Through the agencies of nature, God is working, by day, hour by hour, moment by moment, to keep us alive, to build up and restore us. When any part of the body sustains injury, a healing process is at once begun; nature’s agencies are set at work to restore soundness. But the power working through these agencies is the power of God. All life giving power is from Him. When one re-covers from disease, it is God who restores him.
(YHH 181.1)
Sickness, suffering, and death are work of an antago-nistic power. Satan is the destroyer; God is the restorer.
(YHH 181.2)
The words spoken to Israel are true today of those who recover health of body or health of soul. “I am the Lord that healeth thee.”Exodus 15:26.
(YHH 181.3)
The desire of God for every human being is expressed in the words, “Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospered!.”3 John 2.
(YHH 181.4)
He it is “who forgiveth all thine iniquities; who healeth all thy diseases; who redeemeth thy life from destruction; who crowneth thee with loving-kindness and tender mercies.”Psalm 103:3, 4.
(YHH 181.5)
When Christ healed disease, He warned many of the afflicted ones, “Sin no more, lest a worse thing come unto thee.”John 5: 14. Thus He taught that they had brought disease upon themselves by transgressing the laws of God, and that health could be preserved only by obedience.
(YHH 181.6)
The physician should teach his patients that they are to cooperate with God in the Work of restoration. The phy-sician has a continually increasing realization of the fact that disease is the result of sin. He knows that the laws of nature, as truly as the precepts of the Decalogue, are divine, and that only in obedience to them can health be recovered or preserved. He sees many suffering as the result of hurt-ful practices who might be restored to health if they would do what they might for their own restoration. They need to be taught that every practice which destroys the physical, mental, or spiritual energies is sin, and that health is to be secured through obedience to the laws that God has estab-lished for the good of all mankind.
(YHH 182.1)
When a physician sees a patient steering from disease caused by improper eating and drinking or other wrong habits, yet neglects to tell him of this, he is doing his fellow being an injury. Drunkards, maniacs, those who are given over to licentiousness, all appeal to the physician to declare clearly and distinctly that suffering results from sin. Those who understand the principles of life should be in earnest in striving to counteract the causes of disease. Seeing the continual conflict with pain, laboring constantly to alleviate suffering, how can the physician hold his peace? Is he be-nevolent and merciful if he does not teach strict temperance as a remedy for disease?
(YHH 182.2)
The true physician is an educator. He recognizes his responsibility, not only to the sick who are under his direct care, but also to the community in which he lives. He stands as a guardian of both physical and moral health. It is his endeavor not only to teach right methods for the treatment of the sick, but to encourage right habits of living, and to spread a knowledge of right principles.
(YHH 182.3)
Let it be made plain that the way of God’s command-ments is the way of life. God has established the laws of nature, but His laws are not arbitrary exactions. Every “Thou shalt not,” whether in physical or in moral law, im-plies a promise. If we obey it, blessing will attend our steps. God never forces us to do right, but He seeks to save us from the evil and lead us to the good.
(YHH 183.1)
Let attention be called to the laws that were taught to Israel. God gave them definite instruction in regard to their habits of life. He made known to them the laws relating to both physical and spiritual well-being; and on condition of obedience He assured them, “The Lord will take away from thee all sickness”Deuteronomy 7:15.
(YHH 183.2)
“Set your hearts unto all the words which I testify among you this day.”Deuteronomy 32:46. “For they are life unto those that find them, and health to all their flesh.”Proverbs 4:22.
(YHH 183.3)
God desires us to reach the standard of perfection made possible for us by the gift of Christ. He calls upon us to make our choice on the right side, to connect with heavenly agencies, to adopt principles that will restore in us the divine image. In His written word and in the great book of nature He has revealed the principles of life. It is our work to obtain a knowledge of these principles, and by obedience to co-operate with Him in restoring health to the body as well as to the soul.
(YHH 183.4)
Men need to learn that the blessings of obedience, in their fullness, can be theirs only as they receive the grace of Christ. It is His grace that gives man power to obey the laws of God. It is this that enables him to break the bondage of evil habit. This is the only power that can make him and keep him steadfast in the right path.
(YHH 183.5)
When the gospel is received in its purity and power, it is a cure for the maladies that originated in sin. The Sun of Righteousness arises, “with healing in His wings.”Malachi 4:2. Not all that this world bestows can heal a broken heart, or impart peace of mind, or remove care, or banish disease. Fame, genius, talent-all are powerless to gladden the sorrowful heart or to restore the wasted life. The life of God in the soul is man’s only hope.
(YHH 184.1)
The love which Christ diffuses through the whole being is a vitalizing power. Every vital part—the brain, the heart, the nerves—it touches with healing. By it the highest energies of the being are roused to activity. It frees the soul from the guilt and sorrow, the anxiety and care, that crush the life forces. With, it come serenity and composure. It implants in the soul joy that nothing earthly can destroy, —joy in the Spirit, —health-giving, life-giving joy.
(YHH 184.2)
Our Saviour’s words, “Come unto Me . . . and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28), are a prescription for the healing of physical, mental, and spiritual ills. Though men have brought suffering upon themselves by their own wrong-doing, He regards them with pity. In Him they may find help. He will do great things for those who trust in Him.
(YHH 184.3)
Although for ages sin has been strengthening its hold on the human race, although through falsehood and artifice Satan has cast the black shadow of his interpretation upon the word of God, and has caused men to doubt His good-ness; yet the Father s mercy and love have not ceased to flow earthward in rich currents. If human beings would open the windows of the soul heavenward in appreciation of the divine gifts, a flood of healing virtue would pour in.
(YHH 184.4)