The New YouSample

### Small Steps Make A Difference Why is it so difficult to make the changes we want to make? The desire is truly there. Our intentions are good, and yet we fail time and again. For one, we battle against the flesh. Our flesh feels the emptiness our lives contain, and doesn’t trust God to truly provide and care for us the way we think He should. We seek solutions apart from God’s promises. And consequently, outside of His love. This is where trusting God comes in. The Holy Spirit is God’s power within us to defeat the flesh: “I have been crucified with Christ, it is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me; and the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God who loved me and gave himself for me” (Galatians 2:20). Our intentionality is comprised of surrender and faith. Surrendering our solutions and quick fixes and believing that the One who formed us is also intentional in His plans for us. The truth is that health and wholeness cannot be compartmentalized. You are not just your physical body. You are not just your heart, your mind, or your emotions. Every part of your being either supports or puts a drag on every other part. That is why it is impossible to be truly healthy in any one area if you are unhealthy in others. Paul acknowledged this truth in another letter to early believers: “Now may the God of peace make you holy in every way, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless until our Lord Jesus Christ comes again” (1 Thess. 5:23). Living life well requires intentionality toward your physical health, spiritual health, emotional health, and mental health. Determine to be healthy, strong, and productive until your last day. We want you to be in good physical health, of sound mind, and able to make a positive difference with your life for as long as possible. We want you to honor God with the health choices you make so you can experience all God has for you. What vision of growing older do you have for yourself? What can you do today to move toward that picture of health and vitality?