HEALTHY CHANGES:
4 Steps Towards Overall Health

Step 1:
Understanding Your "Total Health"

Step 2:
Make the Commitment

Step 3:
Assessment & Goals

Step 4:
ACTION TOOL RESOURCE CENTER

Mental/Emotional Health
Social Health
Spiritual Health
Physical Health

 

 

 

Step 4: RESOURCE TOOL CENTER

Spiritual Health

“Jesus answered, ‘It is written: Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.'" Matthew 4:4

What is Spirituality?

Spirituality is the way you find meaning, hope, comfort and inner peace in your life. Many people find spirituality through religion. Some find it through music, art or a connection with nature. Others find it in their values and principles.

For the Christian, it is impossible to be truly healthy if our spiritual lives are not full and complete. We are not only flesh and blood, but spirit and soul, needing the grace of God just as much as the fish need water in which to live.

That which we Christians have always known – that our spirituality and our physical and emotional health go hand-in-hand — scientific studies have begun to prove. In a 7-year study of senior citizens, religious involvement was associated with less physical disability and less depression. Other studies showed that patients undergoing open-heart surgery who received strength and comfort from their religion were three times more likely to survive than those who had no religious ties. Clearly, the connection between our physical bodies and our spiritual selves is as real as our Lord told us it was.

So what does a spiritually healthy person look like and how do we become one?

Galatians 5:22-23 tells us that the spiritually healthy person will bear “the fruit of the Spirit” – love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.

We can encourage our spiritual health in a number of ways, including:


Why does my doctor need to know about my spiritual beliefs?

If you are being treated for an illness, it's important for your doctor to know how your spirituality might be affecting your feelings and thoughts about your medical situation. If you think your spiritual beliefs are affecting your health care decisions or your ability to follow your doctor's recommendations, tell your doctor.

If you have spiritual beliefs, worries or concerns that are causing you stress, talk with your doctor. Your doctor would like to help. If your doctor can't help you with these issues, he or she may be able to suggest someone who can.

Read More:
Spirituality and Health: FamilyDoctor.org
Prayer and Spirituality in Health: National Institutes of Health

 

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INSPIRATION CORNER

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DID YOU KNOW?

41% of Americans say they have been cured of an illness or had their condition significantly improved as a result of personal prayer or meditation. (Yankelovich Partners, 1998)

Those who attend religious services at least once a week have been shown to have stronger immune system function compared with less frequent attendees. (Koenig et al, 1997)

Patients are three times more likely to survive open-heart surgery if they depend on their religious faith. (Oxman et al, 1995)

Click here for more:
Research on Faith/Health Connections

 

 

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