CLASS 4
IX. The Physiology of Faith
A. The God Who Heals You
Trusting-Faith is the essential element of living in health and prosperity. When we live our life trusting God, He takes care of healing our spirit, mind, and body.
The subject of Divine Healing has been hotly contested and debated for years.
Whether one believes that God has guaranteed spiritual and physical healing in the Atonement does not negate the fact that God is “the LORD, who heals you" (Ex 15:26 NIV).
There are hundreds of references throughout the Bible that substantiate this fundamental truth. In my book, Living Forgiven, I detail the challenge faced when my wife was first diagnosed with a terminal disease. Coming from a healing ministry background where I had personally experienced supernatural manifestations of God’s healing power, I didn’t think it was a big deal or would take very long until the Lord healed her. However, her health didn't improve, and despite the fasting and prayers offered in faith and the many healing crusades we attended, she wasn't healed. I wrote the following:
I was confident that God could heal her, but He had not. I read and reread every Scripture that spoke of healing, looking for something I may have missed, trying to find answers, but no easy answer came.
During this whole ordeal, my faith was severely challenged. Everything I had learned about faith and healing before this time had proved insufficient to provide answers and solutions. Instead of providing answers, it caused anger, resentment, feelings of abandonment, bitterness, and guilt. Yet, at the same time, my understanding of God’s grace and sovereignty was significantly increased.
Throughout my years in ministry, I have found that I am not the only one who has experienced this frustration. The unspoken and hidden truth is the staggering reality that most Christians are not healed of their sicknesses and diseases. Even those who receive a supernatural “touch” from God often see their symptoms return shortly. Though we speak of “faith” as the answer, we don’t live it. It’s always easy to pray for the sick and believe for their healing when you have never been personally confronted with it.
Yet, God has promised that He forgives all our sins and heals ALL our diseases (Ps 103:3). Because this is true, why do so many people struggle with sickness and disease? After decades of confronting this issue, I believe the following may give some insight and understanding into answering this question of the ages.
B. The Homotrophic Approach To Health
God‘s prescription for walking in divine health is found in the Bible. Just as proper nutrition is contingent upon eating a healthy diet and taking vitamins and minerals daily, good spiritual nutrition is based upon reading the Bible and following God’s plan daily. The word “homo” relates to the human species, and “trophic” refers to nutrition.
The biblical Homotrophic approach is learning to apply God’s word as nutrition for your spirit, mind, and body.
The Bible contains almost 9,000 promises. There are nearly 7,500 promises from God to man (about 85 percent of all the Bible’s promises).
Because of God’s great love, we will never face any life situation for which He has not supplied specific promises that give us mercy and grace to help in times of fear and uncertainty. His great promise to us in times of sickness and disease, trial and testing, is that He “will never leave you or forsake you” (Joshua 1:5). We must learn to cast all our fears upon God because He “cares for you” (1 Pet 5: 7).
"I sought the Lord and he heard me, and delivered me from all my fears. The angel of the Lord encamps around about us and saves us out of all our troubles and delivers us- because we fear him" (Psalm 34:3-9 NIV)
The real issue that needs to be addressed is not Divine Healing but rather Divine Health.
Throughout my years in ministry, I have seen God touch people with incredibly amazing physical healing, myself included. I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that He heals today and will heal tomorrow. His promises have never ceased.
The problem in the modern church has been that healing prayer ministry is allopathic in its approach and focused on the symptom and not the root cause.
More often than not, I have seen people genuinely healed, only to learn that the sickness or disease later returned.
Healing ministry has become just spiritual “weed whacking,” cutting at the stem of the weed rather than pulling out the root.
When the “Weed Whacker” garden tool was invented, it quickly replaced old-fashioned digging and pulling up weeds by hand because it was fast and easy. It neatly trims and manicures the unwanted weed giving the appearance that all is well, but give the ground a little water and up come the weeds, and off you go with the “Weed Whacker” again.
Healing ministry has been doing the same thing on a spiritual level as the Medical profession has done for centuries treating patients. They treat the symptom rather than addressing what caused the weed to take hold in the first place.
The ground must be tilled and softened with water to remove the roots. So the flesh has to be tilled with repentance and watered with the Word.
Cutting the weed's stem is much easier because it doesn’t require the hard work of intercession, the tilling of humility, and the diligent study of, and obedience to, God’s Word. If the root has not been pulled when the rain begins to fall from the storms of life, the weed grows right back again because the root cause was never exposed and pulled out at its core. Divine Health doesn’t come from without; it comes from within. It is a balance between the spirit, mind, and body. Divine Healing is a promise of God, but He has given us His Homotrophic prescription for walking in Divine Health.
