Abundant Life – Healthy Living Series

By Rev. Rhonda Johnson, BSN, RN
Health & Wellness Director

Week 1

Why Does God Care About My Health?

In order to answer the questions posed in the title of the article we must first define what is meant by health. Webster defines health as “the condition of being sound in body, mind and spirit. Webster also tells us a synonym for health is wholeness. So, we can deduct health equals wholeness. In Leviticus, God gave His people specific instructions about health promotion and disease prevention. Priests served as health inspectors and performed many of the rituals and offerings needed for one to be made clean. These offerings restored wholeness of a person so they could participate in worship. God was protecting His people. He wanted them to be a healthy, strong and mighty nation.

Living a life of balance of the body, the mind, and spirit in our world today is not easy. At times, many of us feel totally out of control or are left feeling guilty since we are not allowing God to have complete victory in our lives. We have let our circumstances, other people and schedules dictate to us how we spend our time. At the end of the day, we are left empty and overwhelmed while experiencing no joy or peace. Surely, the lives we are living are not what is meant or promised by Jesus in John 10:10 “I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly” (King James Version). Within the same scripture Jesus is telling us it is the thief who has come to “steal, kill and destroy”.

God made us multi-dimensional beings in his image. He gave Adam and Eve emotions, a spirit and physical form. He gave them a social life exemplified in Genesis 2:18 “The Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.” And in Genesis 1:28b, we can see the occupation God gave to Adam when He said “Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over every living creature that moves on the ground.” God made man intelligent and able to commune with Him.

In a model created by Dr. Bill Hettler, co-founder of the National Wellness Institute, he describes us as being six dimensional and from what we read in God’s word, scripture supports such a model. These six dimensions are emotional, spiritual, physical, occupational, intellectual and social with each area being places in one of the six sides of a hexagon wheel.  Dr. Hettler also says the dimensions are interdependent. So, if one is having emotional problems, all the other aspects of life will be affected. We all know if one of our car tires is out of balance the car ride will be bumpy. If left out of balance for a long period of time, the rest of the car will also be affected.

Jesus meant for us to live a balanced and whole life with joy and peace even during times of stress. You may already be asking, “I have so many areas to change, where do I begin?” You may also be experiencing guilt and regret, but Paul describes life as a journey and each day we get to waken to a new opportunity to live the life Jesus intended. As we begin the journey towards wholeness together, look at your six dimensions. In what areas are you out of balance? Pray and ask God to take control of your life. Ask Him for direction to help you identify those areas which need to be changed now. For some it may be diet, for others exercise or for someone else, it might be you need to deepen your relationship with Christ. Whatever the task before you remember “being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus” (Philippians 1:6).

As part of the ministry of this Health & Wellness Blog - Billie Hudson, BA, a retired school teacher who obtained a ministerial degree through World Harvest Church and is a member of Stratford Heights, has felt led of God to be the prayer partner for those in need. She will frequently add devotionals to the Prayer Warrior Corner at the bottom of our blog page. Thank you Billie for being a part of this ministry.

Please feel free to make comments about the blog or let us know your prayer requests. Remember to remain confidential by using only initials or relationship references when making requests.