Maintaining Wellness (Part 2)

And now also the axe is laid unto the root of the trees: …

Matthew 3: 10

The secret to maintaining any plan is to understand “the why” of that plan. You can only get settled when you understand why you are carrying out that plan and how it ultimately affects you. In the case of New Years resolutions … Why are you undertaking the resolution in the first place? Why are you starting a fitness plan? Because you want to look good? That may be a goal but how sustainable is that goal? Wouldn’t a loftier goal be because you want to obtain and maintain good health? And by maintaining good health you can achieve a better quality of life and possibly quantity of life?

There is a secular author by the name of Simon Sinek who addresses this issue of “why” pretty effectively in a Ted Talk entitled “It Starts with Why – How Great Leaders Inspire Action”. His whole premise is based upon the fact that successful leaders are ones that understand “their why” and are driven by their “why” instead of their “what,” or their “how.” In other words, their essence instead of their process. It’s about an 18 minute long talk that compellingly challenges leaders to understand their why … and be motivated to start with Why (essence) instead the what or how (process).

This can be applied to us on a personal and spiritual level. When we understand our “why” then we can move forward in carrying out the essence of who we are and what our purpose in this life is. John the Baptist in Matthew the 3rd chapter was actually doing just that. He was challenging people to get to the root of their real issues and repent so that they could be prepared for the coming Messiah. In speaking to the religious leaders of that day, he was especially strong in his proclamation by telling them that the axe is laid unto the root of the trees. In other words, this was not a time for excuses. It was a time to cut to the heart of the matter and to get to the root of their issues. Their lofty ideas of themselves would be cut down and laid bear. God was allowing him to speak this way because He actually loved His people and wanted them to have a chance to have a fulfilling and eternal life … even the religious leaders. “What” they did and “how” they did it was religion: “why” got to the root of their relationship with Him.

In dealing with our own wellness issues, we need to do the same. Why do we need resolutions in the first place? Is there something that is leading us or has lead us to live unhealthy lifestyles? Do we need alcohol, drugs or even food to “medicate” because there are actually unresolved issues in our lives that we refuse to deal with or can’t deal with (True medication is not evil. There may be times when dealing with, in particular, mental health issues that medication is an appropriate step. No different than a prescription for a physical ailment or prescription for a visual ailment). That being said oftentimes we really need to get to the root of the matter before there is real healing and before wellness can be achieved and maintained.

Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.

Hebrews 11: 1

The key to maintaining spiritual wellness is found in maintaining our faith in God. The essence of who we are and what we do as Christians has to be rooted in Jesus Christ. The essence of our relationship with Him is based upon our faith and trusting in him. It may seem odd to the believer but many people struggle with the very existence of God and his son Jesus Christ. Sometimes this struggle is willful. However, sometimes this struggle is based upon a hard time grasping a loving and caring Creator. This struggle may come from a life of bad circumstances or even poor choices. A person may struggle because of a traumatic childhood or even, far too often, not having an appropriate father-figure … if one exists at all. Sometimes even the Christian struggles with maintaining a healthy relationship with the Father-God based upon the lack of relationship or example posed by their earthly father; either ineffective, abusive or not even there.

This struggle with the existence of God lead Paul to state in Hebrews 11: 6:

But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.

It’s not enough to hope that there is a God; or hope that He might answer our prayers. We must “against hope believe in hope” (Romans 4: 18) in order to have a right relationship with Him. We must push beyond circumstances. We must push beyond feeling. We must push beyond hurt. We must push beyond our past. To get to the essence of us, we need to get to the essence of Him. And that only comes through faith … and that faith is based in love!

For the Christian our goal in life is not making Heaven our home. That is our reward. Our goal in life is to please Him. As we please Him, then He can unfold the plan for our individual lives and give us a purpose and a roadmap to carry-out that plan. As part of that plan comes the responsibility of leading others to Him so that the “why” in their lives can also be fulfilled in Him. He then can start the process all over in them as He has done in us. Church (meeting) becomes a place where, if we are all in our rightful places, God through the work of the Holy Spirit can meet with us collectively yet still address us individually to carry out the plans in our lives. Sometimes those individual plans can be shared. Other times we may have to bear one another’s burdens so that we can help one another fulfill our purposes. Although our plans or purposes are personal, they are never exclusive. God did not raise us up to be an island unto ourselves. However, there may be times that we have to forge ahead, alone. We should always keep in mind that we are part of the collective body of Christ.

Maintaining wellness. It first comes with a commitment and being settled in the area that you are trying to be well in. You can only have a commitment and be settled when you get to the essence of why you are striving for wellness in the first place. Getting to wellness may mean digging into areas to uncover what may be keeping you from your goal, especially the “outs” or the reservations; but also the past hurts, guilt and circumstances that may be hinderances. However, no meaningful wellness program can ever be achieved without first being well in our souls. That cannot be achieved through religion. It must be achieved through relationship. The only relationship that can accomplish wellness in the soul is a relationship with God through Jesus Christ. That relationship can only be achieved through faith and continual trusting in God. The journey of faith may not always be easy and sometimes be lonely. However, if we work with others to achieve the same goal, the reward is Heavenly.