Exhaustion, stress, anxiety, and depression are front and center when it comes to matters of health in our culture. Could it be that we need to create a balance of physical, spiritual, and emotional health?
You have likely experienced one of these issues yourself. And you may wonder why these emotional and mental conditions have become so prevalent.
Perhaps it is because many of us fail to recognize that our bodies were designed to have a balance of physical, spiritual, and emotional health.
Furthermore, it is only when we walk in such balance that we are able to walk in freedom—despite the many obstacles we come across in our lives.
“So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.”—Genesis 1:27
Like the image you were created in—God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit—you also have three distinct parts of your body that need to be in alignment with one another so your body may work according to its purpose.
Unfortunately, many people have fallen out of balance when it comes to their physical, spiritual, and emotional health, and they are not sure how to get back on track.
Even worse, many people are simply unaware that the physical issue plaguing them is actually caused by spiritual or emotional imbalance.
Let’s unpack what the Bible says about the balance of physical, spiritual, and emotional health.
The Power of 3…
Look at this comparison:
- God’s three distinct persons—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit
- Each of us as His image bearer—mind, body, and soul
- God’s instruction to the Jewish people—“Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one! You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength.”—Deuteronomy 6:4-5 (emphasis added)
God wanted us to recognize and distinguish these separate parts from one another so that we could learn to balance them in order to have optimal health.
He leaves no doubt that He wanted His people to live in peaceful balance, loving Him with all of their…
- Heart—The “Authority” or seat of our thoughts
- Soul—Mind, will, and emotions
- Strength—Physical bodies
The Hebrew word for “one” in Deuteronomy 6:4, “Hear, O Israel…, the Lord is one!” is echad. This literally means “compound unity.” The other Hebrew word for “one” is yacheed, which translates to “singularity.”
Therefore, we can see how the Power of 3—heart, soul, and strength—is in their unity!
Jesus later referenced this as the most important rule given to us by God.
“Jesus said to him, ‘“You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.” This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.’”—Matthew 22:37-40
Balancing the Power of 3…
Sounds simple, right? Love God with all three parts of your creation, and you will walk in freedom. Unfortunately, balance seems to be one of the hardest things to achieve.
Jesus doesn’t just mention this rule as an insignificant parable or suggestion for better living. He says, “You shall,” as if your physical health and very existence depend on it.
This is a call to action! Jesus is reminding His followers about the dangers of not being spiritually aligned with the one true God.
Jesus reminds His followers of this because He knows that the balance of physical, spiritual, and emotional health is key.
Create Spiritual Balance by Loving God with All of Your Heart
The Hebrew word for “heart” is levav or lev. The first letter of this Hebrew word for heart is Lamed, and is a picture of the shepherd’s staff, representing ‘authority.’ It is the “seat of your authority” where your thoughts give action. The Israelites had a much broader understanding of “heart” than we have today.
The Israelites thought of the heart as the organ that gives physical life. But they also thought of it as the place where your thoughts are born and where you make sense of the world around you—the seat of our intelligence. The idea was that it is where emotions are stored, and decisions are made.
Hearts carry a heavy load. They are prone to deceit and wickedness (see Jeremiah 17:9). Loving God with your entire heart is an intentional act, not something that happens randomly. Love is a choice. This means that you have to take action by making the choice to love.
God reminds His children of His plans of restoration and redemption, and He wants nothing more than for you to be a part of that plan.
‘Behold, the days are coming,’ says the Lord,
‘when the plowman shall overtake the reaper,
and the treader of grapes him who sows seed;
the mountains shall drip with sweet wine,
and all the hills shall flow with it.
I will bring back the captives of My people Israel;
they shall build the waste cities and inhabit them;
they shall plant vineyards and drink wine from them;
they shall also make gardens and eat fruit from them.
I will plant them in their land,
and no longer shall they be pulled up
from the land I have given them.’
says the Lord your God.”
—Amos 9:13-15
Being involved with God’s plan of restoration will help you stay spiritually aligned with your whole heart and allow you to achieve a balance of physical, spiritual, and emotional health.
More importantly, it can lead you into a deeper relationship with Him and give you an important role to play in His promised return of the Messiah.
Create Emotional Balance by Loving God with All of Your Soul
You were created with a longing that can only be satisfied by the presence of God which comes to you through the Holy Spirit. The problem is that unless you fully trust and receive the Holy Spirit, then you are only satisfying a small portion of that longing, putting your soul out of balance. As a result, anxiety, depression, and worry rise.
Again, loving God with your soul requires intentionality. The only thing that can fully satisfy your longing is the presence of God.
Philippians 4:6-8 instructs us to worry for nothing, but instead…
- Praise God and give thanks
- Ask for what we need
- Guard our hearts and minds
- Meditate on things that are true, noble, just, pure, lovely, good report, virtuous, and praiseworthy
Create Physical Balance by Loving God with All of Your Strength
Loving God with all of your strength is about depending on His strength and cooperating with it. You can do this at the most basic level by feeding your body what it needs to endure the season you are going through.
Ask yourself these questions…
Do I act in a way that aligns with my beliefs? If you believe that God gives you strength, and that He has created a way for you to take care of your mind, body, and soul in peaceful balance, then it is time to act in accordance with His Word and sow into where He is calling you to sow.
If He has called you here, He is speaking to you about Israel. Listen to what He is telling you about aligning your physical strength with His.
Am I seeking God’s Kingdom above all else? Seeking His Kingdom spiritually and physically helps keep us balanced and activate the Power of 3 in our lives. Seeking His Kingdom is about revealing the love of Christ in the world, adopting a biblical worldview, and understanding the times that we are in and the prophetic significance of current events.
“But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.”—Matthew 6:33
Seeking His Kingdom first has a natural consequence of activating the Power of 3—bringing a balance of physical, spiritual, and emotional health.
