God's Plan For Your WellbeingНамуна

Physical wellbeing

One of my personal heroes is the Reverend George Whitefield. He was an amazing eighteenth-century evangelist, who was the human catalyst for one of the greatest Christian revivals in history known as the Great Awakening. One of the places he preached was Charleston, South Carolina. This is an extract from his journal written in the summer of 1740: 

‘People seemed to come from all parts, and the Word came with convincing power... I hastened to Charleston; but my body was so exceedingly weak, and the sun shone so intensely hot that I lay for a considerable time, almost breathless and dead... But God comforted me; and, being thereby strengthened in the inner man, I preached... with more freedom and power than could have been expected, considering the great weakness of my body.’ 1 

Here was a man in a revival situation, ministering the Word of God with great spiritual power, while at the same time neglecting his physical wellbeing. He came from a school of thought that you should burn yourself out for God – and he literally did. He hit the peak of his influence in his mid-to-late twenties before increasing ill-health in his thirties and forties limited his effectiveness. He died prematurely at 56. A truly great man, but one who neglected his physical wellbeing. 

This example highlights that it’s not enough for us just to focus on spiritual and vocational matters. Since wellbeing is holistic, we also need to attend to issues like our physical health. As has often been said, we need to take care of our bodies, because it’s the only place we have to live! 

This physical aspect was the starting point for God’s wellbeing plan for Elijah. As we read the account in 1 Kings 19, it’s clear that Elijah was physically exhausted. We are not told exactly why. It may have been partly due to the huge mental, emotional and spiritual pressure that he had been under through his confrontation with the prophets of Baal and the insidious threat from Queen Jezebel. It may also have been a result of him just physically overdoing it. From the intensity of the Mount Carmel encounter, Elijah initially journeyed from Carmel to Jezreel (17–30 miles) aided by the supernatural strength of God. However, he then fled in a state of panic from Jezreel all the way down to the south, to Beersheba in Judah. This was a journey of 100 miles, which probably included a mixture of running, walking, and stumbling. Then, from the small settlement in Beersheba, he went on a further day’s journey into the wilderness and immediately fell asleep. In the light of all this, it seems obvious that a key factor in Elijah’s burnout was physical exhaustion – so God started with his physical replenishment. As Ruth Haley Barton put it, God ‘began by dealing with Elijah’s physical weariness and depletion – he let Elijah sleep. Then he woke Elijah up when it was time to eat and drink, provided food and water for him, told him to go back to sleep, and then started the process all over again.’ 2 

It’s the same with us: God’s plan for our wellbeing often includes attending to our physical replenishment. 

1 George Whitefield, George Whitefield’s Journals (Edinburgh: Banner of Truth Trust, 1978), p441

2 Ruth Haley Barton, Invitation, p56