Sunday Soaking: Do You Need Some GOOD Medicine?

A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones. Proverbs 17:22

For so many reasons, the word “crushed” describes many of us these days.

When we look around at the happenings in our world (whether related to politics, culture, finance, the church, or forces of nature), even the calmest among us may become anxious. Wars, political division, natural disasters, inflation and financial unrest, terrible scandals involving political and even beloved religious figures … we are simultaneously shocked and horrified at what has become acceptable, both morally and legally.

And that is just all the “out there” stuff.

Individually, so many of us are battling financial challenges, medical issues, unprecedented levels of isolation and loneliness (particularly among younger generations), and relational struggles that might be too personal to share. We are depressed, exhausted, outraged, and bewildered. We feel powerless to stop the advance of evil.

Whatever emotions a human can experience, we experienced in 2025 … and just a handful of days into 2026, we see more of the same ahead.

We can identify when the author of Proverbs writes, “…a crushed spirit dries up the bones.”

Thankfully, he also gives us the antidote: a cheerful heart.

A cheerful heart is good medicine…

A cheerful heart is not one that simply chooses to grin and bear it — or one that checks out of reality. And certainly, it is more than simply the practice of positive thinking.

My NIV translation uses “cheerful” and the King James Version says “merry” … but when I pulled out the NASB, I read “JOY” — and my first thought was: Bingo. That’s it!

A joyful heart is indeed good medicine. But how to get it? Where does it come from? For the prescription, we flip over to the New Testament book of Galatians and scan down to Chapter 5, verse 22:

…the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control…

When listing the nine characteristics of the fruit produced by the Spirit, second on the list is JOY. We cannot manufacture joy on our own. Joy is a product of the Holy Spirit living in us.

Circumstances might make us happy, but only Jesus can give us joy. And the mature believer comes to realize that it is possible to be simultaneously unhappy and joyful.

We look around and may indeed feel discouraged, but we look up and find joy. It does not mean our circumstances have changed … but it does mean that God can change us in the midst of those circumstances.

Now that’s good medicine!

David, the shepherd boy who became king, not only was a warrior, he was a worshiper — and he teaches us how to worship and how to live.

In Psalm 34:14, he challenges us to turn FROM evil and to do GOOD. It’s a message both for accepting the gospel and for living the gospel. We invite you to watch this week’s devotional video, as Laura shares thoughts on a verse from this month’s Write the Word bookmark.

You can visit our Downloads page today for your copy of the January bookmark, as well as S.O.A.P. Bible study pages, our monthly Do It! List, and other free resources.