Now may the God of peace make you holy in every way, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless until our Lord Jesus Christ comes again.
1 THESSALONIANS 5:23
Anne suffered from chronic health problems most of her life. She was on medication for muscular pain, insomnia, severe headaches, depression, and idiopathic digestive issues. She could rarely leave home unless she was certain there would be a bathroom nearby. Recently, she complained of chest pains and a rapid heartbeat. She had always been a worrier, but her husband noticed she was increasingly anxious and frustrated with her doctors. A friend from his Bible study suggested she meet with a pastor at his church. Desperate for answers, Anne reluctantly agreed. After a year of pastoral care and inner healing ministry, Anne is symptom free and off most of her medications.
Anne learned that God created us with three parts: body, soul, and spirit. Our body functions and connects with the physical world. It’s made up of organs and cells as well as our body systems.
Our soul, or “outer man,” is our mind, will, and emotions. Our soul gives us our personality, and through it, we live out our relationship with God and others. Our mind is where we do our thinking and reasoning, hold our attitudes and beliefs, and experience feelings. Our will enables us to make choices.
Our spirit, or “inner man,” gives meaning and purpose to our life and enables us to love God and others. We communicate and have fellowship with God through our spirit. It is the eternal part of us that understands spiritual truth. When we accept Jesus, the Holy Spirit takes up residence in our human spirit and we become new persons, no longer obligated to follow our sinful nature.
Anne also learned that her body, soul, and spirit are divinely aligned and interconnected. In divine alignment, the Holy Spirit rules our spirit, the spirit rules our soul, and the soul rules our body. Our spiritual health has a significant impact on our emotional health. And since our mind, will, and emotions connect to the body through complex body systems such as our nervous and immune systems, our soul has a significant influence on our physical health. If one part of our being is not aligned with the others, our physical body systems will be upset.
We can fall out of alignment when our soul takes over and our old nature rules instead of the spirit. Living by our thoughts, desires, and emotions alone pulls us back into the world and cuts us off from God’s power and promises. John showed the importance of caring for the soul as it relates to physical health when he wrote, “Beloved, I pray that you may prosper in all things and be in health, just as your soul prospers” (3 John 1:2 NKJV).
Paul said if your sinful nature controls your mind, it leads to death. But letting the Spirit control your mind leads to life and peace (Romans 8:6). Anne let her worry, fear, and anxiety go unchecked, and it eventually took a tremendous toll on her physical body. If we don’t willfully trust the Spirit with our problems, we can be left feeling frustrated and powerless. We might even cope by self-medicating, further exacerbating the impact on our physical health. Instead of conforming to the thought patterns of the world, we can stay aligned by allowing God to change the way we think (Romans 12:2). Your mind can be renewed by feeding your spirit with the promises of scripture. In this way, new thought patterns emerge that align with God’s truth instead of Satan’s lies, leading to healthy behaviors and habits and better outcomes. You can renew your mind each day by choosing to submit your soul to your spirit, casting your cares on Jesus, and letting God be God.
A renewed mind led by the Spirit can play a significant role in your emotional and physical health. Interestingly, when our body is sick, we tend to focus on the physical battle. But Anne and many others have found that if they first address the spiritual issues, the natural will adjust itself accordingly. The physical facts eventually catch up with the Truth. It might take some time, but you could be healed from the inside out.
Lord, thank You that I am perfectly and wonderfully made. Only You could create such a complex masterpiece! Forgive me for falling out of alignment and for letting unhealthy mindsets and emotions rule over my life instead of Your Spirit within me. Forgive me for not trusting You. I cast my cares on You, Lord! Help me to hold all my thoughts captive under Your authority (2 Corinthians 10:5). Thank You for the promise that Your truth will set me free (John 8:32).
Lord, I speak life and peace over my body and soul. Body, submit to my soul, and soul, submit to my spirit! Renew my mind, Lord! Help me replace worry, stress, and other unhealthy thoughts, emotions, and habits with the truth of Your Word. Give me new thought patterns that align with Your truth instead of Satan’s lies. Every day, help me to live in the spirit instead of the flesh so I can hear Your voice, receive Your protection, and be healed from the inside out.