Health and Well Being - Part 2

God fashioned humans as a triune being: body, soul and spirit. He created our body from the dust of the ground, breathed into our spirit His breath of life and formed us into a living soul (Genesis 2:7). When our soul - our thoughts, choices and emotions - is neglected, it attempts to draw our attention to our legitimate needs, which require fulfillment.

If we neglect our needs, our Inner Child, which the Psalmist alluded to (Psalm 131:2), will make sure our body and spirit are also effected by this mental and emotional deprivation (Psalm 107:5-6). Mind-related illnesses cause our muscular, nervous, respiratory and vascular systems to break down. They are called psychosomatic illnesses. These have no physical cause or explanation.

Our dreams and negative emotions are two more avenues, which the soul uses to attempt to bring our needs to our conscious awareness. Our overall health depends on us heeding these messages. At times, as the psalmist realized, our soul is like a child and must be weaned (Psalm 131:2). If the Inner Child controls our thoughts, words and deeds, we never grow up.

Alternately, many of us work all day long to provide for the needs of other people and neglect our own needs. God created us to care for our own needs as well (Mark 12:31). This is not selfish unless our whole focus is on our self, or if we care for our self to the detriment of others. God's Spirit will lead us into a healthy balance of nurturing our self and others.

Prayer:

Father God, remind us that we can give our soul a wholesome treat every day! Walking in nature, a healthy snack, chatting with close friends, hobbies, reading Your Word, writing a letter or email, relaxing in the sun and nurturing a garden are just a few healthy choices. Help us to discover what makes our thoughts and emotions happy. We want to make Godly choices, which meet our needs and to help us to nurture others as well.

Thought for the Day:

If we neglect our soul, we are only 2/3 of a person! If we do not nurture our soul, one whole third of our self is crippled.

Health and Well Being - Part 1

God is a triune being: the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. The Trinity created us in their image as triune beings with a body, soul and spirit (Genesis 1:26; 1 Thessalonians 5:23). Each entity contributes to who we are and influences our health and well-being. We experience life through our Body, we acknowledge life through our Soul, and we influence life through our Spirit.

The Body is our existence, the Soul is our expression, and the Spirit is the essence of our life. Without fully developing all three parts of our being, we are handicapped individuals. Unless we acknowledge and nurture each entity, we will never reach wholeness within ourselves, nor can we help to nurture others.

We care for our Body with proper rest, exercise, and nutrition.  We care for our Soul through safe relationships, mental stimulation and nurturing our emotional health. We care for our Spirit through Bible study, church attendance, prayer, fasting, Christian fellowship, service to God, and sharing our faith with others.

Events, which wound our soul, are only minor chapters of our life, and are definitely not the end of our story. Even if our past was good, the best is still yet to come (Jeremiah 29:11). God calls each one of us to sink our roots deeper into His river of the pure water of life, which is clear as crystal and proceeds from the throne of God and of the Lamb (Revelation 22:1).

Prayer:

Father God, we pray for those who are traversing the dark night of their soul. Bring them nurturing friends and family to support them through this most recent chapter in their life. We also pray that You will ease this time of transition for them and reassure them of You care for them as You shower them with Your love and blessings on their road to the fulfilled Christian life.

Thought for the Day:

God's refreshment sustains us in every trial, and we know that He will work out all things for your good. - Romans 8:28; Jeremiah 29:11

Cleansing Our Soul

 

God is integrally involved in the life of all of His Saints. He gives us His law to protect us and His Spirit to direct us. He created us as a triune being with a body, soul and spirit (1 Thessalonians 5:23). God gives us the ability to overcome Satan's hold on us by our salvation in Christ and then by the word of our testimony (Revelataion 12:11).

The first place to defeat Satan is in our negative emotions. These crippling feelings are resulting from sins, which we committed, or which someone else executed against us. They are still infiltrating our soul, weighing us down and limiting our usefulness. Bitterness, anger, pride, rebellion, jealousy, frustration, depression, doubt, guilt, hopelessness, fear and others, all plague our soul to distraction.