You don’t ask for healing; you appropriate the truth of God’s Word.
All sickness and disease, whether emotional, physical, or spiritual, result from sin having entered the world. It is part of the fallen nature of man and affects Christians and non-Christians alike. No one is immune to sickness or the ultimate disease - death.
C. Living in Divine Health
God’s plan for living in Divine Health is based on trust. If we trust His Word, trust His ways, and entrust our entire life to Him through humility and emptying our self it “shall be health to thy navel, and marrow to thy bones” (Prov 3:8 KJV).
“My son, forget not my law; but let thine heart keep my commandments: For length of days, and long life, and peace, shall they add to thee. Let not mercy and truth forsake thee: bind them about thy neck; write them upon the table of thine heart: So shalt thou find favour and good understanding in the sight of God and man. Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths. Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear the LORD, and depart from evil.” (Prov 3:1-7 KJV)
The human body is a truly marvelous creation. Neglect it, and the roots of disease will take over and destroy its inherent design, health, and beauty.
God designed the body to take care of itself. It doesn’t have an immune system as much as it is an immune system.
When the body's systems function correctly, we are immune to infection, illness, and disease. When the body’s systems are compromised, it will struggle to defend itself. Many researchers have suggested that 80% of all disease is psychosomatic. Our health, every move, function, and thought is affected and influenced by what we eat, exercise, and our emotional state.
This section addresses some of the findings of current Medical research. It will provide a summarized understanding and technical overview of the various processes as the mind interacts with the body. I have included it because it offers a glimpse into the delicate balance that needs to be maintained for us to walk in divine health as the Beautiful God intended.
D. Fearfully and Wonderfully Made
The dominant thought in medicine has been that the mind and the body are separate. A new emerging field in medicine called Psychoneuroimmunology (PNI) has been gaining ever-increasing notoriety. It brings together knowledge from multiple fields of study in Endocrinology, Immunology, Psychology, Neurology, and other fields. It is the study of how the mind and body work and interacts with itself and its environment to produce states of health and disease.
Thousands of clinical studies have already been done, with more occurring daily.
Modern medical science mainly focuses on the physical and tangible world, often blaming sickness and disease on bad genes, viruses, bacteria, etc. Western medicine uses an allopathic approach to treat the symptom rather than addressing the root cause.
Over 125 million Americans, 60% between 18 and 64, have at least one chronic condition. Nearly half have more than one.
Most chronic illness is invisible, including over 9 million cancer survivors suffering the side effects of cancer treatment. An illness or injury is considered chronic when it lasts a year or longer, limits activity, and requires ongoing care.
Currently, there are more than 80 different diseases that have been classified as autoimmune. The word "auto" is the Greek word for “self.”
The immune system is a complicated network of cells and molecules that normally work to defend the body and eliminate infections caused by bacteria, viruses, and other invading microbes. If a person has an autoimmune disease, the immune system mistakenly attacks itself, targeting the cells, tissues, and organs of a person's own body. These diseases afflict millions of Americans. Most autoimmune diseases strike women of working age and during their childbearing years more often than men. It all begins in your Head.
E. It’s All In Your Head
Our Brain is by far the most complex system in the body, consisting of over 100 billion cells or neurons.
At any given moment, millions of nerve impulses are being transmitted along multiple pathways which interconnect various regions of the Brain. Every time a single nerve impulse moves from one nerve cell to the next, it must cross a tiny space called a synapse.
Microscopic amounts of chemicals called neurotransmitters are secreted into the synapse and allow nerve impulse transmission from one neuron to the next. There are over twenty different types of them in the Brain, and they affect the function of all our cells.
The mind does affect the body. But the body also affects the mind.
What and how we eat, whether we are touched, how and whether we exercise, how we breathe - all these seemingly physical acts profoundly affect our moods and our ability to function spiritually, emotionally, and physically.
When we react in fear, anxiety, worry, and stress, our body secretes chemicals that prepare us to die rather than helping us to live.
Whether we feel joy or sorrow, every cell in our body responds to those emotions. Information about what is happening around us enters the body through our senses.
Depending on our emotional state, the Brain sends messages to all the cells in our body. Various genes in our cells are either turned on or off, starting or stopping the synthesis of proteins.
