At our annual wellness visits, my husband and I expected typical results. We felt more tired and worn down than usual, but we assumed it was just a busy season and kept going. Yet, when the lab reports came back, they told a startling story.
Our bodies had been keeping score of the poor choices we’d been making for convenience’s sake. All those quick runs through the drive-thru, the chips, candy, and sodas grabbed on the go, and the lack of consistent rest had caught up to us. The test results reflected it.
“You can definitely turn this around,” the doctor assured us. Changes to our diet and lifestyle could restore our health. We took this news to heart and committed to making a serious, sustained commitment to a healthier lifestyle.
David and I began by taking an honest look at our routines. We needed to take inventory of our lives and the changes we needed to make. We needed to move from wishful thinking to intentional living. David and I are determined to finish our God-given race on earth well. (See Acts 20:24; Hebrews 12:1–2.)
We recognized the habits that had to go: my sweets and soda, his energy drinks, our late-night snacks, and fast-food stops. Then, we created a new eating plan, complete with a menu and shopping list. We also committed to regular exercise and eliminated from our schedule the commitments that left us drained.
The transition has not been easy, but little by little, we are feeling healthier, stronger, and more energized.
Spiritual habits require the same intentionality. To be spiritually healthy, I must focus on my relationship with God as deliberately as I do my physical health.
I can’t just rush through my days, snacking on social media reels, nibbling on morsels of other people’s business, and binging on distractions that soothe my mind but starve my soul.
If those habits go unaddressed, negativity will surface. I’ll lose patience and inner peace, and I’ll treat my loved ones poorly. Am I alone in this?
Proverbs 4:23 NIV says, “Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.” Paul echoes this in Philippians 4:8, urging us to think only on things that are true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent, and praiseworthy.
We often try to fill this space that only God can fill, but anything that diverts our attention from Him has consequences. We need to savor time with God and His Word. (See Psalm 34:8; Jeremiah 15:16.)
What are you feeding your soul right now? Are your choices helping you flourish, or are they draining the life God wants for you (Psalm 115:14)?
If you want stronger faith, deeper peace, clearer purpose, and greater spiritual strength, you must learn to feast on the things that truly give life. Notice what calms your heart and what clutters it. Attend to what brings you toward God and what pulls you away. And then, start making small changes.
The good news is that God does not ask us to change alone. He walks with us in the process. And every small decision toward health, wholeness, and obedience matters.
Consider: Are your daily habits creating a healthy physical and spiritual you? What unhealthy spiritual patterns can you replace? What steps can you take this week to nourish your soul and the soul of another?
CHRISTINA KIMBREL ministers hope to those held captive by their past and current circumstances while sharing the message of healing she found in Jesus while incarcerated.
