Nourishing the Whole Self: Spirit, Soul, and Body
"And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ."
— 1 Thessalonians 5:23
We as human beings are made up of three parts; spirit, soul and body. In this culture of quick fixes and immediate gratification, we can overlook the importance of maintaining all three of these parts to live a balanced and victorious life.
People tend to think it’s all or nothing, not realizing these three are interwoven and each affects the other. For example, low thyroid function due to poor diet, lack of exercise and proper nutrition can cause severe fatigue and an emotional rollercoaster. This little gland that is a part of the endocrine system can play a role in our overall feeling and mood. If left unattended and cared for, it can affect the way you think in your mind (soul). This then can become a mindset for an individual. Before they know it, they have adopted this pattern of thought and it can evolve into their spirit. Over time they now fight depression and despair. Where once they lived happy and healthy, it's a struggle to get out of bed every day. The enemy saw this open door in the body and began to fight with that weakness in the endocrine system.
We must learn how to nourish all three of these in our lives to shut all the doors where the enemy can take advantage of us. The prayer is that our whole spirit, soul and body be preserved blameless until Jesus comes back. Ways in which we can nourish these are to first recognize where the root issue may be.
1. Examine your lifestyle in the body. Are you eating nutritiously and moving the body on a daily basis? Are there any nutritional deficiencies in your body? Minerals are what hold our DNA and RNA together. If you lack minerals there will be a breakdown in your DNA.
2. Examine your lifestyle in the mind. What are you feeding your mind every day? What are your thoughts first thing in the morning? It’s breakfast for the mind and it will train your brain to think for the rest of the day. Feed on the Word of God, even if you turn it on audibly and have it read to you.
3. Examine your lifestyle in the spirit. Are you connecting with God consistently? Even if it’s the first 5 minutes of your day and you continuously strive to add more time. Start with a reasonable goal!
The key is to nourish each one of these and not neglect any area. The amazing thing about our God is that He gave us principles of His Word that help with the spirit, soul and body! These principles are prayer, His Word and fasting.
When these three elements of Christian living become a rhythm in our lives, they naturally nourish the spirit, soul and body.
Yes, they can become perfunctory habits that lose the beauty of their power. Just like any relationship where two people do everything out of blind habit and no longer out of love, this can happen with us as well. We must renew our passion to pursue God and allow Him to renew us through His principles. Prayer and meditation upon Him are powerful to bring peace and allow us to cast our cares upon Him.
Studying His Word and getting the scriptures into our minds and hearts become weapons against anxiety and stress. There is a tremendous amount of scientific data admonishing us to allow a rhythm of intermittent fasting in our lives for the health benefits it
brings.
These are principles established by our God for us to keep our spirit, soul and body nourished daily.
About the Author
Natalie Johnson is a licensed minister with the United Pentecostal Church International. She has traveled for over 10 years serving in the ministry assisting churches in every capacity needed. Ministering to the local body and ministerial families through speaking, Sunday school, outreach, Bible studies, cleaning, organizing, painting, etc. She has gained hands on experience through serving alongside these ministerial families in the harvest field. She is 5th generation Apostolic with a 1st generation passion. She has authored her first book, Journey: The Life of Joseph, with the second on the way. Recently she began the podcast Spirit, Soul, Body on Spotify.