This information is translated into electrical impulses and chemical substances. Depending on what proteins were activated or deactivated, the function of all systems is potentially altered.
These chemicals are pumped out of the Brain into the bloodstream and eventually bind to the surface of all the cells in our body.
The Roller Coaster Of Emotion
The area of the Brain in which thought messages are manufactured and transformed into the emotional response is called the Limbic System. Recent research has brought forth the theory that Ligands carry these transmitted messages.
These are substances in the body made out of Amino Acids. Their job is to bind with cells. Ligands inform the Brain what's happening in the body and vice versa. For example, the nerves in the body carry the news of a threat to the Brain. The Brain then communicates with all our organs, preparing them for dealing with the perceived danger.
Ligands are classified into four types; Neurotransmitters, Steroids. Neuropeptides and Receptors.
Neurotransmitters are the smallest of the four and are message carriers taking information from one neuron to the next within the Brain and throughout the nervous system.
Two of the most pronounced carriers are Epinephrine, a blood pressure-raising hormone, and Serotonin, which is a hormone that lends a sense of well-being and restfulness.
Steroids are transformed from cholesterol into a specific type of hormone. One tissue produces hormones and carries long distances by the bloodstream to another targeted tissue.
Receptors for these Ligands are found in the Endocrine system, the Brain, and the immune systems.
Neuropeptides are the most "popular" information substances influencing how the body reacts to various things.
The Brain secretes dozens of Peptides related to the control and expression of emotion. Some research indicates that they can retain memory.
For example, suppose we experienced a fire as a child that put us in danger and caused great fear. Then, years later in life, as an adult, we smell the smoke of a distant fire that poses no threat, yet we find ourselves experiencing fear and anxiety. That’s because the odor of the fire we experienced as a child was paired with the emotional event, which caused our perception of that same smell to be altered by the Neuropeptides to fit the childhood association.
Within the Brain are about sixty of these Peptides are made up of twenty-three different Amino Acids.
Peptides enable the body's different systems, including the Immune, Endocrine, Digestive, Excretory, and Nervous system, etc., to communicate and work together. The Brain and the cells that line our stomach are Peptide factories, as well as some Lymphocytes.
What goes on in the Brain affects our digestive tract, immune system, and visa-versa. For example, Peptides control the opening and closing of facial blood vessels.
Each Peptide has its own emotional tone or mood that we can experience. Feelings of pleasure, peace, and security are accompanied by the release of Endorphins. Peptides and their receptors integrate all the body's functions so that all body systems talk to each other. The binding process between Peptides and Receptors can result in the cell releasing a molecule into the bloodstream. This molecule is picked up by a Peptide-producing cell and conveys a message telling this cell which Peptides to continue producing and which Peptides to halt production on.
This process of message transfer is called Feedback Loops. They are the mechanism of receiving and responding to information.
Receptors receive the messages sent from the Ligands. The Receptors are attached to the oily membrane surface of the cells. There are tens of thousands of Receptors in a single cell.
Each Receptor is designed in a very specific way to receive only certain Ligands. For example, one cell may have 10,000 single Peptide Receptors and can transmit its message in these Receptors.
Another 50,000 Receptors may be designed to receive other Ligands. The Receptor and Peptide bind together so that the message the Peptide had been carrying is transferred to the Receptor. After relaying the news, the Peptide moves on to continue transferring data, or it may be recycled in the body.
The message received by the Receptor changes the cell in a specific way. The message is like a set of instructions for the cell to perform specific physiological activities and sets off a deluge of events. For example, the cell might be instructed to manufacture specific proteins and release them into the bloodstream or to divide itself. The cell can continue communication by creating peptides bearing news or information for the Brain. These activities then set off a chain reaction that can cause a deluge of hormones to rage through the body.
F. Raging Hormones
Hormones are produced in the Endocrine System, comprising nine Adrenal Glands that release more than 150 hormones, including Testosterone, Estrogen, and Cortisol, when in various situations.
If these glands secrete too much or too little of the various hormones, they can have mental and physical detrimental effects.
When the body perceives fear or danger that can be either real or imagined, the Brain sends out the message, and the Endocrine System moves into action. Worry, stress, and anxiety can have the same effect on the body as being in an extremely dangerous and fearful situation.
The Endocrine System moves into action and contacts the Catecholamine and Neuroendocrine systems.
The Catecholamine system is the first to react when the body responds by releasing Adrenaline and Noradrenaline.
Adrenaline makes the sensory circuits in the Brain more sensitive, keeping all senses on guard.
