem: he was very good and generous to some friends. Loaning them his car, taking them out to dine and having them over to his house for meals. I then said, "What is your problem?" He replied, "These people never return the favor; they never take me out; don't offer me the use of their cars; don't invite me to their home."

I said, "If you are doing the right thing in giving and they are not reciprocating, who has the problem, you or them? He thought about this for a moment, then brightness filled his face as he said, "I guess they do." "That's right," he said, "I don't have a problem, do I?"

But how many times we allow other people to transfer their hang-ups to us. We drive down the street and some foolish driver cuts us off or almost bangs into us. We blow the horn, hurl insults, get uptight, and tell him off…even though he can't hear. Yes, we certainly give them a piece of our minds…a (peace) of our minds that we will never get back.

Take A Dose of Laughter!
A merry heart doeth good. Take a dose, laugh it away…don't let others give you their problems. Help people if you can, but say, "That's your problem, reckless driver; that's your problem, unhappy customer; that's your problem, old world, not mine. I refuse to let you give it to me."

Adam Clarke says of Nehemiah 8:10: Religious joy, properly tempered with continual dependence on the help of God, meekness of mind, and self-deference, is a powerful means of strengthening the soul. In such a state every duty is practicable, and every duty delightful. In such a frame of mind no man ever fell, and in such a state of mind the general health of the body is much improved; a cheerful heart is not only a continual feast, but also a continual medicine.

A joyful heart is an excellent cure…makes you have a quick recovery. Believe God's Word. Have a merry heart, a singing heart, a forgiving heart, a soft heart…break those tensions, worries and fears with a peal of laughter. You can do it if you want to.

Why Don't You Begin Now:

The pastor's wife wanted a new chandelier for the entryway of the church. The pastor brought it up at the next council meeting. After due deliberation the church council made this decision. "We can't have it for four reasons. First, we can't afford it. Second, nobody can spell it. Third, even if we did get it, nobody could play it…and fourth, what we really need is more light!"

Ha! Ha!

Source: He Who Laughs Lasts and Lasts and Lasts… by Roy H. Hicks, D.D.
Excerpt permission granted by Harrison House Publishers

Author Biography

Roy Hicks
Web site:
 
Roy H. Hicks was a successful minister of the Gospel who gave his life to pastoring and pioneering churches throughout the United States. He served the Lord in various foreign fields, having made missionary journeys to South America, the Orient, Australia, and New Zealand.
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