"God's Protein"

That old pneumonia weather,

That’s what my Daddy called it,

And no matter what we did,

No human plan forestalled it.

Been horseback when it’s sleety,

A huntin’ down the sick,

Some we roped and doctored,

Some we drove in quick,

To let ‘em have some shelter,

Or at least out of the wind,

Give ‘em just some kind of help,

To regain their strength again.

But one thing I learned back then,

If they had enough to eat,

If you could keep their bellies full,

The odds you might defeat.

And they could fight infection,

Keep immune systems strong,

Until maybe the weather broke,

That’s how we’d get along.

And when I think about it,

There’s a lesson we can learn,

When storms come in and threaten,

And for help to God we turn,

If we can keep our spirits fed,

With God’s own holy word,

Hide it deep within our hearts,

Like from the Psalms we’ve heard,

Hide it so we will not sin,

Stay healthy and stay strong,

We will not succumb to,

Temptations to do wrong.

Just keep a steady diet,

God’s protein makes us fit,

And we can fight off sickness,

No substitute, that’s it.

“I have hidden your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you.” (Psalm 119:11, NLT)

Time and again the word of God is presented as a source of spiritual nourishment. Without it we can never expect to grow and stay strong spiritually. The psalmist was proactive. He did not wait until he was in the throes of a problem to seek help. He pre-emptively dealt with temptation by hiding the word in his heart. He “digested” it until it became a part of his lifestyle. Paul spoke of God providing a way out of every temptation. The way of escape just may be found in what we eat before sickness threatens. Preventive medicine is the best kind!

Lord, help us hide Your word in our hearts, in Jesus’ name.

Art by Mikel Donahue, used by permission. Thanks, Mikel, and God bless you.