Spiritual Health – Victor or Victim
What is Spiritual Health?
Spiritual health is the way you find meaning, hope, comfort and inner peace in your life. Many people find spirituality through religion. Some find it through music, art or a connection with nature. Others find it in their values and principles.
Spiritual health is unique to each individual. Your
“Spirit” usually refers to the deepest part of you, the part that lets you make meaning of your world. Your spirit provides you with the revealing sense of who you are, why you are here and what your purpose for living is. It is that innermost part of you that allows you to gain strength and hope.
Spiritual wellness may not be something that you think much of, yet its impact on your life is unavoidable. The basis of spirituality is discovering a sense of meaningfulness in your life and coming to know that you have a purpose to fulfill.
What does it mean to be spiritual? Here are a few ideas...
It means you’re experiencing unity, making things whole, or feeling “at one with.” It’s about building bridges. It’s about love. To live spiritually means that you’re making positive connections, connections within yourself, with other people, 64
with God, or with the world around you (selfrenewal.com, 2006).
For some, spirituality may be equated with traditional religions such as Christianity, Hinduism or Buddhism. For others, it may mean growing in your personal relationships with others, or through being at peace with nature.
Assessing Your Spiritual Health
Where are you at in your spiritual life? Take a moment to reflect…do you feel a sense of worth, hope, purpose, commitment or peace? Do you have a positive outlook on life? Or do you experience feelings of emptiness, anxiety, hopelessness, apathy or conflict? These may be signs of spiritual poverty in your life and may be the reason for unhappiness or dissatisfaction.
Many wellness behaviors can benefit your spiritual health.
Such behaviors include feeling connected with others, feeling part of a community, volunteering, having an optimistic attitude, contributing to society and self -love/care.
Here are some ways to help improve your spiritual health:
• Be quiet. Take time for yourself every day, even if it’s just before you go to sleep, or when you’re driving home.
• Be open. Spiritual experiences can happen anywhere at any time.
• Practice being non-judgmental and having an open mind
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• Be receptive to pain or times of sorrow. It is often in these times when we discover how spirituality can help us cope.
• Practice forgiveness
• Pray, meditate or worship
• Live joyfully
• Allow yourself to believe in things, that aren’t easily explainable.
No one really knows for sure how spirituality is related to health. However, it seems the body, mind and spirit are connected. The health of any one of these elements seems to affect the health of the others. Some research shows that things such as positive beliefs, comfort and strength gained from religion, meditation and prayer can contribute to healing and a sense of well-being. Improving your spiritual health may not cure an illness, but it may help you feel better, prevent some health problems and help you cope with illness or death.
If you want to improve your spiritual health, you may want to try the following ideas. Remember, though, that everyone is different, so what works for others may not work for you. Do what is comfortable for you.
• Identify the things in your life that give you a sense of inner peace, comfort, strength, love and connection.
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• Set aside time every day to do the things that help you spiritually. These may include doing community service or volunteer work, praying, meditating, singing devotional songs, reading inspirational books, taking nature walks, having quiet time for thinking, d playing a sport or attending religious services.
If you are being treated for an illness, it’s important for your doctor to know how your spirituality might be affecting your feelings and thoughts about your medical situation. If you think your spiritual beliefs are affecting your health care decisions or your ability to follow your doctor’s recommendations, tell your doctor.
If you have spiritual beliefs, worries or concerns that are causing you stress, talk with your doctor. Your doctor would like to help. If your doctor can’t help you with these issues, he or she may be able to suggest someone who can.
What is more important: Physical Health, or Spiritual Health?
For an agnostic, this is obviously a moot point, however a believer is very likely concerned about both. But, how does God feel about people’s Physical and Spiritual Health?
When the Preacher asked the congregation how many wanted to go to Heaven, everyone’s hand went up. When he asked how many wanted to go right now, most of the hands stayed down.
When faced with the reality of suddenly leaving the world behind, even to some believers, all that unfinished, 67
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earthly business seems to be more important than meeting one’s maker. However, for believers and non-believers alike
- the time will come when everyone’s spirit will return to Him who gave it and await judgment by Jesus Christ, the Son of God (John 5: 22; Ro 14:10).
At that time, the rich and poor, the healthy and sick, the beautiful and the homely, the wise and ignorant - will all meet on common ground, and everyone’s actions, comments, and faithfulness either in the law, or without the law, will be judged and weighed against one’s motives, and between the time spent for God and for oneself (De 18:19, John 12:48, Mat 7:2, 22-23, Mat 12:36-37, 1Co 3:11-15, Ro 2:12-16, Just like some people who are obsessed with accumulating riches, or spending every free minute in the gym to sculpture that perfect body, or go through the most stringent dietary rituals for optimal health, God is so obsessed for an individual to be redeemed that he only allows for two choices - saved and unsaved. Nothing in between which forces every individual not to be complacent about his or her own destiny.
How concerned is God about good health and nutrition?
In some early books of the Old Testament, God instructed his people on how to cultivate the land, and cautioned them about unclean foods, including the adverse consequences of touching dead, diseased, or infectious humans and animals, or using contaminated utensils.
He spoke unfavorably against gluttony and drunkenness.
While it is unknown whether there had ever been a time when vegetarianism was prevalent, eating meat throughout the Old and New Testament was neither a sin, nor spoken against, with Jesus Himself not only eating fish, but also 68
meat, the Passover lamb being one example. The apostle Paul only admonished to abstain from meat (and wine) if it were to cause another believer to stumble or be offended, or made weak (Romans 14:21).
