Body, Mind, Spirit Connection
by Sharon Galloway, Women’s Ministry Chair
Taking care of ourselves is crucial to Christian living. We all would like to be whole in body, mind and spirit. Often we settle for living a life that is something less than God intends for us. It is important to understand that our physical health is affected by our emotional health, and our emotional health is affected by our spiritual health. Are you whole? Is your soul well? Are you living the full and deeply rich life that God wants you to experience? It takes courage to reflect and honestly assess your deep beliefs, emotions, and habits that could be affecting your physical, emotional, and spiritual health. Caring for our physical body certainly makes sense because each of us wants to be as healthy as possible; but it’s also a commandment by God — Glorify God in your body, and in your spirit. (1 Corinthians 6:20). Truly, we are fearfully and wonderfully made as the Psalmist tells us (139:14).
Isn’t it reasonable that we should care for the physical body that God gave us? Caring for our body means taking care of our physical health. Being physically active, eating well, getting adequate sleep and rest, being free from addictions and managing our stress are a few key aspects of attending to our physical health. You may describe mental health as an absence of mental or emotional issues, although everyone at times struggles with emotional issues such as stress, guilt, anger, anxiety, depression, or grief. Mental wellness really involves the process of using one’s mind to create a greater understanding and depth, and deepening our appreciation of life and our world. The enemy wants to keep us dwelling on the negative and to steal our joy and health. However, God desires us to be filled with peace, joy and love. The more effort we intentionally put into fighting this battle in our mind, the more likely we’ll enjoy a healthier life. Like training the muscles of your body to be more physically fit, you can train yourself to feed your mind with healthy thoughts. Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is, his good, pleasing, and perfect will. (Romans 12:2)
A healthy spiritual life is often overlooked when we search for happiness, purpose and meaning for our lives. Many times we fall short of these pursuits because we are too busy concentrating on the physical. When we are out of balance in one area, it tends to flow over to other areas as well. To sustain or improve your level of physical fitness, it’s especially important to consider the frequency, intensity and time of the various types of exercises you engage in. The same holds true for your spiritual fitness program. As Christian women we know that “exercises” for spiritual growth include prayer, reading and studying God’s word, obeying Him, abiding in His presence, crying out to God, forgiving others, confessing our sins, being in community with others, worshipping God, and loving and serving others. To have the kind of full and whole life that God wants us to have we must attend to our body, mind, and spirit. One way to assess our wholeness is to gauge the degree to which we are experiencing the “fruit of the spirit” in our lives as mentioned in Galatians 5:22–23. How prevalent are love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control in your life?
He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint. (Isaiah 40: 29–31)
