SPIRITUAL LIFE Spoke in the Wheel of Wellness

I believe that these are some of the things we can do for ourselves that affect our wellness: (for details, see http://www.hopeunlimitedinc.com/wellnesswheel.html)
1.SPIRITUAL LIFE -- knowing God, saved by grace for good work, true to being created in His image
2.RELATIONSHIPS -- forgiving, compassionate, loving my neighbor as myself, at peace with others
3.ATTITUDE -- optimistic and able to cope when “life happens,” a positive outlook on life
4.REST -- sufficient sleep and relaxation, renewing my mind and my body as needed
5.INTAKE -- consuming just what my body needs for adequate nutrition; clean environment
6.ACTIVITY -- exercise, developing bone, muscle, endurance, and balance

Now let’s see how Scripture says it:

1. SPIRITUAL LIFE

God created man in perfection and gave him the blessings of long life and excellent health:

Genesis 1:27 God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him.

But man rejected God's perfection and chose to walk his own way. God gave His LAW so that man would have a guide and could know God:

Exodus 6:6-7 "Therefore, say to the Israelites: 'I am the LORD, and I will bring you out from under the yoke of the Egyptians. ... I will take you as my own people, and I will be your God. Then you will know that I am the LORD your God ....
Exodus 16:4-11, 35 Then the LORD said to Moses, "I will rain down bread from heaven for you. ... 'At twilight you will eat meat, and in the morning you will be filled with bread. Then you will know that I am the LORD your God.' "... The Israelites ate manna forty years … until they reached the border of Canaan.
Exodus 29:45-46 “Then I will dwell among the Israelites and be their God. 46 They will know that I am the LORD their God, who brought them out of Egypt so that I might dwell among them. I am the LORD their God.”
Deuteronomy 4:35-40 You were shown these things so that you might know that the LORD is God; besides him there is no other. ... Keep his decrees and commands, which I am giving you today, so that it may go well with you and your children after you and that you may live long in the land the LORD your God gives you for all time.
Deuteronomy 7:12-15 If you pay attention to these laws and are careful to follow them, then the LORD your God will ... love you and bless you and increase your numbers. He will bless the fruit of your womb, ... You will be blessed more than any other people; none of your men or women will be childless. ... The LORD will keep you free from every disease. He will not inflict on you the horrible diseases you knew in Egypt.

But man would not obey the LAW and could not reach God any other way:

Romans 3:9- 18 What shall we conclude then? Are we any better? Not at all! We have already made the charge that Jews and Gentiles alike are all under sin.
As it is written:
"There is no one righteous, not even one; there is no one who understands, no one who seeks God. All have turned away, they have together become worthless; there is no one who does good, not even one."[Psalms 14:1-3; 53:1-3; Ecclesiastes 7:20]
"Their throats are open graves; their tongues practice deceit." [Psalm 5:9]
"The poison of vipers is on their lips."[Psalm 140:3]
“Their mouths are full of cursing and bitterness."[Psalm 10:7]
"Their feet are swift to shed blood; ruin and misery mark their ways, and the way of peace they do not know."[Isaiah 59:7,8]
"There is no fear of God before their eyes."[Psalm 36:1]

God still did not give up on man, but provided yet another way:

John 3:16-18 "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God's one and only Son.
2 Corinthians 5:21 God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
I John 1:9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.

Does that mean that if we believe, we won't get sick? No! But it means that if we believe in and trust the LORD God, He has taken away our guilt and has removed one burden from our lives. It means that we have one spoke in the Wheel of Wellness.

The Lord Provides!

Myron Remington

Scripture from NIV