Faith & Health- Power of the Resurrection
Faith is powerful and those who possess it, has significant health benefits. Science and faith intersect on a deep level and there are studies to prove it. The evidence is clear: spirituality and religion aren’t just about ritual or tradition. They’re connected to better health outcomes, lower mortality, decreased depression and suicide risk, and greater psychological resilience.
As a physician, I’ve seen firsthand the ways that stress, trauma, and hopelessness can wreak havoc on the body. But as a believer, I also know the unseen anchor that faith provides—especially during life’s hardest battles.
According to a 2016 study in JAMA Internal Medicine, women who attended religious services more than once a week had a 33% lower risk of dying over a 16-year period compared to those who did not attend at all (Li et al., 2016). And a longitudinal study in JAMA Psychiatry (2013) found that people who placed high importance on their religious or spiritual life had a 76% reduced risk of major depression (Miller et al., 2013).
But beyond the data, I know this to be true personally.
Faith in Jesus Christ has carried me through rejection, betrayal, opposition, and overwhelming self-doubt. When I needed money to go to college that my Haitian parents did not have, when I was rejected from 14 different medical schools the first time I applied, when the weight of being a first-generation Black doctor felt too heavy to carry—it was the voice of God reminding me: I am with you. I have called you. You will conquer.
I share more of this testimony in my upcoming book, Prescriptions & Prayers: Healing from Childhood Trauma and Guidance for First-Generation Minority Medical Students, coming September 6, 2025. In it, I reflect deeply on how spiritual healing is just as vital as clinical care.
As we celebrated Resurrection Sunday, I’m reminded that this faith is not based on positive thinking or vague hope—it’s rooted in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
"He is not here; he has risen, just as he said." – Matthew 28:6 (NIV)
The resurrection is more than a historical event. It’s a declaration that:
Death does not win.
Pain does not define us.
Healing is possible.
Through Jesus Christ, we are not only redeemed, but restored.
"I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die." – John 11:25 (NIV)
So many of us are walking around with invisible wounds—grieving childhood trauma, battling discrimination, or carrying the weight of feeding your family. Faith doesn’t erase the pain, but it gives us the strength and resurrection power to rise anyway. To stand firm in the midst of life’s storms.
Whether you're on a healing journey, navigating a job loss, or simply trying to hold it all together, know this: your faith matters. It has great benefits and it is good for your health!
Your spiritual life is not an accesory. It's a source of strength, direction, and healing.
Want more encouragement? Subscribe to my Weekly Dose Newsletter for practical tools, health and well-being tips, and updates on my book launch.
References
Li, S., Stampfer, M. J., Williams, D. R., & VanderWeele, T. J. (2016). Association of religious service attendance with mortality among women. JAMA Internal Medicine, 176(6), 777–785. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamainternmed.2016.1615
Miller, L., Wickramaratne, P., Gameroff, M. J., et al. (2013). Religious and spiritual importance, religiosity, and depression: A longitudinal study. JAMA Psychiatry, 70(2), 175–183. https://doi.org/10.1001/2013.jamapsychiatry.102
