First the Natural, Then the Spiritual

As I've mentioned in previous posts, the Lord has been working on my life on two levels:

• The physical level - natural health
• The spiritual level - spiritual health

For example, in "The Oncologist's Report", I wrote:

"But my medical condition (the physical illness) is only one dimension of my life. There is an overriding dimension - the spiritual dimension - which is my daily walk with the Lord. The physical dimension is based on words from my oncologist (the natural physician). The spiritual dimension is based on words from God himself (the Great Physician)."

And in "The Living Water", I wrote:

"Since I've been diagnosed with cancer (and even before, since my primary symptoms began over a year ago), I've been addressing my natural eating and drinking habits. Elena, for example, has given me a strict 'water regimen'. She's created a daily 'water chart' to make sure that I am drinking enough fluid. We have selected from a range of foods and nutritional supplements to help the body strengthen. Even though the Lord is my Healer, I also have a responsibility to my own body to make sure that it is equipped for the fight. But as important as this physical level is, the spiritual level is just as important.

In fact, one thing has become clear to me during this crisis. God is at work on two levels:

xxx * The physical - which involves healing
xxx * The spiritual - which involves maturing

I cannot affort to neglect either, nor favour one over the other. I need nutrition for both."

There is a basic principle of biblical interpretation found in Scripture, called "First the natural, then the spiritual." The Message renders 1 Corinthians 15:46 in this way:

"Physical life comes first, then spiritual."

I'm applying a similar principle in my own life. While focusing on my spiritual health, I'm not neglecting my physical health. I'm placing just as much an emphasis on addressing the physical needs of my "outer man" as I am addressing the spiritual needs of my "inner man". The two are closely inter-related.

For example, 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 says:

"Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body."

There is a gnostic pseudo-theology that has circled within the Church since the first century which de-emphasises the body and over-emphasises the spirit. Gnosticism held that the body was inherently evil and the spirit inherently good. But the Bible doesn't support this. Sin has corrupted all levels of human existence - body, soul and spirit - and only the Blood of Christ can cleanse a person through and through.

This is why 2 Corinthians 7:1 says:

"Since we have these promises, dear friends, let us purify ourselves from everything that contaminates body and spirit, perfecting holiness out of reverence for God."

In the same way, 1 Thessalonians 5:23 says:

"May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ."

For this reason, Ephesians 5:29 speaks of feeding and caring for one's own body.

So, in response to the deteriorating nature of my physical condition, here is my daily regime for physical health:

Water

I've never been diligent in drinking enough water (Elena's often been on my case about this), although in the last couple of years I've improved a lot. But now I've given up carbonated soft drinks and drink only water, juice and soya milk.

I've just about reached the point now where I drink about 3 litres of water a day, and I'm slowly increasing this. I believe that of all the changes to my diet, this is the most basic and arguably the most important.

I now carry a bottle of water around me wherever I go. And a friend bought me a water distiller, so now I drink mainly distilled water for its cleansing effect (I get my minerals through food and supplements).

Fruit

Elena has always loved fruit, and has encouraged the family to eat five different types of fruit a day. My average day includes the following fruit: papaya, kiwifruit, mango, orange, apple and peach/nectarine, with occasional bananas, grapes, cherries, plums/prunes and watermelon.

For Christmas, a friend gave me a juicing machine, so now my favourite daily juice is a blend of carrot, apple, celery and ginger. Friends from church have also encouraged me to drink exotic fruit juices, such as noni and goji, which have strong anecdotal evidence in helping the body fight cancer. I'm really enjoying these, and the therapeutic value of these juices is, I know, of added benefit.

Diet

My diet has drastically changed over the last couple of years, due to the shrinking of my stomach capacity, and so for quite some time I've been only able to eat small portions at a time, and need to eat frequently (about every hour or so). This means that I am not a good prospect for a buffet/smorgasbord meal - I'm just not good value for money, I'm afraid ;-)

But now I've cut out specific types of food, such as red meats, smoked foods, preserved foods and fried foods. My diet now emphasises more fresh food - fruits, vegetables, fibre, carbohydrates, with minimal transfats and meats.

