Spiritual Wellness Check
Written by Cynthia McCoy, Program Assistant
Many people get an annual physical or eye exam. The older we get the more important they become. But what about a spiritual wellness check? Not annually, but daily. Do we nurture our spiritual condition as much as we do our physical condition or physique? Oftentimes we neglect our spiritual wellness or we do just enough to “get by.” Many believe going to church is a cure-all for spiritual wellness. Others believe reading a verse a day to keep the devil away will surely lead to spiritual wellness. And some believe that praying daily will get us in tip-top shape spiritually. While these things are needed and certainly a part of what we must do to maintain our spiritual wellness, doing them alone will not produce a spiritually fit lifestyle.
I’ve put together a checklist of 4 to items to help you maintain your spiritual wellness!
- Spiritual Weight Check – Your body is the temple of God. ‘Don’t you realize that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and was given to you by God? You do not belong to yourself,’ I Corinthians 6:19.
We are to steward our body like the temple God designed it to be – a dwelling place for Him to live by His spirit. This means taking care of it both physically and spiritually. We have a moral responsibility to not use our bodies for perverted, sinful, or harmful activity. As a follower of Christ, we now belong to Him.
- Spiritual Height Check – Are you growing spiritually? Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation, now that you have tasted that the Lord is good. (I Peter 2:2) Spiritual growth is the process of becoming more like Christ. The more we grow spiritually the more we walk by His Spirit. 2 Peter 1:5-7 gives us the perfect growth chart – “…make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love. For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
- Spiritual Temperature Check – Are you a lukewarm Christian? ‘I know your works: you are neither cold nor hot. Would that you were either cold or hot! So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth.” (Rev. 3:15-16) Some signs of a lukewarm Christian include:
- Unrepentant sin
- Attending church, but not showing fruits of a transformed life
- Not enjoying praying or spending time in the presence of God
- Not sharing your faith
- Not spending quality time in the study of God’s Word
To get your spiritual temperature out of the lukewarm zone, seek to live a life that pleases God. When we sin, remember He is faithful and just to forgive us from our sins, and cleanse us from ALL unrighteousness. (I John 1:9)
- Spiritual Blood Pressure Check – Don’t worry. “Therefore, I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. (Matt: 6:25) We are to surrender all our problems and cares to God, for He cares for us. There’s nothing that surprises Him and there’s nothing that’s too hard for Him. Worrying causes us to doubt God’s faithfulness and become discouraged and even depressed which could cause our spiritual (and physical) blood pressure to rise! God is able to do exceedingly above more than we can ask or think. Keep calm and trust God!
Let’s live our lives to pursue and maintain spiritually fit bodies for the glory of God and our spiritual wellness!
