Huntsville Central Seventh-day Adventist Church & School (BCCA)

So, as the Holy Spirit says: “Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as you did in the rebellion, during the time of testing in the desert.” Heb. 3:7, 8, NIV.

God speaks to us through the Holy Spirit, making impressions in our brains. Sometimes it is so direct we seem to “hear” the message. At other times it is through a dream, insights, or something we hear or read.

Since God’s primary vehicle for speaking to us is the brain, it is of vital importance to keep the brain as healthy as possible.

Have you ever had a bad telephone connection and had trouble catching the message? Once I received an important call, but poor reception cut out or distorted parts of the words. I was eager to make a good impression and hesitant to ask them to call me back, so I immediately concentrated my full attention on what the person was saying.

Usually when I’m on the phone, my husband can stand beside me, get my attention, and give me a short message, and I have no trouble catching what the caller is saying while at the same time perceiving my husband’s need and nodding or motioning a reply. But with such faulty reception I actually closed my eyes and plugged my other ear to keep out all distraction. When Jan came by, I shook my head vigorously to tell him I couldn’t listen to him at that moment. Because of the faulty reception, I had to concentrate totally to catch the message.

That’s similar to our reception of the Holy Spirit. There’s never anything wrong with the transmission—the problem is always at our end in the receptor equipment that God has given us the responsibility to maintain: our brains. The better our equipment is functioning, the easier it will be for God to get His message through, even if we aren’t concentrating completely. But if our equipment is functioning at peak capacity as designed, and if we give our entire concentration to the reception, it will lessen the chances of the devil being able to distort God’s message.

How do we keep the equipment functioning optimally so no distortion creeps in? Our brains depend on what we eat and do.

How healthy is your brain?

Think about your brain next time you take a bite of something, and ask, “Is this good brain food?” Remember, God designed our brains to operate on His original diet of fruits, vegetables, nuts, and grains. Junk foods clog the system.

Used by permission of Health Ministries, North American Division of Seventh-day Adventists.