Ephesians 4:16 From whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love.
How many of you remember when you use to run jump and climb bend and stretch? Sometimes your parents use to tell you don’t do that too much because Arthur (arthritis) is going to get you. You never really realize how much you needed your ligaments, tendons, and cartilage that make up your joints until you get older or they get damaged.
How many of you have been suffering from rheumatoid arthritis, torn ligaments, tendonitis or even damaged cartilage? It is because of these very joint related ailments, which have lead our bodies to its crippling demeanor.
Some of us can’t even walk the way we use to, others can’t even move their arms legs, elbows, fingers….etc. as we need.
A study was done by the CDC of the US in 2016, and their findings where these:
Improving the Quality of Life for People With Arthritis At A Glance 2016.
In the United States, 23% of all adults, or about 53 million people, have arthritis. It is a leading cause of disability.
The term arthritis refers to more than 100 diseases and conditions affecting the joints. The most common type of arthritis is osteoarthritis, which affects more than 30 million US adults. Other forms of arthritis are gout, lupus, and rheumatoid arthritis.
Symptoms of arthritis are pain, aching, stiffness, and swelling in or around the joints. Some forms of arthritis, such as rheumatoid arthritis and lupus, can affect multiple organs and cause widespread symptoms.
Arthritis commonly occurs with other chronic diseases. About half of US adults with heart disease or diabetes and one-third of people who are obese also have arthritis. Having arthritis in addition to other chronic conditions can reduce quality of life and make disease management harder.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) conducts research and supports programs for people with arthritis so they can work and do other daily activities, have less pain, manage their own care, and delay disability.
Public Health Problem Arthritis Limits the US Workforce
Almost two-thirds of US adults with arthritis are of working age (18-64 years). Arthritis can limit the type of work these men and women are able to do or keep them from working at all. In fact, 8 million working-age adults report that their ability to work is limited because of their arthritis.
The most common limitations that adults with arthritis report are difficulty climbing a flight of stairs or walking the equivalent of three city blocks. This means that adults with arthritis could have trouble walking from a parking deck or subway stop to their worksite.
The impact of arthritis on the productivity of US businesses will continue to grow as the percentage of people with this condition increases in the coming decades. By 2040, more than 78 million people (26% of the projected adult population) will have arthritis.
Many People Do Not Know How to Manage Symptoms
People with arthritis can reduce their symptoms in several ways, but many don’t know how. For example, people with arthritis can:
Join a self-management education program, such as the Chronic Disease Self-Management Program, that teaches the skills and confidence to live well with arthritis every day.
Be physically active. Physical activity—such as walking, bicycling, and swimming—decreases pain and improves function, mood, and quality of life. People with arthritis should try to get at least 150 minutes of physical activity each week. This activity can be done for 30 minutes, 5 days a week, or for as little as 10 minutes at a time. CDC-recommended physical activity programs—like Walk With Ease and EnhanceFitness—are community interventions that improve health for participants with arthritis.
Maintain a healthy weight and protect their joints.
People can reduce their risk of knee osteoarthritis by controlling their weight and avoiding types of activities that are more likely to cause joint injuries.
Talk with a doctor. Recommendations from health care providers can motivate people to be physically active and join a self-management education program. People with inflammatory arthritis, like rheumatoid arthritis, have a better quality of life if they are diagnosed early, receive treatment, and learn how to manage their condition.
❊ key> People of God we are literally falling apart naturally!
Let’s talk about your spiritual Arthritis with regard to ligaments, tendons, and cartilage that make up your joints for your spiritual body and the ministry you’re in or over.
Ephesians 4:14 -17 That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive; But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ: From whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love. This I say therefore, and testify in the Lord, that ye henceforth walk not as other Gentiles walk, in the vanity of their mind…
I would like to ask some questions?
1) How many of you are in a ministry?
2) How many of you have joined and committed yourself to that ministry?
3) How many of you have joined an auxiliary or office?
4) How many of you are active at that ministry?
5) And last, but not least, how many are not satisfied where you are in ministry?
The natural body is sick due to your joints not functioning right and being taken care of the right way. When a saint doesn’t know if they’re loved, and the work they do, is not appreciated, when you’re overworked in the ministry, used and abused, lied on, set up for failure, no place to grow, looked down upon, talked about at the ministry and you feel that your voice is not being heard; This is where saints become torn, damaged, pulled, scarred, overtaxed; Then the body is not jointly fitted together, you’re literally coming a loose at the seams and there are other factors that compound this state that contributes to this equation as well. Then there is no growth in the church or in saints, then what you have is a dysfunctional entity going nowhere fast. You must understand as humans we tend to replicate people like ourselves or congregate around people like us. In other words, there is a commonality that they share. Abused people are drawn to abused people or abusers. You’ve heard the old term “birds of a feather flock together?”
Timothy 4:3-4 For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.
There are three main joints in the natural body, the neck, the spine, and hips. There are three main spiritual joints that need to be restored in your spiritual body: your faith, your commitment, and your action! How can the Holy Ghost move in you when your faith has been damaged or your commitment has been lost? How can the Holy Ghost use you when you don’t know when to go or how to go?
It’s ok just to be ok. You don’t have to be the super-saint or the super well know Pastor!
Galatians 6:9 And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.
It’s time to become a functional joint again so that the body can function as Jesus planned from the beginning. Won’t you recommit your heart back in the ministry be the joint Jesus is looking for?