There have been occasions in the Scriptures where God struck some individuals with a particular disease for their deeds (Numbers 12:1-10, 2 Kings 5:27, 2Chronicles 21:12-15, 2Chronicles 26:18-20). Some believers were said to have been weak and sickly because of unworthily taking part in sacraments (1Co 11:27-30). Others were sick because of sin (Micah 6:13), wine (Hosea 7:5), love / lust (2Samuel 13:1-2), prophetic visions (Daniel 8:27), accidents (2Samuel 4:4), or afflictions attributed to Satan (Job 2:7, Luke 13:1116).
Not all who were - or are sick now, are suffering as a result of divine punishment for their sins: When asked why a particular man was blind from birth - whether it was as a result of him, or his parents sinning - Jesus answered, Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents: but that the works of God should be made manifest in him.˜ (John 9:3, also John 11:4) - which illustrates that God places greater emphasis on the eternal benefits of spiritual health, rather than the transient benefits of physical health.
How important is prayer?
Prayer is a form of spiritual communication with the Holy Trinity for Praise, Worship, Thanksgiving, and Repentance, and it provides a means of communicating our desire for God to bless and fulfill the needs of others and to bring any concerns we have before the Lord for spiritual guidance.
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Daily prayer establishes a relationship with God through the Lord Jesus Christ, which is a requisite for forgiveness of sins and salvation (John 14:6, Col 1:14, Romans 10:9), and it provides emotional comfort and spiritual strength to withstand life’s trials and tribulations, while the Holy Ghost empowers believers to bear fruit of the spirit. Unfortunately, a lot of people think of prayer only as a petition to help them achieve a particular goal, or they use prayer only during a crisis. Before Jesus taught his disciples how to pray, he assured them: ...for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask him.˜ (Matthew 6:8), and “ But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you (Matthew 6:33).”
Do people get healed through prayer?
There are Biblical accounts where prayers for healing were answered (2 Kings 20, 1-7, Acts 28:8), and the apostle James wrote to ‘let the elders of the church pray over the sick, and anoint them with oil in the name of the Lord’ (Jas 5:14-15), however I am not aware of any Scriptural passages which suggest that prayer alone - in the absence of someone anointed with the gift of healing (1Co 12:9) - would heal the sick. In fact, the apostle Paul, who had received the gift of healing, was denied to overcome his own infirmities (2
Corinthians 12:7-10), and those of Timothy (1Timothy 5:23).
Many people confuse spiritual healing with physical health or healing. Jesus said ...Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; ˜ (Matthew 6:25), which - if applied to physical health - would challenge every facet of medical research that has shown a link between good nutrition and better health. The spiritual aspect of the 70
physical healings Jesus performed is further demonstrated when He rebuked some of the scribes and said: Whether is it easier to say to the sick of the palsy, Thy sins be forgiven thee; or to say, Arise, and take up thy bed, and walk (Mark2: 9).
Spiritual health comes with our sincere devotion to the Creator with prayers, reading of the Bible or other instruction manual for living and being in the company of the good people. We all should be concerned about our spiritual health and well-being. May God keep us all in good physical, mental and spiritual health.
Spiritual people, particularly those who attend religious services, may live longer, healthier lives than others, according to two recent studies.
One study, from the University of Texas at Austin, stresses the role of regular religious attendance — not just spirituality — in longevity and general health. This study found that people who attend religious services one or more times a week live to an average age of 83 — an average of eight years longer than those who never attend church.
Researchers on this study suggest that the healthful effects of religious attendance may be related to the lifestyle choices that many churchgoers are likely to make, including the social ties that are often developed among congregation members.
This study, from the Population Research Center at the university, was published in the May 1999 issue of the journal Demography. A second study, from the Georgia 71
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Baptist Family Practice Residency Program, agreed that people who described themselves as highly or moderately spiritual were generally healthier than those who reported low levels of spirituality. This research was published in the February 1998 issue of the journal Family Medicine.
Dr. Chandrakant Shah, professor of public health sciences at the University of Toronto, has been reviewing statistical data from Canada’s National Population Health Survey. He feels certain that spirituality provides those who practice it health benefits of reduced stress, improved social connectedness, and healthier lifestyles -- all of which are well-known factors in lowering mortality. Dr. Shah defines spirituality as the beliefs and values one holds concerning one’s place in the universe and which reflect one’s connections with a higher power and social and physical environments. Dr. Shah recommends a balanced approach to material achievement, respect for the environment, volunteer work and caring for family and friends as individual measures to help with spirituality. No matter what your spiritual belief may be, it is necessary to have one.
My story: I have believed in God all of my life and was raised in the church. I know that without him I would be nothing and I would surely fail. We were created in his image and we must duplicate his life as we journey through life. For me it was crucial to have a Heavenly Father in my life, which I could turn too, when human flesh let me down. God is my rock and my refuge, my very present help in the times of trouble. We were created to serve others and as we give to others we will surely gain beyond measure. For me spiritual wellness is the catalyst to all these other forms of wellness. I struggle daily in this area because, it is hard to live in a word 72
of unbelievers all around and not have some doubts. The one thing I know for sure is that we all should believe in a Divine Power higher than our own.
I have questioned on occasion whether God is listening to me as I pray and I began to realize, of course he is because I have made it to see another day. I honor God for keeping me daily during the perilous times we are living in. I try to show gratitude for everything that he has given to and done for me.
God is the center of my joy and without him I would surely die. As a way to get closer to God and fulfill my purpose, I became a licensed Evangelist/Missionary in July 2009 and I received my B.A. in Ministry in June 2009 and my M.A. in Christian Education.
God is my father, my best friend, my counselor, and my provider; simply put God is my EVERYTHING! I will serve him for the rest of my life.