Holistic Spiritual Wellness

Ephesians 6:10-18a

At my previous FCA club meeting, I talked about the importance of working out the whole body – physical, mental, and spiritual. One has to focus on different workouts to work different areas of the body, such as doing planks that work the core and wall sits, which work the legs. This connects to the need to work different areas of our spiritual growth (scripture, prayer, service, tithing, etc.). It’s important to grow all areas in balance, as you don’t want to end up someone who only works the upper body and ends up on stilts instead of legs.

This is why we focus on our 4 values; Dependency on God, Delight in our church family, Dedication to our community, and being Driven by the mission. They are all important and we need to grow together in all of them or else we grow a lopsided faith. Someone who takes everything in and never puts it into practice can become bloated and stagnant. Somone who constantly gives without receiving can be burned out and eaten up. Healthy growth is growing in balance with commitment to work through the difficult times. Success is strong arms and strong legs; living as both a Martha and a Mary together; one who is there when ministry is easy and exciting, but also excruciating and uphill. Long-term spiritual success requires a real warrior—success requires commitment to God’s holistic spiritual wellness plan—which is why we see so much in the New Testament about beating our body into that ideal.

You are God’s Warrior

Paul’s letter to the Ephesians culminates with a call to stand firm against the enemy. To do that, he has given us every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places; He has also given us each other. The book as a whole is all about understanding who you are in Christ inside the context of a healthy church family, so you can live that out in your context. Ch 6 gives us a picture of what that spiritually healthy person looks like – and it’s a warrior. You are a warrior! A knight doesn’t put on armor to know what it feels like to live inside an oven, but to protect oneself during battle – listen to what we are supposed to be equipped with: belt of truth, breastplate of righteousness, shoes of the gospel, shield of faith, helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit. The book of Ephesians isn’t a college textbook for future preachers and missionaries; it is a letter written to people who live in an everyday town, have everyday jobs, and live with everyday pressures and temptations. This armor is for the regular, everyday, normal believer!

Warriors Must Be Fit

We talk often and especially lately about how important practicing and living out these values help us to be that warrior. A person will never be able to be steady in a high intensity situation unless they practice in high intensity ways. Somone who regularly practices the values we have in the outside world is someone who is fit and protected with the armor as described here. The belt of truth – the more we know and can study and understand scripture on our own, the more grounded we will be in God’s truth, less likely to waver in shaky situations. As we gather together and bump into one another (as iron sharpens iron), we are built up in righteousness. As we focus on our daily lives as being our time to work in the harvest field, we begin to see the gospel going with us where ever we walk; when we get active in our faith the enemy starts attacking and the shield of faith is there to protect us; our salvation covers our life as we move forward, and finally we have the Holy Spirit doing the work through us, making advances against the enemy.

I visited someone recently in the hospital who told me about a conversation with a stranger she had that showed our church as a known entity in our town now; our church family is beginning to make waves throughout this town. Last year, we welcomed 120 first time visitors in our doors. The year prior was 99. For the first time since I’ve been here, last year we had someone fully submit their life to Christ; we had 2 people come to Christ last year! Our work with Pioneer Days led us to another opportunity with LW Main Street and Make it Magical which was a huge success. Our avg attendance is up over last year and I have so many stories of people making commitments and taking their spiritual life more seriously. Committing to God’s holistic spiritual wellness plan is doing us well!

Next Steps

This is a celebration of the great things God did in us last year, but it is also a commencement. Our mission isn’t on hiatus; it’s not over. We have to go out to our mission fields here in a few minutes. These practices cannot stop, but must keep growing; for your sake, for our sake, for the gospel. We must commit to God’s holistic spiritual wellness plan.

1. Write an encouragement note to yourself where you call yourself a warrior in Christ.
2. Engage in all the spiritual disciplines so that you may be prepared to fight the darkness and to build the Kingdom of God.
3. Pray, pray, pray, for opportunities, protection, and a full harvest field.

I ask you to prayerfully consider committing to plant here with me for 2026 (and beyond) so we can all be fully fit warriors in Christ – together!