Proverbs 17:22

A cheerful heart is a good medicine, but a downcast spirit dries up the bones (NRSV).
A joyful heart can effect a cure, but a lamed spirit dries up the bones (Alter 406).
A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a broken spirit saps a person’s strength (NLT).

A CHEERFUL/JOYFUL HEART. What does joy mean to you? How does joy happen to you?

A GOOD MEDICINE. Literally, “does good to the gehah,” a Hebrew word whose meaning is uncertain because it occurs only here in the Old Testament. The likeliest meaning is “to heal.” Have you ever experienced how joy/cheer/happiness helps your health?

A DOWNCAST/BROKEN SPIRIT. The Hebrew word ruah translates into English “spirit” or “wind.” Living creatures breathe in and out. When they die, they no longer have breath. When they are strong or determined or excited, it shows in the way they breathe. So by analogy, ruah is used to refer to a person’s emotional, mental, or spiritual condition (Miller 199). A broken spirit means “despair” or “discouragement” (Reyburn and Fry 377).

DRIES UP THE BONES. Bones here represent the whole body. Without the breath of life, one loses energy, one’s health goes downhill, bones rot, or dies slowly (Reyburn and Fry 377). The whole body shrivels up (Miller 199).

All in all, this proverb teaches that being cheerful causes or hastens healing. Being joyful helps a sick person recover from illness. If you maintain your happiness, sickness will not spoil your life (Reyburn and Fry 377).

Essentially, a happy heart is the key to a full, healthy life (Garrett 162). In your experience, is a full and healthy life found outside or inside, or something in between?

As Pastor Sarah reminds us, this proverb is more than good advice. Joy can be a choice but it’s also a gift that comes from knowing God. Choosing to be grateful to God changes our brains, and heals our bodies.

Proverbs 18:14

The human spirit will endure sickness; but a broken spirit—who can bear?

What helps you replenish, and stave off burnout?

THE HUMAN SPIRIT. This has been translated as “the will to live” which can sustain a person when they are sick. The desire to go on living, to stay alive, is powerful (Reyburn and Fry 389). What story of the strength of the human will has inspired you to keep going?

A BROKEN SPIRIT. If one loses the will to live, one gives in to discouragement and despair (Reyburn and Fry 389).

WHO CAN BEAR? The word “bear” refers to carrying a load. In this case, the burden is despair. Can anyone stand it? Who can bear up under it? Who is able to carry on? It is a rhetorical question. No one can bear it (Reyburn and Fry 389).

Without external resources, life can be hard. But without internal strength, when one’s spirit is crushed, life might just be unsustainable (Lennox 185).

How does God’s wisdom help us endure? What helps you maintain your joy or cheer despite difficult circumstances?