Utilizing the Very Best Doctors

Who would make your
"best doctors" list?

Things we encounter on the Internet reminds me a lot of Forrest Gump’s box of chocolates: You never know what you’re going to get. But, like most boxes of chocolates, you do find enough good stuff that perusing content on the Internet is generally worth the effort.

With healthcare reform such a recurring – and controversial – topic these days, an online column caught my eye. It claimed to list the “Seven Best Doctors.” No, it wasn’t citing famed physicians from the past, like Hippocrates, Louis Pasteur, Joseph Lister, Christian Barnard or Jonas Salk. It wasn’t listing pop culture doctors like Dr. Pepper, Dr. Scholl’s, or Dr. Seuss. Not even Dr. Phil or Ben Carson.

No, this list was comprised of “doctors” whose services are absolutely free, don’t require health insurance, and are readily accessible for anyone desiring to take advantage of their resources. Here’s the list:

* Sunshine

* Air

* Exercise

* Water

* Diet

* Rest

* Laughter

We could expound on each, because all have therapeutic benefits that have been established both empirically and experientially. But I think this list fell short of being complete by at least two. Because I would add God – and prayer.

In Jeremiah 33:6, the Lord speaks of healing He offers both physically and spiritually: “Nevertheless, I will bring health and healing to it; I will heal my people and will let them enjoy abundant peace and security.”

Providing physical healing was one of the ways Jesus demonstrated His divine power. “Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness” (Matthew 9:35).

And through His own suffering, Christ offers spiritual healing to anyone willing to accept His “cure”: “But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed" (Isaiah 53:5). "...and He Himself bore our sins in His body on the cross, so that we might die to sin and live to righteousness; for by His wounds you were healed" (1 Peter 2:24).   

There are many examples of the importance of prayer throughout the Scriptures, but the book of James states it emphatically: “Is any one of you in trouble? He should pray…. Is any one of you sick? He should call the elders of the church to pray over him and anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well…. Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective” (James 5:13-16).

As I’ve mentioned in other posts, I have great appreciation for the skills of the doctors who have tended to my various maladies and illnesses over the years. Their gifts and expertise have been great blessings for me and our family. But I’m also thankful for the care I’ve received from the “free” doctors, too.

The value of sunshine, air, exercise, water, diet, rest and laughter can’t be measured. Even more the healing powers of God, often through prayer. I’ll never forget, after being informed I would require open-heart surgery to correct an aortic aneurysm, as well as several arterial blockages, the words I read in Psalm 41:3 as I prayed over what lay ahead for me:

            “The Lord will sustain him on his sickbed and restore him from his bed of illness.”

Just the medicine I needed at that moment; the kind of medicine we all eventually will need.