53: “I Want to be Whole!”

Wellness Series

"Winning the Race!"

Then He said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.”  And he stretched it out, and it was restored as whole as the other (Matthew 12:13).

The keywords in this scripture are stretched, restored and whole.  A lot of souls are wandering this earth in a state of tightness, damaged and broken.  Souls are searching for a treatment to this condition by submitting to false doctrines and ‘religions’.  These efforts only worsen this soul sickness until, eventually, it takes toll on the mind and the body.  What this kind of soul is really searching for is the right Spirit.

This series is dubbed Wellness because we are going to sink deep (like a well) into issues, draw out the root cause, destroy those roots, replant and grow up well, another keyword which simply means healthy.

An athlete preparing for a race has to stretch beyond his normal or common capability and reach to a higher level of speed or endurance.  She must also restore any lost valuable nutrients while in that stretching process.  And finally mend any parts of the body which may have sprained or torn or broken.  Pulling it all the together, the athlete is now one whole power machine ready to win the race.

Society envisions both the Athlete and the Soldier as men and women who have finely tuned their bodies into power machines to win races and wars. As born-again in Christ, we are men and women (young and old) who must—no doubt about it—be stretched, restored and made whole before we can win the race which ends at the pearly gates of heaven to collect our crown from Jesus.

Apostle Paul explained it all in 1 Corinthians 9:24-26 and concludes in verse 27: But I discipline my body and bring it into subjection, lest, when I have preached to others, I myself should become disqualified.  By body, he meant to keep that spirit of lust—for illicit sexual or other sinful pleasure—under lock and key so that it does not alter the purity of his soul; or else he would be disqualified (sacked or removed) from the race.  And further instructed: For bodily exercise profits a little, but godliness is profitable for all things having promise of the life that now is and of that which is to come (1 Timothy 4:8). 

 

Painting by Tim Okamura

It is definitely good to keep the body physically fit, at its top level of health; but to keep the soul godly, pure without blemish, is the goal of the Christian Athlete-Soldier as we run the race and fight the small battles till we ultimately win the spiritual war against darkness, and finally enter into that glorious light of Christ’s kingdom.  This is a promise from God Himself: that as long as we keep pressing toward the goal in godliness, we will have victories here on earth (the life that now is); and we will be victorious as we reach the “coming of our Lord Jesus Christ” (of that eternal life which is to come).

The Apostle encouraged Timothy, his son in the Lord: I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith (2 Timothy 4:7).  Christians must run the race on the narrow path (Matthew 7:13-14) and fight the devil—from within and on the outside—getting stronger and better in battle.  The fight is called ‘good’ because it forces us to be stretched beyond human capability; to be restored from our shame at failing so many times; and makes us whole again as we take the hand Jesus extends picking us up off the ground damaged, piecing our brokenness back together and motivating us to keep on running.

And, finally, we are blessed with a prayer in 1 Thessalonians 5:23: Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely; and may your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.

“I Want to be Whole.”  Do you want to be whole?  It’s going to take a lot of stretching, but you won’t snap.  Let’s work out together, dear brother, dear sister.  We shall meet at the field in the next blog.

Give me peace, O Lord!

© 2020 by Patience Osei-Anyamesem. All rights reserved.  Published by Take My Hand Inspirations Mission.  No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means—electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, or any other—without the prior written permission of the publisher.  The only exception is brief quotations in printed reviews or other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law.

Unless otherwise stated, all scripture quotations are from The New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.  Used by permission. All rights reserved.

"Winning the Race" Painting by Heidrick & Struggles (heidrick.com)

Paintings with no artists names can be found from Black Art Search Engine.

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