Nourishing Spiritual Health: A Christian Perspective on Growing in Faith

Many of you know I am a Christian, deeply devoted to serving God and following Him all my days while I strive to become more like Him and grow in my faith. When I was diagnosed with my autoimmune condition, sick and forced to stop working, I trusted God. This was a life change and a dark time in my life when I did not know how I was going to support myself. I am a divorced mom and Mima without a fat bank account to depend on. My full trust in God saw me through. I can’t say it was easy, but I can look back and say this life pivot brought on by my autoimmune condition was a blessing! God had a bigger plan for my life than I could imagine. I simply needed to trust Him. I had no Plan B.

Let’s define the pillar of health known as Spiritual Health. It means deep connection with God and the inner peace that comes from a growing relationship with Him. Only HE can give us peace that surpasses all understanding.

“Don’t worry about anything; instead pray about everything. Tell God what you need and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.”

Philippians 4:6-7

The Power of Faith in Daily Life

When we have uncertainty in life (and we will), we can take comfort in knowing God as our personal savior. He has our best interest at heart and desires to commune with us – meaning he wants us to talk to him about what’s on our heart and he in turn speaks to us through his Word (the Bible) and even in our intuition (as we grow in faith). Remember, God will NEVER say anything to you that conflicts with scripture. If it does, it’s not God. This is the test we must measure everything against when we “hear from God.”

Trusting God brings clarity and peace to our life. He guides our decisions when we ask and helps us to be grounded in times of uncertainty.  Proverbs 3:5-6 says “Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take.”

I became a board-certified health coach because He told me to! It wasn’t that simple though. I was very sick, no longer able to work, laying on the couch at home and feeling somewhat sorry for myself. I’ve always been a planner and go-getter. I told God, “I’m in my early 50s but I still have life left to live. Since I can no longer do what I did, what should I do now?” He gave me the plan a small bit at a time. It would have overwhelmed me otherwise. He’s still giving it to me a little bit at a time! I began qualifying myself for the life pivot and after 5 years of education, I formed Inspired Wellness Holistic Health Coaching. He inspired me to use my adversity to support other women, LIKE ME, with a life-changing health condition. He asked me to be an example and to help them understand life will look different but it can still be full, vibrant and amazing! That’s why I’m here and why this blog exists.  I’m here to help you get off the sick couch like I did and find your purpose through your adversity. I do this with love and compassion because I can never forget what it feels like on every level.

Practical Ways to Nurture Spiritual Health

I have a non-negotiable morning routine of spending time with God by reading the Bible, reflecting and prayer. I also journal as I have time. I recommend a bible reading plan – I use YouVersion bible app and it has many Bible reading plans of various topics and lengths. I’ve been reading the Bible through every year (for past 5 years) using one of the plans. If you’re just beginning, I recommend reading the gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke and John). The proverbs are excellent too and since there’s 31 proverbs, reading one each day is an excellent wisdom boost. I’ve repeated Proverbs so many times (aka the Wisdom Book) that I’ve unintentionally memorized many of my favorites. This is what we mean when we say “hiding God’s Word in your heart.” You know it and the verse comes to mind without any effort or need to look for it.

Prayer need not be fancy. It’s simply talking to God like you’d talk to another human. No special vocabulary required and no elegance to it. He wants to hear from you – it makes him happy!

Practice gratitude – it can change your mindset. Thank him for the simple things as well as the big things. He is the author of them all. He created the world and everything in it. He created you and me. Thank him for your life and breath. Nothing is too insignificant to thank him for.  Worship him for who he is – creator of all.

“Always be joyful, never stop praying. Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.”

1 Thes 5:16-18

Yes, that means be thankful when you’re sick and on the couch. I could not see it at the time but God had a purpose!

Spiritual Health Through Community

I talk about this a lot! We are not meant to do life alone. We are not meant to serve God alone either. He tells us in his word that we need to be in fellowship with other believers and do life together. Support one another, encourage one another, lift each other up in prayer and share each other’s burdens as well as celebrations.  I do this in the context of my local church where I attend weekly services. However, this is not enough. My church is big and it’s possible to walk in/out without truly connecting with anyone. True connection happens in a small group when we feel safe and choose to be vulnerable.  This could be a mixed weekly home group or a weekly ladies bible study – or both. Small group is critically important to connect with other believers.

Summary

Living for self is hard and leads to death. Who wants that?! Living for Christ isn’t always easy but he gives us his peace along the way and in the end, there are eternal rewards! Yes!

This message is not about religion or any denomination, it’s about a personal relationship with Christ. However, I recognize some people have differing beliefs and if that’s you, I respect you! This is my Christian perspective.  We focus on personal growth without judgment.

Call to Action: Deepen Your Spiritual Walk

I challenge you to take one step this week toward strengthening your spiritual health – whatever that looks like for you.  I’ve laid out some possible ways and suggest choosing just one to try this week, that you don’t already do. Step out and grow!

If you’d like my personal support on your journey, I’m honored to talk with you about it and support you in whatever way you need. Email me at inspiredwellness21@gmail.com.

In love and health,

Terri

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