Many times, I’ve wondered how it was that David could exclaim,
“When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, the moon and the stars, which You have ordained, what is man that You are mindful of him? And the son of man that You visit him?” Psalm 8:3, 4
“For You formed my inward parts; You covered me in my mother’s womb. I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made, marvelous are Your works, and that my soul knows very well. My frame was not hidden from You, when I was made in secret and skillfully wrought in the lowest parts of the earth. Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed. And in Your book they all were written, the days fashioned for me, when as yet there were none of them. How precious also are Your thoughts to me, O God! How great is the sum of them!” Psalm 139:13–17
And later, Solomon wrote,
“A merry heart does good, like medicine, but a broken spirit dries the bones.” Proverbs 17:22
Ezekiel also said,
“So I prophesied as I was commanded; and as I prophesied, there was a noise, and suddenly a rattling; and the bones came together, bone to bone. Indeed, as I looked, the sinews and the flesh came upon them and the skin covered them over; but there was no breath in them. Also He said to me, ‘Prophesy to the breath, prophesy, son of man, and say to the breath, “Thus says the Lord God: ‘Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe on these slain, that they may live.’ ” ’ ” Ezekiel 37:7–9
In the quest for an elixir of life, we haven’t found any scientific data dating from those ancient times, so how could David, Solomon, or Ezekiel be so humbled by findings we are now just getting to know? I don’t know about scientific data, but I know that my heart is humbled by the revelation of the Holy Spirit.
Let’s talk for instance about our bodily chemistry.
Bonding
The hormone oxytocin plays an important role in the human body, specifically, in behavior. It is closely related to social connection, feelings of love, reproduction, giving birth, and even postpartum processes.
Recent studies show that looking into a person’s left eye with your right eye produces a bonding connection and trust effect, stimulating affection between two people, like the bonding of a mother with her baby.
These connections have a special effect on the cerebral cortex of the brain where our memories are stored, while our emotions are centered in the limbic system.
Intuition
A connecting brain function between the cerebral cortex and the limbic system is revealed when we talk about intuition.
Intuition itself is the ability to understand things instantly, without the need for deeper thinking and reasoning.
In order to reach this point, we have learned that intuition is the result of learning from life experiences. Everything we experience throughout our lives leaves an effect imprinted on the neurons. We could say that intuition is an acquired quality of neurological wisdom, thanks to neuronal memory.
These amazing qualities exposed in the brain functionality extend through the nervous system to the neurons present in the digestive organs.
The colloquial expression “I know it in my gut” or “I just have a gut feeling” can be an assertion that truly reveals that intuition is stored even in the neurons of the intestines. For example, all of us know that something very hot doesn’t leave a pleasant impression. We probably learned that as children when we wanted to touch a candle flame with our fingers.
Resilience
The word resilience refers to the ability to overcome critical moments and adapt after experiencing an unusual and unexpected situation. It also indicates a return to normalcy.
The term is derived from the Latin verbs resilio and resilire, which mean “to jump back, to rebound.”
It is an aptitude adopted by some individuals who are characterized by their attitude toward overcoming adversity and high stress, in order to envision a better future.
Other words that help define and are often used in place of resilience are strength, invulnerability, or resistance.
Resilience in Psychology
In psychology, resilience is understood as the capacity a person has to cope with their own problems, overcome obstacles, and not succumb to pressure, regardless of the situation.
It is the ability of an individual to overcome periods of emotional pain and trauma. It corresponds, approximately, to the term fortitude.
Just as the apostle Paul wrote to Timothy, “You therefore must endure hardship as a good soldier of Jesus Christ” (2 Timothy 2:3), we can be sure that even if we have to endure difficult situations in life, we are not left alone, for we can go to Jesus and receive His resilience and power of mind. “For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.” 2 Timothy 1:7
The promise, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me,” (Philippians 4:13), is an assurance that if we put our trust in Christ and keep the eight laws of health, He will see to it that our brain functions perfectly! Amen for that!
Source: Dr. Tara Swart, neuroscientist, award-winning author, and medical doctor (taraswart.com/podcasts)