Whatever Ye Sow

My dear friend, Joni, in Oregon sent me this wonderful segment from one of her favorite books, “Come Away My Beloved,” written in the 1960’s. It sure fits perfectly with the articles I've written on the book, My Stroke of Insight: A Brain Scientist's Personal Journey, which shows how we can control our thoughts. We're physiologically and anatomically wired for "taking every thought captive." Thank you, Joni!

How can I give you healing for your body whilst there is anxiety in the mind? So long as there is disease in thy thoughts, there shall be disease in thy body. Ye have need of many things, but one thing in particular ye must develop for thine own preservation, and that is an absolute confidence in My loving care.

“Come unto Me”, it is written, “all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” (Matt. 11:28). Only when your mind is at rest can your body build health. Worry is an actively destructive force. Anxiety produces tension, and tension is the road to pain. Fear is devastating to the physical well-being of the body. Anger throws poison into the system that no anti-biotic ever can counteract.

“Be sure your sin will find you out”, the Bible states. One of the most common ways that hidden sin is revealed is through the maladies of the body. More arthritis is brought about by resentments and ill-will than is caused by wrong diet. More asthma is caused by repressed fury than by pollen or cat fur.

There was no illness in the body of Jesus because there was no sin in His soul. There was weariness as a natural result of labor and sacrificial service, but there was no undue fatigue and exhaustion brought on by anxiety.

Ten minutes of unbridled temper can waste enough strength to do a half day of wholesome work. Your physical energy is a gift from God, entrusted to you to be employed for His glory. It is a sin to take His gift and dissipate it through the trap doors of the evil emotions of the disposition.

Look not upon others and condemn them for jeopardizing their health by harmful habits and wasting their energies on vain pursuits while you yourself undermine your health by unworthy emotions and take time which by keeping your mind in an attitude of praise and faith could be constructively employed, but instead you allow this time to be a period of destructive action by entertaining such things as self-pity and remorse and evil-surmisings.

You cannot risk giving your thoughts free-rein. They will never choose the right path until you bridle them and control them by your own disciplined will. You are master of your own house. You do not have to invite into your mind the foul birds of evil thoughts and allow them to nest there and bring forth their young.

Whatsoever ye sow in your secret thought-life, that shall ye reap. Sow love and kindness, and ye shall be rewarded openly. Sow charity and forgiveness, and ye shall reap in kind. Sow generosity and gratitude, and ye shall never feel poor. Sow hope, and ye shall reap fulfillment. Sow praise, and ye shall reap joy and well-being and a strong faith. Sow bountifully, and ye shall reap bountifully. Sow! Ye shall see your seed and be satisfied.