Strong in Spirit

Did you know that God is interested in every area of your life? The truth is, He cares about every single thing that concerns you, and He wants every part of you to be whole and healthy—spirit, soul and body.

The Bible says in 1 Thessalonians 5:23 (CEV), …May your spirit, soul, and body be kept healthy and faultless until our Lord Jesus Christ returns. You are a spirit, you have a soul, and you live in a body.

It’s so important to begin your journey to wholeness by accepting Christ as your Savior, because if your spirit is not healthy and right with God, then the other parts of your life won’t be completely whole either.

Total Transformation

We were all created to be filled with life—God’s life—and Romans 8:10 (AMP) says, If Christ lives in you …your spirit is alive because of righteousness [which He provides].

Jesus died so our sins could be forgiven, and our spirit could be restored. When you are born again, your spirit is made new—God comes to live in your spirit, and you become the home of God.

Second Corinthians 5:17 says that you become a new creation, and you have access to all of the healing and wholeness He offers. You get a new nature, and you become full of the good things of God—His love, righteousness, peace, joy—and you have what it takes to live an amazing life and do whatever He’s called you to do.

Becoming a new creation is a total change—a lifelong transformation—that starts in your spirit and continues as you grow in God. This process happens little by little as you spend time with God in prayer and through studying His Word. Second Corinthians 3:18 says we are transformed… into the same image from one degree of glory to another.

True Restoration

I remember years ago when I was going to church regularly and had received Christ as my Savior, but so much of my life was a mess! I really loved God, but I didn’t love my life. I looked like I had it all together on the outside, but there was a lot of pain and dysfunction on the inside that people didn’t know about.

The Bible says in Luke 19:10 (AMP), For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost. It was so amazing to discover that Jesus came to not only save me from sin, but to also give back those things the enemy had taken from me through the disobedience of Adam and Eve in the Garden (see Genesis 3:1-7).

God wants to bring us back to what He originally intended—to the plans He had in mind for us before the foundation of the earth. He wants to give us joy for mourning, beauty for ashes, praise instead of depression, forgiveness instead of blame, righteousness instead of guilt, hope instead of despair...and on and on. (See Isaiah 61.)

Divine Help

It’s important to be strong in spirit so we can resist the temptation to sin and not let the cares and anxieties of the world weigh us down and distract us from our purpose. But we can’t do this in our own strength or effort.

We need the help of the Holy Spirit! And Jesus said in John 16:7 (AMP) that He would send… the Helper (Comforter, Advocate, Intercessor—Counselor, Strengthener, Standby)…I will send Him (the Holy Spirit) to you [to be in close fellowship with you].

The Holy Spirit was sent to guide us in our daily lives and help us do what we need to do. John 16:13 (AMP) says, But when He, the Spirit of Truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth [full and complete truth]. For He will not speak on His own initiative, but He will speak whatever He hears [from the Father—the message regarding the Son], and He will disclose to you what is to come [in the future].

Life with God gets exciting when we commit to following the Holy Spirit! He will lead you and use you every day if you’ll listen to His promptings. Something that seems small and insignificant to you—something as simple as giving someone a compliment—can be life-changing for someone else.

I am so thankful that God has restored my spirit, soul and body and He will do the same for you. It didn’t all happen overnight, and there are many things God is still showing me, but I can say from experience that God’s ways always work.

Make a decision to spend time each day with Him in prayer and by studying the Bible. As you do, His Word will transform you and bring health to your spirit, and you will experience a closer relationship with Christ than ever before.