Wellness for Believers is so important to our life, and legacy. Being well gives us that opportunity to complete our God-given purpose. To ensure a successful life with Christ, we need discipline. I feel so passionate about it, that I felt called to publish the book, The Seven Disciplines of Wellness, The Spiritual Connection to Good Health. Know that wellness is a lifestyle. A wellness lifestyle does not mean that you will never be sick. Wellness is defined as unbroken completeness. It is the health of the mind, body, and spirit. A wellness lifestyle means that the mind (one’s intellect and emotion), the body (a person’s physical being), and spirit (will and connectedness to God) are in complete harmony. A wellness lifestyle has, at the very core, the expectation of being well. It does not entertain beliefs, such as “I will be sick because everyone else is sick,” “My disease is inevitable due to my family history,” “As I age, I will become sick". What a wellness lifestyle does mean is that good stewardship of our personal trinity (mind, body, and spirit) is in place and we have the habit of being well. Wellness is a common sense way of living. An example of not using common sense would be baby John’s parents leaving home without John’s meal or diaper bag. Since infants eat frequently with limited options, having their food handy is necessary, with a diaper change being inevitable. Common sense, then, is making planned, rational decisions based on what we know to be true.
How we live every day affects the quality of our health and energy levels. Daily investments are needed in order to preserve and protect our bodies from disease and ailments that rob us of quality living. What if you already have a chronic disease? Can wellness still be a lifestyle? Yes, you can be well. Your goal for wellness will be to stabilize your condition and reverse and prevent the advancement of the disease while minimizing the side effects of treatment. Preventing the onset of a second chronic disease is also important. For example, high-blood pressure and diabetes oftentimes co-exist.
Many of us have never looked at what we do every day and labeled it a lifestyle. However, what we do, what we think, where and with whom we spend our time, and how we spend our resources is, in fact, our lifestyle. Scripture tells us that we should “never walk away from common sense and clear thinking (Proverbs 3:21-26) —things essential to maintaining a wellness lifestyle.
The 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.
“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 a feeling of sensitivity to His love. Common sense is one of those built-in features that comes with human life. The ability to decide and make choices is also included. We may choose to live in harmony with God or attempt to live life without Him. A relationship with God is essential for wellness and our ability to care for others and ourselves. We have a sensitivity to His presence, which provides a sense of safety, well-being, and courage.
“Catherine Ponder, author of The Dynamic Laws of Healing states, “Choosing life without the spirit of the God is the root of all sickness and disease.” God is the lover of all we are and all we can become. Bottom line: if you are living life where you have positioned yourself or some other person or thing as a god in your life, then you have a counterfeit god, and wellness will not work. When we embrace God, we are postured to accomplish our life’s purpose and to know wellness. Love stabilizes all other dimensions in life. We are created to live in wellness so the spirit, mind, and body can remain whole.”
Main Points from The Seven Disciplines:
Discipline One: Pursue Primary Care
-Primary care is God’s love moving in and through me as I pursue Him. -Essential for wellness. -Because God cares for me and I care for Him, I can care for others and myself.
Discipline Two: Maintain Good Communication -A prayer life is essential to God’s plan for wellness. -The prayer framework helps build a life of prayer. -Only way to know the “you” that you were created to be and have the power to be it!
Discipline Three: Be Intentional About Life
-Know God's provision for fulfillment and completion of purpose. -Avoid distractions and addictions. -Remember our value to God. Discipline Four: Use Common Sense -Study Scripture to know the truth and how to think. -Embrace the mind of Christ within. -Use God’s weapons to correct and protect your thought life.
Discipline Five: Establish a Sacred Place to Live - Home should be more peaceful than any place outside. -Home is my healing station, the place where I nurture wellness. -Home is the root structure for Kingdom culture.
Discipline Six:Move -The body was made “to do” and “to be.” -A fit body reflects the indwelling of the Holy Spirit of God, the doer and executor of God's will.
Discipline Seven: Eat and Drink Real Food -Based on Biblical principles; pursue real food, which is the original diet. -Use food as medicine. -God’s plan to sustain the body.
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