Proverbs  

Here is the text of today's devotional on Proverbs 17:22.
In the Word on Wednesday
May 11, 2022
“A joyful heart is good medicine,
But a broken spirit dries up the bones.” Proverbs 17:22
Oh, how true we know this proverb to be based on the experience of our own lives and the lives of those we love. We hear that scientifically there is a connection between our emotions and our physical health. It is interesting that biblical wisdom has told us this for thousands of years. This same idea is stated in several other places in Proverbs. God has been trying to tell us that we need to take care of our emotional and spiritual health just as much as our physical health!
We can come to this verse from two different points of view: how our joy affects us and how our joy (or lack thereof) affects others. First, if you are experiencing depression, anxiety, or any kind of emotional distress, I want you to know that I am not saying “all you have to do is have joy and it will be better.” I know that there are times when we need much more help than we can give to ourselves. If you are struggling in this way, please reach out to a biblical counselor or even find a doctor who can help you with these needs. I am in no way saying that there is an easy fix to depression.
But I think some of us internalize the stresses of this life without even realizing it, and we wake up one day with headaches, back problems, heart problems, and no joy. Let’s try to stop this in its tracks and not allow our spirit to become joyless and broken by giving ourselves the medicine of a joyful heart.
Now I think this also applies to us in relation to each other. If there is someone in your life whose spirit is broken, can you give them the medicine of a joyful heart? I don’t mean by being annoyingly cheerful when you are around them. Sometimes that can do more harm than good. But let’s bring our loved ones true joy by serving and helping them with a joyful and willing heart, by reminding them of our love for them, by speaking the truth of Scripture into their lives. Conversely, we can also dry up other people’s joy when we are joyless and negative and critical.
I want you to know that as I choose these verses and say these things, it is not because I have mastered these things. It is quite the opposite! I choose these verses because I need them in my life. They convict and speak to me so much! I have chosen to talk about joy this month because I sometimes struggle with having it and long for more of it my life. So please pray for me as I pray for you this week: that we can all have more joy in our salvation and bring life and good medicine to those around us.