The release of these two hormones primarily affects the Cardiovascular system.
They cause the heart rate and blood pressure to increase and reduce the immune system’s response. The Immune system's repair function is put on hold while the body redirects its resources elsewhere to respond to the perceived threat. Continual release of Adrenaline and Noradrenaline puts pressure on the heart muscle and can increase the risk for heart disease.
The Neuroendocrine system works "under" the Hypothalamus and the Pituitary glands found in the Brain. It releases several hormones; Cortisol, Adrenocorticotropic, Growth hormones, and Beta Endorphins. In small doses, these substances can improve our health. They get the blood flowing a little faster, bringing oxygen and nutrients to our Brain for mental energy and help in motivating us to deal with the perceived threat.
But, chronic stress results in the breakdown of our body's ability to regain balance.
G. “Fight or Flight”
The hormones of the Neuroendocrine system send the message throughout the body to get ready to react in what Harvard physiologist Walter Cannon first described in 1929 as the “fight-or-flight” response.
In a threatening situation, we are given two options: either stand our ground and fight the threat or run away from it.
The choice is based on our perception of the situation and whether we can overcome the danger and win the fight.
Our body begins to prepare for some intensive physical exertion as it is quickly alerted by the Nervous System to prepare stored energy to cope with the perceived predators or threats, whether or not they are real or just imagined, to our survival.
H. The Chain Of Command
The complex cycle of neurological triggers and stress hormones from the “fight or flight” response directly impacts the health of the mind and the body. This is known as the Hypothalamus-Pituitary-Adrenal (HPA) chain of command.
The process involves a series of warnings and replies. First, the Hypothalamus, located deep in the Brain, senses trouble and signals for releasing various hormones found in the Adrenal Gland (located near the Kidney) and enters the bloodstream.
The Hypothalamus regulates the release of Adrenalin (via the Pituitary Gland stimulating your Adrenal Glands) and also stimulates your Sympathetic Nervous System
Studies have shown that women who were sexually or physically abused as children may have increased hormonal response alterations in their Brain chemistry, making them prone to depression and anxiety. Some studies even suggest that Brain chemistry can change and cause permanent damage to the way the Brain processes information. Research has shown that abuse at an early age causes emotional problems as an adult. Some Scientists believe that future research will confirm that most of the physical health problems they suffer are a direct result of the abuse they suffered as well.
I. The Hub of the Wheel
In the Brain, the warning that the Hypothalamus sends registers in the Amygdala is described as being like a hub in a wheel located deep within the temporal region of the Brain.
The Amygdala then signals other Brain regions to activate almost every system in the body to prepare to fight or run away.
Recent research has found that the Amygdala does not act alone but in concert with various other structures that all stimulate the flight or fight response. These structures include "higher" Brain centers such as the Prefrontal Cortex and Ensula, which serve to modulate sensory information, interpreting it as "dangerous" or "safe."
The Amygdala stimulates various other Brain stem structures, including the Locus Ceruleus, which contributes to general behavioral and physiological arousal; the Periacqueductal Gray Region, which stimulates defensive and avoidance behavior; and, finally, the Parabrachial Nucleus, which stimulates increased respiration. While the Amygdala is actively signaling the body what it should be doing, it also causes the Hippocampus, a curved cluster of Neurons, to begin actively working.
J. The Memory Mentor
The Hippocampus is an important part of the Brain responsible for helping it learn and store in memory such things as remembering where we were in danger and what was happening around us.
This helps us to avoid dangerous situations and places in the future. Research has shown that major, long-term depression can cause the Hippocampus to shrink as much as 20 percent.
While under painful stress, a part of the Brain called the Prefrontal Cortex confirms that there's a danger present and figures out that it's causing pain.
Once the shock has worn off, the Cortex sends out an all-clear message and lets the Amygdala know that it's O.K. to stand down. It appears that it's harder to turn off a stress response than to turn it on.
When a person is suffering from worry, anxiety, stress, and depression, instead of shutting off once the crisis is over, the process continues.
The Hypothalamus malfunctions by increasing in size, and energy is channeled away from maintenance and repair of the body and towards reacting physically to a stressful event and continues to signal the Adrenals to secrete a hormone called ACTH, or Adrenocorticotropic. This hormone then binds to cells in the outer cortex of the Adrenal Gland. It causes them to manufacture and secrete two Glucocorticoid hormones, DHEA (Dehydroepiandosterone) and Cortisol, also known as the death hormone, because of its potentially detrimental effects.