A friend from church (who is a doctor) gave me a book titled What the Bible Says About Healthy Living, by Rex Russell MD. This provides very practical dietary principles, straight from God's Word. I'm also reading other books on the subject of both diet and cancer, and so in time I'll share with you any insights I get or recommendations I may have.

Supplements

As soon as people knew I had cancer, many approached me to recommend nutritional products they had tried and found helpful. I'm presently trialing a range of products - including Usana, Herbalife, Forever Living, Noni Juice, Goji Juice and Mannatech. I don't see these products as "the answer" to my healing, but rather complementing what God is already doing in my life. I believe in a wholistic approach to healing. Medicines, nutrition, surgery, chemotherapy - all these can play a role in helping my body to battle the cancer, but ultimately it is the Lord who heals.

Because modern food is often over-processed, green-harvested and grown in nutrient-poor soil, many of the vitamins and minerals are stripped out of food we eat. For this reason, I've long been a firm believer in the necessity of taking nutritional supplements. Of course, what you need to take depends on who you talk to!

Right now I'm experimenting with a few different types of nutritional powder, vitamin/mineral supplements and special foods (such as kelp, wheatgrass, barley green and spirulina). The most important thing, however, is to increase nutrition to allow my body to have peak ability to fight the cancer. I believe this is a very real part of the healing process the Lord has initiated for me.

Exercise

Physical exercise is also an important part of a healthy lifestyle, and so I'm taking regular walks and playing cricket with Jordan, when I can.

Long walks have long been a favourite, and works well for me now, although I can still get easily fatigued. I particularly like to mix walking and praying.

Laughter

Proverbs 17:22 tells us:

A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones.

Medical studies have long shown that this verse is true - a cheerful heart has a medicinal effect, and laughter has therapeutic properties. So I determined from the beginning that I would have at least one daily dose of laughter. This can come in a number of ways:

1. Keeping a cheerful approach to life and seeing the humour in everyday situations. One small example: On Monday, when we arrived at the camp site, my daughter Stephanie borrowed my camera and proceeded to record camp life, as she saw it. This now includes photos of 1) her face from close up; 2) the fire escape instructions on our room door; 3) the clock beside her bed; 4) multiple shots of herself in the mirror; 5) the toilet seat (top marks for artistic composition, Stephanie!). Humour surrounds us, sometimes in the most mundane of things, if we just keep our eyes open to it.

2. Reading online humour (well, the clean stuff, anyway). I've always enjoyed a well-crafted joke. For example, take a look at this one:

   A man was talking with the Lord, and asked him, "Is it true, Lord, that a million years to you is just like a moment?"
   
   A voice boomed from heaven: "Yes, my son."
   
   The man asked, "Is it true, then, that a million dollars is to you just like a cent?"
   
   The divine voice boomed, "Yes, my son."
   
   "Well, then," said the man. "Could you give me a cent?"
   
   "In a moment," came the reply.

3. Watching comedies and TV programs such as "Funniest Home Videos". For Christmas, my parents bought me a season of the old British comedy, "Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em", on DVD, and I'll be graduating from that to "Faulty Towers" soon. For an example of something that tickles me, check out the "Don't Touch My Bone" video that I've uploaded for you. In short, find ways to enjoy and share humour, for God created us with a sense of humour, and that humour has a healing effect.

Sleep

This is also an important component to the healing process. My night-time sleep patterns are fairly broken at the moment, but I’m able to catch up with sleep through two naps a day – one in the late morning and another in the late afternoon.

Psalm 3:5 gives this promise:

I lie down and sleep; I wake again, because the LORD sustains me.

Even if you don't have a life-threatening illness, can I encouraged you to act pre-emptively and put these things into practice in your own life now? Keep in mind old adage:

Prevention is better than cure.