“Your spirit is the catalyst for your entire health journey.”
Our understanding of whole health is anchored in 1 Thessalonians 5:23 that reads “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.” This verse is key to understanding the triune design of the human being: spirit, soul, body. Oftentimes people train the body while abusing the soul, or nurture the soul while ignoring the spirit. These approaches are conflicting and incomplete. God's order is for our spirit to rule over our soul, and our soul to direct our body. Over time this order has actually become reversed where people are led by their senses, intellect, or reasoning-making it nearly impossible to distinguish the soul from the spirit. Whole health can truly begin with a regenerated spirit-one that is restored to connection and communication with the Creator, God. Our spirit is how God can access our soul-to renew us and teach us, lead us into rest, and restore our whole health!
Coach Keri believes some of the hindrances to walking in whole health are:
Seeking lasting inspiration (for change) from the soul instead of the spirit (from God).
Deriving soul satisfaction from body accomplishments.
Believing our spirit, soul, and body either don’t all exist or don’t all affect each other.
Gathering soul and body stewardship instructions from sources disconnected from our Creator, God.
Trying to “do it” alone.
WH WHOLE HEALTH STATEMENT:
"When I live connected to and inspired by God I see life-filled vision for my health.
By God’s grace I can persevere, overcome, and heal.
I am a person of action and application.
Boundaries are for my good and enable me to practice
the daily soul and body disciplines that cultivate my whole health vision."
Whole Health Described
SPIRIT
We believe the spirit of a person becomes alive when they encounter the spirit of God and receive Jesus Christ at salvation.
But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, (Ephesians 2:4-6, NIV)
Upon making Jesus Christ your Lord, your spirit underwent an instant and complete transformation...You aren't in the process of trying to get anything from God. Everything you'll ever need in the Christian life is already present in its entirety in your spirit. (Wommack, A. (2010). Spirit, Soul & Body, pg. 9)
A medical doctor once told me that when he was saved and received the Holy Spirit, he changed 80 percent of his prescriptions. He said, "Before I was saved I learned certain methods in medical school. I gave advice and prescriptions according to what I learned. When God's Spirit entered me, I saw humans the way God sees them. I knew their needs, not from a medical sense, but from a spiritual sense. Many times I said, 'You know you don't need any medicine. I'll pray for you. That's all you need'. I would pray for them and they would go on their way. (Sumrall, L. (1995). Spirit Soul & Body, p. 181)
If you do not know God your Maker, it's likely you derive your identity from people, roles, ideas, or possessions. You may find your motivations to accomplish health goals are to gain the approval of yourself or others. This focus keeps you vulnerable to ever-changing opinions and pop culture. Instead you can walk in relationship with the One who created you who will always give you acceptance, identity, and approval. When you know your identity is secure with the One who made you, you can think and eat better because of love, not hate.
SOUL
BODY
We believe the human soul contains the mind, will, and emotions. We believe the body follows the instructions of the soul and the soul can be renewed by God's spirit working through the spirit of a person.
As he thinketh in his heart, so is he. (Proverbs 23:7, KJV)
Someday you'll receive a new body and a new soul to match up with your new spirit. Until then, it's your soul and body that are in the process of change, not your spirit. (Wommack, A. (2010). Spirit, Soul & Body, pg. 19)
This trinity of spirit, soul, and body may be partially illustrated by a light bulb. Within the bulb which can represent the total man there are electricity, light, and wire. The spirit is like the electricity, the soul-the light, and body-the wire. Electricity is the cause of the light. While light is the effect of electricity, wire is the material substance for carrying the electricity as well as for manifesting the light. The combination of spirit and body produces soul, that which is unique to man. As electricity carried by the wire is expressed in light, so spirit acts upon the soul and the soul in turn expresses itself through the body. (Nee, W. (1968). The Spiritual Man, ch. 5)
The heart, the seat of your emotions is the pump that sends that life throughout your whole being. That could mean that if you are wrong in your emotions, you are wrong everywhere. If you do not have your emotions under control, your whole person will be affected. (Sumrall, L. (1995). Spirit Soul & Body, p. 93)
A lot of people eat based on how they are feeling emotionally, what they are thinking, or how they are striving to look. If your food and drink choices are driven by unrest in your soul, or you are unaware of your thoughts and emotions when choosing what and when to eat, poor choices are made and unhealthy habits form. Prioritize health in your soul and your body transformation will follow.
We believe God created all things, including people. We believe God made the human creature in His likeness. We believe the body is the frame or vessel of the spirit and soul in the earth.
And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. (Genesis 1:26, KJV)
I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. (Romans 12:1. NKJV)
Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is within you, whom you have [received as a gift] from God, and that you are not your own [property]? You were bought with a price [you were actually purchased with the precious blood of Jesus and made His own]. So then, honor and glorify God with your body. (1 Corinthians 6:19-20, AMP)
You may think like the majority about their physical appearance: self-conscious, frustrated, discontent, or ashamed. You may want to change many things about how you look; but just as you are, right now, you are loved and accepted. You are not defined by your appearance. Your value is not based on your physical image. The acceptance that grace provides can alleviate the pressure stealing your energy and delaying your breakthrough. No true definition of anything continuously changes, so don’t look to the ever-changing images you see on billboards, in magazines, etc. for the definition of male or female beauty. Your body is a temple, to be nourished, cherished, and used for good. We must resist cultural ideas and temptations that do not align with our personal vision for health. When we make goals centered on biblical wholeness, we are freed from disabling societal and relational pressure and can experience transformation.