I’ve been in the wellness profession for over 25 years. Over that time I’ve seen many health risk assessments and wellness appraisals, all aimed at providing the participant with a snapshot of their well-being. Some are short with few questions and some are more extensive with a hundred or more questions to answer. Most of these deal with the physical, mental, social and emotional aspect of health. Few deal with the spiritual side.
As my faith began to take off in a very personal and meaningful way and I began to appreciate the truths of the Bible and become more familiar with it’s contents, several verses related to wellness began to stand out for me. I think one in particular is pretty helpful from a’ wellness snapshot’ point of view.
In Galatians, Paul compares what our life might look like if our old sinful nature is controlling us versus whether God’s Holy Spirit is controlling us. He tells us that if we submit to God and are intentional about letting Him equip us for coping with life’s stressors that our lives will be bountiful in “fruit.” “But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things!” Gal. 5:22-23
I think that the degree to which we have these fruits of the Spirit present in our lives is an indication of our overall emotional and spiritual wellness. If we are still wounded deeply from past experiences and relationships and if we turn to unhealthy mechanisms to cope with stress in our lives, then it’s doubtful that we will be regularly experiencing these fruits.
The more we allow Jesus to heal us and the more we learn to live in dependence and submission to God, through the power of the Holy Spirit who lives inside us, the more whole we will be. Evidence of this is the presence of these fruits that Paul tells us we will experience.
Application:
Review these fruits listed and the degree to which they are present in your life.
Take a look deep inside and sense if there are any emotional or spiritual “roots” that might be lingering which are obstacles to experiencing these fruits.
If you find any “roots”, draw close to Jesus and ask Him to gently pluck them out.
There are probably a few hundred reasons that might motivate you to care for yourself and to be healthy. Here are five, actually four, reasons that motivate me at a really deep level… and I think that these are reasons why God would want us all to be motivated by.
It glorifies God
You’re taking care of your body - His temple
It’s being a good witness
You’ll have more energy – be better equipped for what God has planned for you
I need your help with a 5th reason?
It Glorifies God
The Bible says in 1 Corinthians 10:31 that whatever we do we’re to do it to the glory of God. It also tells us in Isaiah that we were created and formed by God to glorify Him. This is our primary purpose in life – to glorify God. We do that when we care for our body and live a healthy lifestyle.
Our Body is God’s Temple and for Us to Care For
One scripture that reminds us that our body is God’s temple is 1 Corinthians 19-20. God’s Holy Spirit lives inside a believer. After we accept Jesus into heart, God gives us His Spirit to help us live the kind of life He wants us to live. Since God actually lives in us, Paul tells us in htis verse that our body is His temple. Since God “bought” us with a high price, Jesus’ death, than we are obligated to care for our body which is His temple.
If you are not a believer in Jesus but want to join His family, read more here.
Being Healthy is Being a Good Witness
Acts 1:8 reminds us that we are to be witnesses for other people. People look for us to be models of the Christian faith. We ought to desire to live our lives in a way that represents our faith well. Taking care of our health is one way that we can be a good witness.
You’ll Have More Energy to Do God’s Work
Ephesians 2:10 helps us see that we are God’s masterpiece, created to do the good things that He had planned a long time ago for us to do. We all know that the more fit and healthy we are the more energy we will have. The more energy that we have, the more we can put into whatever task we are doing. We’ll also be better able to sustain ourself for the long haul.
What’s a 5th Reason?
What is one other reason that you think God wants us to be healthy? Comment by adding a 5th reason that you think would be pleasing to God.
Something to Reflect On
What we believe determines what we do. I suspect that if you believe what I’ve written above, and you value your relationship with God, it’s likely that you are taking good care of your body and your health.
How well are you taking care of yourself and your health?
If your relationship with God is important to you, and you’re not taking too good care of your body, could you use this post as an inspiration to better care for your body?
If you or a loved one are challenged by a mental illness you may want to visit this site at HopeandHealing.org for a listing of Christian resources on the topic.
“But I will restore you to health and heal your wounds,” declares the LORD. Jeremiah 30:17
When Jesus heard that, He said to them, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. Matthew 9:10-12
Researchers on Friday made public a large study with a finding that we should not find surprising: Losing your job may make you sick.
