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.
Spiritual Fitness Assessment
Take a more complete Spiritual Fitness Assessment I have developed.
