I have just completed an article addressing the connection between spirituality and health. It’s on my website under the Articles/Resources tab. I’ve applied what I understand the truths of the Christian faith to be in light of what the research seems to indicate. The following is an excerpt:
“A growing body of scientific research indicates there’s a connection between spirituality/religion and health. To say that practicing a particular faith or involvement in certain religious practices will have an impact on one’s well being and health is oversimplifying things. The connection exists when people develop the type of qualities that come from knowing God and experiencing His love and in living in a way that God, the Great Physician, prescribes.
Yes, there’s a spirituality/religion and health connection. It occurs when individuals, regardless of their faith, incorporate powerful biblical truths into their lives. Forgiving, loving others, believing, worshiping in community, prayer and meditation are just a few tenants of the Christian faith that, if practiced by anyone, seem to have a positive impact on quality of life and health.
From a health perspective, our biggest challenge is to cope with the circumstances of life and its associated stressors along with relationship stressors in a healthy way. For the most part, our behaviors in response to these life events and stressors are attempts to meet our most basic needs of love, acceptance, self worth, security and identity. We have two options. We can choose to include God in our efforts to manage our life and stressors, or we can choose to go it alone.
If we rely on our own abilities and resources, apart from God, our strategies of living can be errant and unhealthy. When we depend on our own strength to cope with the pressures of life and past rejections, the result is very often conflict and frustration. Accompanied with a self-sufficient attitude and unhealthy thinking patterns and behaviors, this can lead to habits that have a detrimental impact on our spiritual, emotional and mental health. In turn, our physical health is often affected. When we experience poor health, we can not live a full life or be used fully by God. This is the strategy of the devil.”
Key Scriptures: Eph 2:10, John 3:16, John 10:10, 2 Cor 5:17, John 8:32, Gal 5:22-23
Enjoy reading the rest of the article at the link above.
Bill French says
April 10, 2017 at 11:48 AMVery interested in learning more about coaching within my faith community
Dale Fletcher says
April 10, 2017 at 1:56 PMHi Bill, Thanks for your recent comment here. My wife, Janice LaVore-Fetcher is the President of Christian Coach Institute. http://www.christiancoachinstitute.com/christian-life-coach-training-program/ She trained individuals to become professional coaches, many of whom choose to have a wellness niche. She use a christian coaching model as the foundation of the training she provides. I encourage you to take a look and see if this is the type of equipping you hope to receive. ~ Dale