Put On Spiritual Eyes

Call the world, if you please, "the vale of Soul-making". Then you will find out the use of the world...
Dwight Judy, Christian Meditation & Inner Healing

Do you see your physical limitations and your health problems as a curse, or a challenge? What if I was to say that they are a gift? The first time I read Bernie Siegel's suggestion that our health problems are a gift, I got mad. How could he say that my blindness, my walking difficulties, my daily struggle with pain could be a gift? To comprehend what he meant, I had to put on spiritual eyes.

Too often in American society we think that the purpose of life is to have pleasure, exercise power and amass wealth. When sickness and suffering come our way, it is easy to feel that we have been robbed of all the good things in life. If the doctors have told you that there is nothing more they can do, and if the healing miracle you prayed for has not come, then it is easy to fall into despair.

But the Biblical perspective on life suggests that the world is the valley of soul making. While we live, we are on a journey through this valley. On our journey we will encounter both good and bad things. Sooner or later, old age, sickness, and death are among the bad things that will come to us all. Putting on spiritual eyes begins by recognizing that our purpose in life cannot be to try to escape these negative things all together. Rather the question that God asks of each of us is: What kind of "soul" or person will you become as you face such difficulties? Will you gain a heart of wisdom, grow in personal character, and attain a transcendent perspective on life as you face your problems?

The next step in putting on spiritual eyes is to adopt a fighting spirit in your quest for healing. In the face of disheartening diagnosis, do not be passive. Make up your mind that you will surprise your doctor, your family and your friends with how well you are doing. Change the way you eat, sleep and work. Find out about alternative treatments. Do anything you can do to help yourself feel better. Rising above your health challenges is not just physical, it is a spiritual thing.





Dr. Greene is an ordained minister of the United Church of Christ and a resident of Richmond, IN. He is also the author of Feeling Better: The Wisdom of the Doc, You Can Feel Better: How to cope with chronic pain and physical disabilities, and co-author of Walking Free: the Nellie Zimmerman Story.


For further information about his books, please visit www.densmorereid.com

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