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In every article so far, I have tried to give you some sort of tip on eating better, working out more or scheduling time for healthy behavior. All things to try to get you to a healthier, happier you. Now I want to focus a little more on the spiritual aspect of it, on learning to ask God for help in every aspect of our lives.
I am sitting here while writing this, watching my stepdaughter breastfeed her new baby girl. God has given Megan everything that baby needs to have — all the nutrients of a perfectly balanced diet. That sweet little baby girl will never be as healthy again as she is right now, because right now she is eating only what God has given her. Just like a mother feeding her baby, He knows exactly what our bodies need to be healthy, and He desires for us to live a life full of health and happiness. I feel assured our Father wants us to experience life in these bodies as a process of encouragement and determination, not of suffering.
Now don’t get me wrong — I am not one of those people who believes that if we just sit around on our behinds, eating whatever we want, that God will perform some miracle and we will wake up in the morning 10 pounds lighter. As in any other spiritual aspect of our lives, we have to put our own work into it. We don’t just know Scripture — we have to read, memorize and meditate on it. We don’t just automatically learn the books of the Bible or the stories of David and Paul that give us encouragement and stamina in our walk with Christ — we have to study. It is the same with our bodies. We must study our health and habits to make constructive decisions. Listening to our bodies, we can use simple guides, such as our BMI (Body Mass Index) or BMR (Body Metabolic Rate) to make small steps towards smarter goals. God has given us so many tools; we just need to utilize them.
When we take some very positive and constructive steps towards learning and putting into action how to take care of our bodies, then we can be assured that God will come along to help us when we ask Him. Take the time to talk to Him about the desires you have and how you need help. Voice it as a prayer request among people you love and trust. Use the power that comes through Him to fight off those debilitating thoughts: You have too far to go. It’s too hard. You might as well stop. You know God doesn’t care about your body. He has too many big things to think about. I know I often succumb to the temptation to become overwhelmed, but I have also found that a small prayer helps me go a long way on my feet and in my heart. When we are standing in Him for everything, we can fight harder and achieve more in every aspect of our lives.
Take this time during Easter, as you are celebrating Jesus’ resurrection, to remember that part of His suffering was to remind us of His love in each and every aspect of our spiritual walk with Him. Don’t hoard any part of your life under your own control because you think it is something that He doesn’t care about — especially when it comes to the temple that He built for our souls to live in on this earth while we do His work.
