8 The Lord is their strength, and He is the saving strength of his anointed (Psalm 28:8 KJV).
Doctors act according to standards of care to ensure maximum patient health given certain circumstances. Perhaps a check-up (or wellness visit) is recommended on an annual basis. This is important because a lot can happen (both good and bad) in a year’s time. Updating one’s vitals, moreover, could allow for the detection of a health issue that would have otherwise gone undetected for quite some time. In a matter of one year an otherwise healthy patient can become one with an extensive medical history that requires regular attention to control any and all disease processes before they develop into bigger concerns.
If so much time, money, and energy is invested into persevering, or at least maintaining, physical health, the same can certainly be done for one’s spiritual well-being. In fact, spiritual health can benefit from a daily dose of supplementation. Consider daily prayer to be as vital to your health as a day-to-day vitamin regimen. Regular attendance at church could serve as a sort of immune booster that the soul essentially needs in order to be exercised and conditioned to functional at its true potential.
After all, we as humans, should fear spiritual laziness and dormancy. We need to continue to challenge ourselves in order to derive nourishment and grow. If we as humans remained in our current states and were further left to ourselves, we would not get any better. Instead, things would worsen in our lives – it is just a matter of when.
If it were easier to handle our own physical needs and ailments on an individual level, there would not be a need for physicians or spiritual renewal in church. But there is value in the body of the church, a spiritual support system with a pastor at its head. This, coupled with God’s saving grace, is what keeps us going, both spiritually and physically as both are intimately related and vital to spiritual growth. We are essentially checking in with our spiritual community on a weekly, if not a more regular, basis to minimize the risk of spiritual affliction.
A pastor embodies a spiritual doctor and the members of the congregation serve in a multitude as the doctor’s many assistants, attending to the needs of the poor in spirit. If your spiritual health should begin to deteriorate, early intervention and treatment can help you get back on the path to spiritual health. There is no shame in bouncing back by taking the necessary steps in order to do so. Thus, members could come to rely on one another, which is the spirit and body of the church, in conjunction with the pastor. It is never too late to come back to church and to God. This is made all the easier with a community’s helping and healing hands.
Originally posted on July 20, 2019 @ 8:46 AM
