Living Worship

After much time spent thinking about healing and prayer and miracles over the last few weeks, it has been brought to my attention how easily most of us separate the spiritual from the physical. We often look to enter into spiritual moments for worship but sometimes neglect that the height of worship can also be achieved in the everyday physical moments as well. 

We ask for the Holy Spirit to meet us in prayer or worship.... Or to make His presence known through faith, spiritual warfare, anointing, deliverance, calling or purpose. And I believe in all of that deeply... I believe His presence powerfully moves in the supernatural moments we can't explain and don't understand. I believe in the spiritual realm that is just beyond our sight. But recently I've been forced to wonder if sometimes we focus so much on the invisible battles that we forget God also cares about the visible and natural battles... The struggle found in our human bodies, the vessels where we actually live out our faith everyday. 

In warfare, the vessel is usually the target.... 

For many of us, remaining faithful feels mostly like a mental or spiritual battle.

Choosing right thoughts.

Guarding our hearts.

Praying through temptation.

Making wise choices.

Reading Scripture.

Worshiping when we do not feel like it.

Taking the next obedient step toward Jesus.

And all of that matters. But faithfulness is not only spiritual.... It is also physical.

What we put into our bodies matters.

What we allow into our homes matters.

What we watch and listen to matters.

What we consume, tolerate, breathe in, excuse, and normalize matters.

Our physical vessel is as much a part of the battlefield as the soul it carries.

I don’t mean that in a dramatic or fearful way. I just mean that the body is not separate from the soul. The habits of the body affect the posture of the heart more than we sometimes admit.

How I rest affects how I respond. How I eat affects how I feel. What I watch affects what I think about. What I listen to affects what settles in my spirit. What I allow around me can either build up the temple or leave it unguarded.

Paul writes:

"Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God — this is your true and proper worship.”

— Romans 12:1

I have heard that verse most of my life.

But that phrase has been staying with me is that we are to offer our bodies as worship! The true and proper worship begins with our physical vessel... Not just our songs. Not just our lifted hands. Not just on Sunday morning or during our devotional or quiet time.

Offer your body, your actual physical self.

Paul calls that worship.

This would mean that taking care of the body is not just health advice. It is an act of worship, stewardship, and obedience. It can be one of the ways we honor the God who created us, redeemed us, and lives within us.

Paul says it again in another place:

“Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit…? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies.”

— 1 Corinthians 6:19–20

Outside of making me wonder if Paul was your everyday man or the Vin Diesel of his time, it points to our body as a temple.

That is not a small statement.

And yet I wonder how often I treat my body more like a storage shed. Just another place to clutter with my mess! A place to pile stress. A place to push harder. A place to store ignored warning signs. A place to keep stuffing whatever is convenient, emotionally soothing, entertaining, or easy.

And before anyone gets nervous, this is not about shame. This is not about legalism. This is not about pretending health is always fully in our control.

It is not. 

We live in bodies that age, get sick and ache. Bodies affected by genetics, stress, trauma, environment, hormones, grief, schedules, finances, and things we never chose. And if I could recoup the wasted small fortune I've spent on unused gym memberships and quick fixes that didn't work or meals I wished I could put back on the plate..... Believe me, I will not be caught preaching about lifestyle choices. 

This is about honoring God in our body... The temple.

There is a difference.

Health can easily become an idol if we are not careful. 

But neglect can just as quickly become disobedience too.

Somewhere between obsession and indifference is stewardship.

Stewardship is the place I think God keeps pointing me toward. 

Paul uses the image of an athlete when he talks about discipline:

“Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training…”

— 1 Corinthians 9:25

Then he says:

“I discipline my body and keep it under control…”

— 1 Corinthians 9:27

(more and more confirming my Vin Diesel theory) 

Paul is not talking about punishing the body, but he is setting the expectation that we are not ruled by every appetite, craving, impulse, or habit.

It is about recognizing that our physical choices and spiritual lives are connected.

Maybe that is where the question gets personal.

Lord, where am I leaving the temple unguarded? Is it food? rest? stress?

Maybe it is what I watch or what I listen to.

Maybe it is the constant noise I let fill every quiet space.

Maybe it is the habit I keep excusing because it feels small.

Maybe it is the way I push my body beyond wisdom and then wonder why my spirit feels thin.

Maybe it is what I allow into my inner circle, my schedule, my home, or my mind.

Worship is not just what happens when the music is playing, but also what happens when I choose what to consume...

Worship can be what to surrender, what to turn off, what to walk away from. 

Praise God for grace!! He is not asking us to fix everything overnight.

He is inviting us to consider all things one faithful step at a time. Thomas doubted, and Jesus invited him closer. Peter denied Him, and Jesus restored him with purpose. The woman at the well had a complicated story, and Jesus met her with truth that turned her into a witness.

Over and over again, Jesus did not ignore what needed healing but He also did not shame people where they needed growth. 

He called them closer. I believe He calls us closer with our hearts and minds, of course ... But He also calls us closer with our habits, our bodies.... our whole self. 

Our physical bodies are not separate from our worship. Just as our choices are not separate from our testimony. Our habits are not separate from our discipleship. Our physical lives are not separate from the God who made us body, soul, and spirit.

So maybe the next faithful step is not dramatic. Maybe it is drinking more water,  going to bed earlier, or taking a walk. Maybe it is turning off the screen, making the appointment you've been putting off, or cleaning out what no longer needs to be in your home. Maybe the next faithful act of worship is changing one habit that has been feeding something God is trying to eliminate.... Or to stop starving something God is trying to heal.

Maybe it is simply saying and believing:

“Lord, this body belongs to You.” 

We were bought with a price. Our bodies are the temple of the Holy Spirit in us. And what we do with them can be our true and proper worship.

Worship was never meant to stay only in our hearts and minds. It was always meant to become our whole being and purpose. Our living sacrifice of praise and worship can start with a simple act of stewardship.... No spiritual mountain top moment or healing necessary .... Just obedience in taking care of the vessel of the soul and spirit within.... A cleansing, if you will, of the temple. 

Where might God be inviting you to honor or worship Him not just with your heart and spirit, but with your body, habits, choices, and daily stewardship?

Lord, thank You for caring about every part of me. Help me honor You with my body, my mind, my habits, my choices, and my worship. Show me where I have left the temple unguarded, and give me grace to take one faithful step toward better stewardship. Teach me to care for my body without shame, pride, fear, or grumbling, but as an act of worship to You. Amen.

Until next time, keep following the Plott, and I will be praying for us all. 💛