Tips for walking in Good Health-Choose Life!

“See, I have set before you today life and good, death and evil.”

In this Old Testament passage of Scripture out of the book of Deuteronomy written by Moses we can see that God is giving us a choice. The choices are between good which is the equivalent of having life or choosing evil which is the equivalent of death. One thing that we know for sure is that the Lord gives us the free will to make our own decisions. He does however give us the consequences for the choices that we make.

Let’s take a closer look at the passage of Scripture that I am highlighting out of Deuteronomy. The word “life” being used is the Hebrew word “ḥay” which means: as consisting of earthly felicity combined (often) with spiritual blessedness. The word “good” being used is the Hebrew word “ṭôḇ” which means: moral good.

The word “death” being used is the Hebrew word “māveṯ” which means: death opposed to life. The word “evil” being used is the Hebrew word “raʿ” which means: ethical evil. So when we dissect these four key words being used in the passage of Scripture we can see a direct contrast with the two choices that God is giving us.

One of the choices that we can make is to live a life of happiness and joy but that is dependent upon us living morally good and spiritually pure. Or, we can live our lives opposing life because we are choosing to live ethically sinful. God never makes us do anything but His Word is extremely clear on the ramifications for our actions.

Romans 6:23 describes it perfectly when the Apostle Paul states, “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” This New Testament passage of Scripture is revealing to us the spiritual and natural consequence to living a life disobeying God’s Word, God’s commandments, and God’s laws and that is premature and spiritual death. That is why walking in good health means that you are choosing to live and not die.

You have to be willing to live your Christian life obedient to the stipulations that God has mandated in His Word. The will of God is that none of us would perish but that we would all come to repentance, 2 Peter 3:9. The most important decision that you will ever make pertaining to living a good life of great health is to read the Holy Bible, study it, and apply it to your daily life.

I have some articles that go into detail on the dangers of willful sin: Spiritual Oppression: The dangers of open doors to the enemy-Part 1 and  Hindrances to your healing-Willful Sin.

The verses after the primary passage of Scripture that I am highlighting give us some vital information. Deuteronomy 30:16 details, “in that I command you today to love the Lord your God, to walk in His ways, and to keep His commandments, His statutes, and His judgments, that you may live and multiply; and the Lord your God will bless you in the land which you go to possess.”

God is revealing to us the stipulations and requirements for us living a long life: we must love the Lord, walk in God’s ways, and keep his rules and regulations. Then the Lord tells us that if we are able to remain obedient and follow the guidelines that He has set in place for us, we will live and multiply. This includes having a healthy and successful life.  

Then the Lord gives us the consequences for living a life of death because of sin and idolatry. Deuteronomy 30:17-18 depicts, “But if your heart turns away so that you do not hear, and are drawn away, and worship other gods and serve them, I announce to you today that you shall surely perish; you shall not prolong your days in the land which you cross over the Jordan to go in and possess.”

We can see the exact opposite effect happen as a result of sin and idolatry which is the fact that your days will not be long on the Earth. Here we can plainly perceive that the decisions that we make in our day to day life will have a direct effect on our overall health. A lot of times people don’t see the correlation with their sickness and sin, but the Word of God tells us otherwise.

Walking in good health means that you are making the decision to choose your life over the desires of this world that lead to death. God’s blessings are meant for His children including the length of days that you live on Earth and eternal life with Him in heaven. The fact of the matter is that in order for us to truly walk in the Blessings that God has for us we have to abide by the stipulations that He is giving us in His Word.