When you think of "spiritual", do you think of your diet or sleep or financial stability? Or do you view these aspects of life as separate, one having nothing to do with the other? Is God some nebulous Being who's off in some distant realm, unreachable, while the details of your day-to-day are "real life"? Then this blog series is just what you need to begin to understand what God has to do with your health and with your holistic wellbeing.
I have an insatiable passion for helping people see the irrefutable interconnectedness between our understanding of God and the material we experience as human beings. It's what I've built my entire coaching paradigm on. Over the past decade or so, I've grown increasingly frustrated with what I perceive to be a massive Achilles heel in the church. The human race is growing sicker and sicker by the minute, but I'm not hearing much about this from the pastors in my world, albeit small. With the exception of the mega church Saddle Back (Rick Warren), I just don't see smaller churches addressing this crisis. Perhaps the reason leads back to my opening questions. Perhaps church leaders feel our physical experience is indeed separate from our spiritual. I couldn't disagree more.
Tell me something. Are you able to dive into a moving devotional, serve another in need and truly hear from God with a migraine, with chronic depression and anxiety, when bankruptcy is just a day away or when your marriage is on the fringe of failure? Of course not! I imagine the question strikes you as it does me - ridiculous. Then why aren't there more leaders in the Christian community teaching on the real-life ways to heal from these states of dis-ease? Why isn't the church rolling up its sleeves and getting down into the nitty gritty of these crippling issues to help set the captives free? I don't have the answer to this nagging question, but the Bible is chock full of underdogs and unlikely heroes accomplishing the almost inconceivable for God! I myself couldn't be more improbable, but I'm trusting this passion comes directly from Him and I am responding in faith.
With this post, I have begun a series entitled "What's God Got To Do With My Health?" I have huge dreams for this message. I have for years. But, this morning, I was struck fresh (almost like a slap across the cheek!) by Ecclesiastes 11:4, which reads, "If you wait for perfect conditions, you will never get anything done." There will never be a "perfect" time to start. What the heck does perfect even look like anyway? I've never seen it except, of course, for the Cross. I pray you follow along as I unpack a message that has the power to transform your life. Not because I'm anything special, but because I am certain God has something of great importance to say through me. A message that has the power to set you free from any dis-ease you may be suffering from.
I have published a book diving deeper into my views on this topic. It's titled, "From Chained to Changed, Break Mental Strongholds and Transform Your Life Through Faith."
In my book, I include an image I created that sums up my perspective. I call it my Wellness Pyramid. Using the 16 lifestyle areas that comprise a life, I built a pyramid which suggests the base is the most critical element that the remaining areas rest upon. You'll notice that "Spirituality" is intentionally not listed. I believe it's God and God alone who gives us all we need to live according to His design and therefore He must be present in every area of life, not segmented out. The swirl around the Pyramid represents the power of the Holy Spirit which empowers us to live the way we should.
Throughout this 16-week series, we will take a look at each of these critical lifestyle areas and see what God has to say about them. From there, choosing better becomes easier because you will be choosing from a place of understanding and appreciation for God's perfect design rather than from a place of sheer will and perceived denial.
I am super excited to dive into this with you and pray you are moved in a brand new way to take care of yourself for all the right reasons! Also, please be that stone tossed in the water creating a ripple effect by sharing this post with anyone you feel would benefit from hearing this important message. I can't do this alone. I need my Village.
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