When I think of all this, I fall to my knees and pray to the Father, the Creator of everything in heaven and on earth. I pray that from his glorious, unlimited resources he will empower you with inner strength through his Spirit. Then Christ will make his home in your hearts as you trust in him. Your roots will grow down into God’s love and keep you strong. And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is. May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God.
Eph 3:14-19 NLT
As we finish out our study of the passage above, we’re reminded how true fullness of life and power come from the Lord! We are complete in Him, healthy, whole, and holy. Earlier this week the below devotional was included in our YouVersion Bible Reading plan, The Wellness Revelation. I can’t think of a better way to articulate the complete and full life He desires for us, deeply rooted in His love:
God’s Wellness Plan
taken from The Wellness Revelation, A 40-Day Journey
By the grace of God’s Word and His love, may you get this: God wants to heal your heart so that you may have deeper faith for wholehearted living and a fuller life. He wants you to be holy (producing the fruit of the Spirit) and whole (healthy in heart, mind, and body) so that you will be fully alive, a living testimony to God’s goodness and faithfulness. This is God’s wellness plan for all humankind.
““Teacher, which is the most important commandment in the law of Moses?” Jesus replied, “‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ The entire law and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments.””
Matt 22:36-40 NLT
We must live well because we can’t help our neighbors if we can’t help ourselves. God’s love does not, cannot, and will not stop with us. Before Jesus comes back, we need to point others to God’s hope.
Will we make a difference in a hurting world by turning away from those familiar and comfortable habits that ensnare us? If we give God our hearts and bodies, we will be able to help others break free from their own traps.
Ask God to deliver you from the chains and whispered deceptions that keep you from bearing fruit. Jesus did not die, so those deceptions would bury you alive and leave you feeling overwhelmed, paralyzed, and numb.
When God’s love displaces the lies in your heart, something amazing happens – you receive an overflow that is meant to be poured out on others. Next time you walk into a room, walk confidently in who you are because of whose you are. Decide to enter every situation as a royal son or daughter with all heaven’s resources. Freely sow the seeds of love, and name what is excellent in people or situations, even if they look hopeless.
Love refuses human-imposed rules; it resists charts, graphs, and measuring tools. Love does not demand this for that. Love moves and flows freely from God to us to others and back again.
God is love. His love is the ultimate divine weight-loss plan – lifting the self-hatred, pride, and fear that burden us. With the burdens off our shoulders, we can take hold of a life transformed by the blood of Jesus. This journey is almost over, but God’s work in you is just getting started!
Reflect:
How is God’s wellness plan different from your own? How does God’s wellness plan free you to live healthy and whole?
“You are the salt of the earth. But what good is salt if it has lost its flavor? Can you make it salty again? It will be thrown out and trampled underfoot as worthless. “You are the light of the world—like a city on a hilltop that cannot be hidden. No one lights a lamp and then puts it under a basket. Instead, a lamp is placed on a stand, where it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father.”
Matt 5:13-16 NLT
Holy Barre 