At the beginning of 2025, I knew I needed to pursue joy. But the pursuit of joy would require commitment—circumstances, disappointments, and frustrations daily threaten to steal my joy. Maybe you can relate.
Of course, I knew that pursuing joy meant getting into God’s Word. I started memorizing and meditating on Psalm 84, which expresses the psalmist’s joy in the Lord.
However, I also knew that my physical condition affected my spiritual and emotional condition. To have the right spirit and manage my emotions well, I had to make living a healthy lifestyle a priority.
God’s Intricate Design
When God created us, He designed us with three parts—a body, a soul, and a spirit. The physical body is very real to us because we can see it and touch it. However, the soul is the will, emotions, personality, and consciousness that makes us, us. We also have a spirit—the part that communicates with God and has fellowship with God.
Throughout history, mankind has struggled to balance the needs of these three aspects of our nature. Some pay extreme attention to the body by either indulging the flesh or constantly seeking to improve it. Others have tried to completely ignore the body and its needs in an effort to live a more spiritual life. Yet the Creator of mankind encourages us to develop and care for all three aspects of our nature. As Paul tells the church in Rome,
“I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.” –Romans 12:1
It is interesting that Paul specified presenting our bodies as a living sacrifice. He could have just said, “present yourselves as a living sacrifice.” But he didn’t. He begs us to present our bodies to God as a vessel for Him to use. As a Christian, my body serves as a home for the Holy Spirit. Paul tells the church in Corinth,
What? Know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s. –First Corinthians 6:19–20
Here, Paul basically says, “Hey guys, don’t you know that your body is the temple of God? Don’t you know that the Holy Spirit actually lives inside you? Remember, God bought you with His own blood. It is your calling and responsibility to glorify God both with your body and your spirit. After all, both of them belong to God Himself.”
Prioritizing Physical Needs
Taking care of our bodies takes work. Consistently living a healthy lifestyle is a struggle for me. I love sugar. It is easy to indulge myself by consuming sugary foods and drinks. Plus, eating healthy food, exercising, and getting adequate rest takes time and effort. It is easy to neglect these areas in favor of doing “spiritual” or ministry things. Yet if we are to serve the Lord effectively, we need to find ways to appropriately care for the body God has given us.
In the next several blog posts, we are going to explore some biblical principles regarding caring for our bodies and practical ways to live a healthy lifestyle. But for now, think about where you are physically as well as spiritually. Are you burned out? Feeling down about life when you have things you should be excited about? You may need some nutritious food and a nap.
Remember, when Elijah ran from Queen Jezebel and asked God if he could just die, God responded by giving Elijah food and letting him sleep (1 Kings 19:1–8). God had to address the physical before He could address the spiritual. The God who made us understands all three aspects of our nature and cares about each part.
Do we?
Copyright © 2025 by Carmen Dillon. All rights reserved.
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For more biblical insights and practical tips on healthy living, check out the chapter “Creating a Healthy Home” in my book Opening the Hope Chest: A Single Girl’s Guide to Homemaking.
It’s always been interesting to me that God provided protein for Elijah. So that taught me the importance of protein for the brain and the endurance of the body. We can even eat some sugar, emphasis on ‘some’, if we also balance it with protein. Thanks for the focus on our bodies – the Temple of the Holy Spirit – and the importance of taking care of it.