K. The Death Hormone
Cortisol is a repair hormone when produced occasionally. It mobilizes stored energy reserves by pouring sugar into the bloodstream for increased energy.
However, the energy gained from adrenal stimulation can come at a price. Suppose worry, anxiety, fear, stress, and depression continue for long periods. In that case, energy production will drop, the immune system will be suppressed, and the body's metabolism and rate of repair will slow down. It will also signal the body to increase appetite by activating fat-storage enzymes in cells to store as much fat as possible, primarily in the abdomen. To counteract the fatigue and depression caused by worry, anxiety, and stress, we may desire to drink tea, soft drinks, or coffee. Yet, they can make us feel worse because they help to increase the levels of Cortisol. Three cups of coffee will keep the increase in Cortisol levels for up to 18 hours. If we take our coffee with sugar, there is as much as a 200% increase!
We may also feel the craving to eat carbohydrates and sugar. Our whole system is put on alert, and stored carbohydrates are quickly converted into glucose for energy. If we exercise daily, then our Cortisol and glucose levels will diminish. However, if we don’t exercise, we will overload ourselves with sugar, causing our blood sugar levels to fall extremely low. This can result in hypoglycemia, which can mimic various symptoms, including anxiety, irritability, shakiness, dizziness, weakness, and disorientation, and cause us to gain weight. If we go on a crash diet that deprives our body of needed nutrients, our body will consider going without food a stressful situation, and it will go through the physiological stress responses which exasperate the very problem we are trying to overcome.
Cortisol can also prevent the formation of new immune cells and inhibit the activities of the ones already in our system.
It can have an extremely negative effect on the Hippocampus in the Brain and can weaken it when it is released in large doses disrupting the delicate balance of the immune system.
Cortisol interferes with Serotonin activity, furthering the depressive effect.
Research findings have shown that continually high Cortisol levels increase the production of Interleukin-6, an immune system messenger. Reduced immunity (immunodeficiency) makes the body more susceptible to many diseases, including colds & flu, heart problems, strokes, infections, and cancer. The incidence of serious illness, including cancer, is significantly higher among people who have suffered the death of a spouse in the previous year. About half of the seriously depressed patients secrete too much Cortisol.
L. The Effects Of Excess
A study published in the Journal of Internal Medicine noted that prolonged stress could also exacerbate existing medical conditions.
High stress causes TSH (thyroid stimulating hormone) levels to fall, so there is less stimulation of the Thyroid gland.
Cortisol affects the Thyroid hormones causing rapid heartbeat, sweating, hyperactivity, shortened attention span, fatigue, weight gain, depression, low body temperature, dry skin, headaches, constipation, recurrent infections, sensitivity to cold, irritability, poor concentration, inflammation, rapid aging and the risk of degenerative diseases. Those vulnerable to certain infections may experience more flare-ups.
Some of the things that excess Cortisol affects and impairs are the immune system, memory, learning ability, and it can reduce muscle mass.
People with Arthritis might feel more pain in the joints. It can cause Osteoporosis, depression, and tumor growth. It will reduce Glucose utilization and the production of growth hormones.
The balance of the male hormone Testosterone and the hormonal balance in females are affected. It competes with Progesterone for cells receiving brain signals and increases estrogen production. The Liver usually deals quickly with excess Estrogen. Still, if it is compromised by poor diet, allergies, or excessive toxins, symptoms such as PMS, depression, and weight gain may occur. According to a study published in the June 21, 2000 issue of the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, women with advanced Breast cancer had a decreased survival time with abnormal Cortisol patterns due to a more rapid Breast cancer progression.
M. Overload Warning Signs
One study found that one in two people frequently experience anxiety with symptoms including headaches, muscle tension, dry mouth, excessive perspiration, pounding heart, insomnia, fatigue, reduced concentration span, more difficult decision making, and memory loss and mental blocks.
Physicians often prescribe drugs when people are experiencing anxiety, worry, stress, depression, and fear. One of the most frequently prescribed drugs is Prozac®, an antidepressant purported to raise serotonin levels to reduce the effects of stress. Taking just 1-1/2 pills of Prozac® a single time will double your Cortisol levels. Worry, anxiety, fear, and stress dramatically affect the nervous system
“But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. “Each day has enough trouble of its own.” (Matt 6:31-34 NIV)
PRAY – CAN WE ALL COME TO AGREEMENT ON THIS SECTION?
