DAY 5 : Courage to Pursue Wholeness
In the wilderness of Judaea, there lives an arar (ah-RAHR) tree. It is a lush, green tree that thrives in the hot desert and produces plump green fruit. If you were stranded in the desert and came upon this tree, you would think, “Finally, I’ve found something to keep me alive!” As you approach the tree to pick its fruit, you hope the pulp and juice will provide some refreshment. Instead, you hear a disheartening sound. “Psssss.”
While the fruit looked good on the outside, it is nothing but air on the inside.
This is a striking mirror of what our own lives can look like. We often appear flourishing on the outside while lacking substance on the inside. God does not desire us to be half full, kind of healed, or partially transformed; He wants us to be whole. God cares about our spiritual, emotional, mental, and physical health because healthy disciples build healthy churches.
“Dear friend, I hope all is well with you and that you are as healthy in body as you are strong in spirit.”
3 John 1:2 NLT
God wants to see you whole and healthy. Things look unbalanced to God when the body is healthy, but the soul is unwell, or when the soul is healthy, but the body is unwell. Unlike the fruit on the arar tree, God desires for both the outside and the inside to be in good health. Maybe you are physically healthy, but the mental and emotional blows you have encountered over time have left you internally wounded. God wants you whole. Maybe your soul is healthy, but you have been putting off the doctor’s orders or failing to devote time to physical exercise. God wants you whole.
So pursue wholeness.
Courageously lean into the spot where, if your life was cracked open, it would, “psssss.”
Meet God there.
Lord, thank you for desiring me to be whole. Thank you that every part of me is important to You. I lay down my life physically and spiritually to Your process of healing, development, and wholeness. I ask You to direct me towards my next step of wholeness, whether that’s in my body or soul, knowing that if my life is in Your hands, what’s broken will be mended, and what’s empty will be filled. Be glorified in my whole life. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Courage to Pursue Wholeness | Written By Pastor Kristian Black
