It's All State of Mind

“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? … Dearly Beloved,  I desire that in all things you shouldest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospers.” (1Corinthians 6:19 & 3 John 2)

Whew!  What a pair of scriptures!

Few people know me very, very intimately when it comes to my health, but those who do know about that aspect of my life know that I have struggled with health in different ways for years.  After such a long period of struggling, one of the things I finally realized in the midst of my deliverance was that it really is all about your state of mind. Our state of mind reflects our state of health typically. Let's look at some examples of the mindset part:

How can one be practically dying of hunger, food in front of them, prepared and ready to go, and yet weep at the fact that they just can’t get themselves to eat it?  State of mind.  How can one spend days, weeks, and months lethargic and depressed, sometimes too malnutritioned to move, desiring change like air, and yet struggle to make a significant and long lasting change in their life? State of mind.  How can anyone look themselves in the mirror and not like what they see, not like the way they feel, and not like the person they feel like they are in the world everyday and stay that way for however long?  State. Of. Mind.

Don’t get me wrong, there are many other critical factors that play into these issues and the fact that they tend to last so long with some of us, but when we really get down to it, one of the places where it’s all fundamentally going down is in a certain area: the mind.  

The mind is where the war begins or escalates.  It is the most valuable ‘front’ to take possession of, and it is often the hardest thing to change once it’s been ‘made up’.  

The enemy has the ability to influence us, sometimes directly but often indirectly.  What we’re told growing up, what we watch, who we spend our time with, what we listen to–all of these things and more subconsciously affect how we think about God, how we think about others, and ultimately how we think about ourselves.  After succumbing to an oppressive spirit (in addition to preexisting mental illness) in my late teens, my entire mindset and way of thinking began to deteriorate.  

I hadn’t even realized what was altogether happening, but the way I wanted to feel about my health and happiness and the way I actually felt about my health and happiness were drastically different, and for years I just couldn’t figure out why I couldn’t pull myself together.

Then the Lord began to help me realize overtime (I was depressed and, apart from that, also stubborn) that improvement in health over the longterm comes by change in the mindset, and that change in the mindset doesn’t just come by wanting to think differently.  The Lord tells us in scripture to renew our minds.  I began to learn I have to (while doing the things in the natural that need to be done to take care of me) refuse the negative/noncompliant thoughts I had about my health or the things I wanted to change in my life.  AND I had to use the word of God EACH TIME to actively practice changing the way I think.  

Then I had to step out in faith, and discipline myself with action to ACT OUT these new Word-based thoughts I was switching the bad thoughts out with.  One thing I’ve learned that changed the game for me is that if you truly want something to change you can’t just take a bad thing, person, or habit away, but you have to find something better to fill the void that will be left behind once it’s gone. Because there will be a void of some kind, and if you just leave it there empty, you’ll be back again to fill it with either the same thing or (unintentionally) something worse.

Change the way you think about your health and it will change your life.  Use the word of God, to replace all those old “I can’t stick to anything”, “Is this/Am I even worth it”, “I guess good health just isn’t for me” type of thoughts with scriptures about what God really wants for your health and life, like the ones I mentioned at the beginning of this post.  

Get up and make yourself go to the gym even if you don't workout; trade your soda for tea or water today; try out that dance class you’ve been thinking about; speak the word over that depression while you're practicing your coping skills!  Quit believing you just don’t have it in you to stick to anything.  You can do this!  Let’s get to it! Annnnnnd it's normal and ok that sometimes it's still gonna suck, feelings wise.

God wants the best for you.  

He wants your health to prosper even as your spirit prospers when you put it in his hands, believe in his son Jesus, and give your life to him. So don’t listen to all those negative, noncompliant, hesitant thoughts in your head instead of HIM.  

Choose to change the way you think, and lean on God as you get your health (diet, fitness, #all’at) in order.  

It really is all about your state of mind.

Let God show you how to live healthier and be the best you possible.

Asha.