Proverbs 17:22. A joyful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones.
Being joyful doesn’t just affect us spiritually, it also affects us physically. There is no denying the science supporting the connection between the mood and the physical health. When this proverb uses the word heart it is not the literal cardiovascular system that is in mind, it is that deepest part of your soul that controls the thoughts and intentions of your life, your life’s beliefs and affections. What we might call your mental health.
Modern science has proven that a joyful heart affects your literal heart and overall health. People with optimistic outlooks have lower risk for heart attack and stroke. They are more physically active, have better sleep patterns, better digestion, and a stronger immune system. When joy causes your autonomic nervous system to kick in, it will even strengthen your internal organs. Laughter literally strengthens your cardiovascular system. When you laugh, your heart rate increases just enough to send oxygen to the brain creating feelings of calmness and clarity. Endorphins are released and stress is reduced.
The opposite of all this is also true. A crushed spirit dries up the bones. Bones is a poetic way of referring to the whole body. Guilt, depression, stress, anxiety, and anger can steal away our physical health as easily as they steal our mental health. Consider how King David described his physical state during a time of spiritual shame and unconfessed sin.
Psalm 32. 1Blessed is the one whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. 2Blessed is the man against whom the Lord counts no iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no deceit. 3For when I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long. 4For day and night your hand was heavy upon me; my strength was dried up as by the heat of summer.
Christ our Savior also experienced the crushed spirit. In his innocence, Jesus allowed himself to be not only crushed physically, but also crushed in spirit on the cross. He was forsaken, rejected, cursed, disrespected, shamed, tortured and executed in inhuman fashion for crimes he did not commit. But then, for the joy set before him he endured the cross, from a joyful heart he despised the shame (Heb. 12:2).
Through faith, hope, and love, Jesus found the joyful heart of the Father’s power. A joy that allowed him to gain clarity and calm, enough to be in control even of his own death. By knowing what the future held on the other side, Jesus was able to die courageously. We might even say, joyously.
In Christ, we are never without this same source of joy. The joy of the Lord is our resurrection strength alive in us as the person of Christ. The person in Christ does not have to experience the crushed spirit. Sadness? Yes. Sorrow? Of course. Pressure and stress? Obviously. But we have a power source inside us that prevents the cares and concerns, the trials and temptations, of this life from crushing us. That power is resurrection power. The power of knowing that we are forgiven, loved, accepted, and vindicated so as to break the spirit crushing power of guilt and death. Hallelujah!
So now the question becomes, are you a joy giver or a spirit crusher? The joy of the Lord that you possess in Christ, can be the joy that you impart to the crushed, the sick, the weary, weak and worn.
You: Do you regularly experience the joy of your salvation in Christ? If not, why not?
You in Christ: How can knowing that you are in Christ restore joy to your soul today?
Christ in you: Whose day can you brighten today? Anyone ill? Weak?
Pray: Father, your joy in Christ is my strength. May it strengthen my bones and give me delight in strengthening others with the joy of the Lord. Amen.
To Live is Christ 