Today, we no longer have to think deeply, reflect, plan, join, or pray. With the abundance of chocolate, caffeine, alcohol, antidepressants, video games, handheld devices, television, and the Internet, we can easily cope with the pressures of life. Life can go on.
Stress, poor health, and a sense of lack has made many of us feel like prisoners. We have lost our enthusiasm for life and all it has to offer. with little energy, we have lost an awareness for living and as a result, we have deferred our dreams and aspirations. Now, we are full throttle in “survival mode” and seemingly content living this way.
Deep on the inside, however, is a little eternal flame that burns within the spirit—a flame that is the center of wholeness and well-being. The spirit is the central intelligence that connects us to God. God's intelligence has no boundaries, makes order within chaos, and maintains a rhythm to which everything living responds.
Deep on the inside is a flame that is the center of wholeness and well-being.
Catherine Ponder, author of The Dynamic Laws of Healing (California: DeVorss & Company, 1966), states, “Choosing life without the spirit of the God is the root of all sickness and disease.” Someone once said that sickness and disease is symptomatic of a poor spirit, a broken heart, and a confused mind.
Gary Gunderson, former director of the Interfaith Health Program at the Rollins School of Public Health at Emory University, states in his book Boundary Leaders (Fortress Press, 2004) that “if there are not resolutions to issues [of a person], then the body will find a way to die.” Issues (mind, body, or spirit) created by dysfunctional, abusive lifestyles threaten our state of health and takes us further away from the path of living well.
To live well, or be whole, we must stay in the rhythm of God and add fuel to that little flame inside by acknowledging His presence and value in our lives. The foundations for living well are gifts from God. These foundations include clean air and water, sunshine, rain, rich soil, vegetation, and peace.
God is love (I John 4:8)
A key foundation for wellness is based upon love as a belief system. This belief system is that firm foundation that makes everything about our lives possible and meaningful. God is love (I John 4:8). We must believe that God is all-powerful, all-knowing, and in all places. We must never forget that God made the world and everything in it. He makes the creatures; the creatures don’t make Him. Starting from scratch, He made the entire human race and made the earth hospitable.
One of the things we must come to realize is that God (our Manufacturer, if you will) knows His product, His reflection. He built memory chips and routines that maintain our body parts and the internal systems that connect all of those parts. He also put within each of us sensitivity to His love. The ability to decide and make choices is also included. A relationship with God is essential for wellness and our ability to care for others and ourselves. It gives us a sensitivity to His presence, which provides a sense of safety, well-being, and courage. Let’s choose to live well.
Take good counsel and accept correction— that’s the way to live wisely and well.
--Proverbs 19:20 MSG
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