In a study by a Harvard School of Health researcher, workers who lost a job through no fault of their own, she found, were twice as likely to report developing a new ailment like high blood pressure, diabetes or heart disease over the next year and a half, compared to people who were continuously employed.
Only 6 percent of people with steady jobs developed a new health condition during each survey period of about a year and a half, compared with 10 percent of those who had lost a job during the same period.
David Williams, a professor at the Harvard School of Public Health who was not involved in the research, said the study is a reminder that job loss and other life stressors have a tremendous impact on both mental and physical health and contribute to the development of chronic conditions.
“We know that stress affects health,” said Dr. Williams, director of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Commission to Build a Healthier America. “It causes changes in physiological function in multiple ways, and it can lead to alterations in health behavior. People no longer exercise, they eat more, they drink more. People who smoke, smoke more on high stress days.”
If you’ve lost your job recently, how are you handling your stressful situation? Are you excluding God in your “battle” or distress? Are you attempting to manage on your own by falling back into an unhealthy habit or an addictive behavior to cope? Or, are you turning towards God by asking and relying on His help?
God wants us to choose Him as our source of strength when times are tough.
God created each of us – you and me – as His masterpiece, His workmanship, to do the good works He planned for us long ago. This is what scripture tells us in Ephesians 2:10.
But there’s a catch. It’s only by accepting Jesus as our savior that we become “new” people and have the capability to do these good things that God has planned for us to do. Romans 3:22-25 tells us that we are made right in God’s eyes when we trust in Jesus to take away our sins and our sinful nature. Without the transformation that occurs through the love of Jesus, we will not be able to do what God created us to do. We will not have the ability or the power that God gives us in the form of the Holy Spirit that lives in a believer of Jesus.
It’s the grace of God – our salvation through the death of Jesus is one way He has demonstrated His grace to us – that gives us continual power through the Holy Spirit that enables us to live the kind of life that is pleasing to God and that glorifies Him. Without God’s grace we would not have the ability to make the day-to-day lifestyle choices we make that affect our health. It’s God working in us that enables us to apply our will to make these healthy choices. By nature, we’d want to chose things that our flesh desires which typically would not be as healthy for us. These same unhealthy choices would not be honoring to God and His temple – our body. See 1 Corinthians 6:19-20
So, how do we do the good works that God planned for us long ago? How do we know what He wants us to do? How can we become equipped to do these things? The answer is found in scripture in 2 Timothy 3:16-17.
“All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.”
It’s only by becoming familiar with God’s principles as laid out in the Bible that we can become equipped to do all the things that He wants us to do. You and I each have a role to play in God’s kingdom. He has given you different gifts and abilities than He has given me. He wants us to use these gifts in a way that makes a difference in this world. God wants us to love on people and He wants us to share His truths with people who don’t know Him.
The healthier we are and the more energy we have the better we’ll be able to do all the things He wants us to do. I would submit that it’s by living according to His guidelines found in scripture that will enable us to be healthier.
If you haven’t become familiar with the Spiritual Exercises I have identified, you may want to read more about them. I have also developed a Spiritual Fitness Assessment that assesses the degree to which your life is in agreement with these Spiritual Exercises and you may find it helpful to spend some time reviewing it.
Believe that God loves you…. because He does. He has, and continues to dempnstrate His grace towards you and He’s given you guidelines to live life by so that you can do all the special things that He planned for you to do so long ago.
Application:
Believe that God love you… because He really does.
Receive God’s love and grace.
Get to know God’s will for you and become better equipped to live life by reading the Bible regurlarly.
This morning I visited a friend who is in the hospital the day after his surgery to remove his prostate. Mike and I were involved in a Bible study a few years ago. He was aware of my bout with prostate cancer over the the last few years so he called me several weeks ago when he learned about his positive biopsy and decision to have a da Vinci Prostatectomy. As was the case with me, early detection made all the difference in the world ensuring that his cancer was caught early on and had not spread to other organs. See these American Cancer Society guidelines.
Mike is doing well post surgery – praise God! This morning, he and I talked about the road that he’ll have ahead of him over the next few months. My prayer is that his next PSA test will be zero – an indication that there is no more cancer of that type – and that he will be spared the side effects of incontinence and erectile dysfunction.
Although none of us wants to go through really tough times and health challenges in our life, the fact is that life will brings us those types of challenges. It’s neat to be able to come out the other side and to be able to support someone who is facing the same challenges that you’d experienced and weathered.
