Spiritual Arthritis

Part 2

Dr. Victoria Moots

How do we treat arthritis in the natural body? When I first started practice, aspirin or its derivatives were the primary treatment along with steroids.  Neither of these could be used for very long due to the long-term side effects such as ulcers.  Then along came a class of medications called NSAID’s (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs), such as Ibuprofen and Aleve which are now over the counter.  These are helpful for the pain and swelling of osteoarthritis but do not prevent the wearing out of the cartilage.  Currently research is being done on a drug that can help prevent the progression of osteoarthritis but none is available yet.
For inflammatory arthritis, such as Rheumatoid arthritis, we use disease modifying drugs like Methotrexate and Plaquenil or the new class of drugs called “Biologics” that keep the immune system from being overactive and help prevent joint destruction.
One of the quickest treatments for an acutely painful joint such as a knee or shoulder is to inject the joint with a steroid, which is a strong anti-inflammatory agent, putting the medicine directly where the problem is.
Heb. 4:12 declares to us that the word of God is quick (living) and powerful and sharper than any two-edged sword and is able to pierce into our inner most being, including the joints.  The word of God is the sharp needle that injects the steroid, but what is the steroid? The answer is found in Gal. 5:14, “….thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.”  Love is the anti-inflammatory agent that needs to be injected into the inflamed, painful spiritual joint in the body of Christ through the Holy Spirit which is the syringe.  The love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost.  Only God’s love can heal the bitterness and anger with which Satan tries to attack us in order to disable the body of Christ.
What if you are currently suffering physical pain from arthritis in your natural body, and the healing just doesn’t seem to come? Paul prayed for the thorn in his flesh to be removed, but God didn’t do it.  Instead He promised, “my grace is sufficient”, (II Cor. 12:7-10).  Jesus knows exactly how you feel.  He experienced excruciating joint pain on the cross for you.  It says in the messianic Psalm 22:14, “….all my bones are out of joint….”.  The act of crucifixion caused His shoulders to be pulled out of joint. He could not hold himself up with his feet due to the nail in his feet which caused severe foot pain with pressure.  The nails in His hands were actually placed in the wrists (the carpal tunnel area) where the median nerve is located causing severe pain and spasm in the hands.  The nail in His feet caused a similar problem with the nerve in the tarsal tunnel at the ankle.
We have a High Priest who is touched by the feeling of our infirmities, because as a man He also suffered physical pain.  He understands and cares.  His grace is sufficient for you in your trial.  His grace and love are also sufficient for spiritual arthritis if we allow God’s word to pierce into the inflamed joints and inject that love through the power of the Holy Spirit.
The body of Christ need not be disabled from spiritual arthritis.  Instead of creaking and popping and complaining we need to be walking in the spirit and running the race.  Why not call the Great Physician for your heavenly joint injection today!