Do you know that your body has more than 5,000 parts? The Lord God, who created us, made each part for a special purpose, and they work together as a unit just as they did when He created Adam. We have learned how important some parts are, such as the heart, lungs and digestive system, but perhaps you have never heard of a very important part of the brain called the hypothalamus. It is about the size of a man’s thumb, and you can see in our picture exactly where it is.
This amazing little part realizes you need food even before your stomach is aware of it. So it sends a message like this to your stomach: “It’s time more nourishment was getting into this body. Tighten up your muscles to make him hungry so he’ll eat some food.” Without such a message, your stomach wouldn’t tell you to eat something.
The same is true of your heart. When you are afraid, working extra hard, running or nervous, a message is sent to your heart: “Beat faster to make the blood flow more quickly into this person’s veins.” Holding your hand on your chest and feeling your heart pumping would tell you that your heart is doing exactly as it’s been told. At the same time your lungs are told to bring in more oxygen, which is why you find yourself breathing harder under such conditions.
It is important that your body temperature stays at about 98.6°F even if the weather is roasting hot or freezing cold. You can count on the hypothalamus to be on the job. Let’s say you are outside in the sun and uncomfortably hot. A message is sent to your blood vessels: “Tighten up a bit and don’t let the blood go through so fast!” The heart gets similar instructions, and the sweat glands are told to get to work to help cool the skin. That isn’t all. The stomach is told to make you thirsty so a new supply of water can replace the evaporating sweat. If the day is cold, the opposite messages are sent. These include telling the sweat glands to close up to keep necessary water inside, while the blood is told to flow more quickly to help produce heat.
There is much more we could learn about the remarkable hypothalamus and how a loving and wise Creator has placed one in your body to handle these along with hundreds of other duties.
People did not know about such things in the days of King David, but he recognized how wonderfully God had made him and wrote, “I will praise Thee; for I am fearfully [amazingly] and wonderfully made: marvelous are Thy works” (Psalm 139:1414I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvellous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well. (Psalm 139:14)). Have you ever thanked God for His wonderful care over you?
ML-01/04/2015