Embracing God’s Best for my Body

In review of Romans 12:1 it says, “Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him”

Bottom Line:

Place your life before God and embrace what God does for you.

What this means to me:

I am to take my everyday, ordinary life; my sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life, and place it before God as my offering. For embracing what God does for me is the best thing I can do for him.

When it comes to my life, taking care of my body should become a spiritual discipline, like prayer, worship, or Bible study. God wants you to succeed at this.

The apostle Paul says, with God helping you, “Take your everyday, ordinary life — your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life — and place it before God as an offering” (Romans 12:1a MSG).

When I take care of my body, I worship God. And the good news is that it’s never too late to start this important journey in my life.

Before I ever start my journey of getting healthy, I need to realize that it’s a step of faith. Like Peter stepping out of the boat, every step I take toward better health increases my trust in God. Every step helps me expect the best from him. The same verse also says, “Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him.”

The Bible embraces three incredibly important truths about the journey of getting healthy. Grasping these truths before I begin will change everything about the journey before me.

First, God made my body. Psalm 139:13 says, “For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb” (NIV). Physical health is as much about stewardship as where I give my resources.

Secondly, Jesus paid for my body. The Bible says, “Don’t you realize that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and was given to you by God? You do not belong to yourself, for God bought you with a high price. So you must honor God with your body” (1 Corinthians 6:19-20 NLT). On the cross, Jesus paid not just for my soul but also my body. I honor God when I take care of my body.

The Holy Spirit lives in my body. The Bible says my body is God’s temple and that the Holy Spirit lives in me (1 Corinthians 3:16). Good health is one way I take care of God’s temple. I’d never let our church building get into poor shape, and God wants me to think of my body in the same way.

Knowing the truth about my body makes acting on that truth a step of faith. It means I’m no longer getting healthy just to live a few more years, fit into a particular item of clothing in my closet, or look more physically attractive. I’m getting healthy as a way to worship God.