Over the year plus that I was in my battle, I posted many blog entries about prostate cancer so others might benefit. If you’ve got a friend or you yourself have learned that you’ve been diagnosed with cancer, perhaps what I shared here over that year may be of help. Mike told me today that reading my posts were helpful for him.
I thought I’d also share again a short article I wrote about how my faith was an anchor in my battle with the cancer in hopes it might be encouraging to some.
Our life on this earth is short. Live yours to the fullest in a God-honoring way!
It’s Friday, May 8th, 2009 and I’m suggesting that on Fridays, Twitterers share the love of God and Jesus using the #FaithFriday hashtag.
#FollowFriday
If you use Twitter much at all, you’ll know that four months ago Micah Baldwin came up with the idea that twitterers might promote someone to follow. According to Micah, “The idea is to think of interesting people you already follow and recommend them to others.” The idea caught on quickly and you can see the impact at this link.
The #FaithFriday Concept
I’m suggesting that followers of Christ use a similar strategy to love on others and to share the gospel on Fridays….. and that we call it FaithFriday and that we use the hashtag #FaithFriday.
I’d encourage you to use your imagination… link to a good site or a blog entry, an article, share an affirmation, a scripture… anything that shares the love of Christ with others and that brings glory to God.
There are millions of people in the world who are hurting, in pain, stressed to the max and lost. They have no idea where they will spend eternity after they die. They have no peace or joy. On Fridays, we can use Twitter very intentionally to share the truth about our Savior and how people can find and experience the true Source of love, peace and joy.
A Few Scriptures to Share:
“For God so loved the world that He gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” Jesus in John 3:16
“I have come that they might have life and life to the full.” Jesus in John 10:10
” Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will make you fishers of men.” Matthew 4:19
Customized Tiny URLs to Use in Your Tweets
I have created a few customized “shortened” URLs with links to these respective URLs that you might consider copying and pasting into your tweets:
http://tr.im/FaithFriday – to this blog post to help you share it with others so they can understand the concept.
http://tiny.cc/GodLovesYou - to The Message version of the verse John 3:16.
http://tiny.cc/GODisLOVE – to the verses in 1 John 4:7-12 that reminds us that God is love.
http://tiny.cc/FollowJesus - to the verses in Matthew 4:18-20 where Jesus invites His disciples to follow Him.
http://tr.im/YFaithFriday – to Psalm 96:1-4 that reminds us to praise God and share the Good News with others.
If you create another helpful and unique “short” URL using Tinyurl.com or Tr.im or another url-shortener for use on FaithFriday, I encourage you to send it along to me and I’ll post it here.
Last year I was interviewed on Charlotte Alive TV by host, Donica Hudson. We talked about many aspects of my ministry and the role that spirituality or faith can have on a person’s health and wholeness.
In this video, I discuss stress, the impact it has on health and the role of faith in alleviating that impact.
I have just completed a new presentation that I’m making available as a resource to educate others on the link between faith and health from a Christian perspective. This workshop can be presented in 2 1/2 – 3 hours.
This presentation can be customized to meet the organization’s needs. It would be a helpful add-on to any class on wellness or health behavior change.
Workshop Goal: Participants will be better equipped to live their life purpose by understanding God’s path to personal wellness in Christ and growing deeper in their faith.
POWERPOINT FOR PURCHASE
Preview this 85-slide package. Includes permission to administer a Spiritual Fitness Assessment & a 30-page booklet, Spiritual Exercises for a Healthier Life. Fully customizable.
I’ve been in the wellness profession for over 25 years. Over that time I’ve seen many health risk assessments and wellness appraisals, all aimed at providing the participant with a snapshot of their well-being. Some are short with few questions and some are more extensive with a hundred or more questions to answer. Most of these deal with the physical, mental, social and emotional aspect of health. Few deal with the spiritual side.
There are probably a few hundred reasons that might motivate you to care for yourself and to be healthy. Here are five, actually four, reasons that motivate me at a really deep level… and I think that these are reasons why God would want us all to be motivated by.
Researchers on Friday made public a large study with a finding that we should not find surprising: Losing your job may make you sick.
God created each of us – you and me – as His masterpiece, His workmanship, to do the good works He planned for us long ago. This is what scripture tells us in Ephesians 2:10.