They overcome the peace in soul due to the wounds from our past. We are holding on to them and nursing these wounds like trophies. They help us to feel sorry for our self and to have an excuse for not reaching our potential in life. We do not want to admit to ourselves, nor to anyone else, the things that others did to us. We do not want to forgive them, but this only cripples us more.  ( www.theophostic.com )

We falsely believe that these strong, negative emotions will protect us from any past, present, and future hurt. Satan deceives us with these lies. What these negative emotions actually do, however, is to block our soul from receiving the fullness of the love that God has for us. We do not need anger, pride, bitterness or any negative emotion to protect us. The King of Kings is our mighty stronghold and fortress (Psalm 18:2, 144:2).

Prayer:

Father God, we can depend on You to cleanse our soul of all negative emotions and past wounds. As we put our trust in You, we live in abiding peace and joy - not only in our spirit, but deep within our soul as well. You keep us in perfect peace when we focus on You and trust in Your plan for our life (Isaiah 26:3). Only as we come to You in every circumstance and wait on Your timing, will we find peace and success in our life (Proverbs 3:5-6). Your quietness and strength within us give us the confidence to walk in Your ways (Isaiah 30:15).

Thought for the Day:

We can look for the seed of a miracle in every negative circumstance, because God promises to work all things, even the bad things, out for our good. - Romans 8:28

Spirit, Soul and Body

Read: Luke 16:19-31

Genesis 1:26 states, "And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness."

God is a triune being...Father, Son and Spirit. He created us triune beings in His image. That triune image manifests itself in mankind in the spirit, soul and body. "And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ." - 1 Thessalonians 5:23

For the Christian, the life of Christ flows through us. It affects us physically because He brings us healing; it affects us spiritually, because if we ask Him to, He dwells within us and guarantees us eternal life (Romans 8:11); and it also affects our soul. People live a lifetime trying to find fulfillment in their soul ~ the mind, will and emotions. They cater to the flesh, buying every gadget known to man to make them happy, trying to amass wealth in the process. Yet, they are never happy and always want something more or different.

I know some people who are never happy in one place for very long, so they move often. Others want every new fad in clothes and accessories, phones, stereo equipment, cars, etc. Some people constantly change jobs, trying to find one they enjoy more than the previous one. Some even change mates whenever the current one is no longer exciting, solicitous or physically perfect. They seek pleasure rather than Godliness.

We often pray for the body to get well, and for God to fill our spirit; but do we ever pray for the soul? With the Spirit of God residing within us, He will fill our soul with all the fruit of His Spirit...love, joy, peace, patience, gentleness, goodness, meekness, self-control and faith (Galatians 5:22). He will heal us from every negative emotion from the past, which we have hidden in our soul (Philippians 4:8). Our mind is renewed with the mind of Christ (Romans 12:2); our will is submitted to the will of God (Philippians 2:13); and our emotions are controlled by the spirit of God dwelling within us (James 1:19).

Therefore, when we are angry, we can sit quietly and ask God to fill our soul with gentleness, love and peace from our spirit. When we are anxious, we can ask God to fill us with patience, peace, and faith. When we feel self-sufficient, we can request that God fill our soul with meekness, goodness, and self-control. When we feel sad or depressed or hopeless, we can request an infilling of joy that will strengthen us (Nehemiah 8:10) and give us peace that passes all understanding (Philippians 4:7).

More important than the soul, however, is the spirit. The spirit is dead within us at birth, until we ask Jesus Christ to be our Savior. We cannot truly live integrated, connective lives until we are born again. Then the Holy Spirit breathes the breath of life into our spirit. Genesis 2: 7 states, "And the LORD God formed man (body) of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life (spirit); and man became a living soul." At death, the body ends up in the grave. However, the soul and spirit go on to our eternal destination (Luke 16:19-31). Where will you spend eternity?

Prayer:

Lord Jesus, help us to remember that the main point in life is that in order for You to fill our soul, we first need to be filled by Your Spirit. Our spirit must be born again by asking You to be our Savior and our Lord (2 Peter 3:18).

Thought for the Day:

The Spirit will lead you into all truth (John 16:13). He comforts us with His everlasting love (2 Thessalonians 2:16-17).