When My Body Couldn’t Keep Up: The 6 Steps God Used to Rebuild My Health

I often encourage you to steward well everything God has entrusted to you. However, when our bodies aren’t functioning as God intended, it can create significant barriers to that stewardship and make it difficult to faithfully carry out the responsibilities He has given us.

I’ve got good news—God works through certain people to rebuild our bodies according to His original design… so let me share this verse with you! “They rebuilt the temple of God according to its original design and reinforced it” (2 Chronicles 24:13). When I read this verse in 2 Chronicles, God immediately made me think of rebuilding our bodies—our temples of the Holy Spirit, according to its original design.

Formed for a Purpose, But Not Functioning as Designed

Psalm 139 says, “For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb” (Psalm 139:13). “My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place, when I was woven together in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed body; all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be” (Psalm 139:15-16). Wow… God knows us so intimately and formed us for His very specific purpose. But what happens when the body that He made so wonderfully isn’t functioning as He designed?

I've personally walked through this, and here are some of the challenges I faced:

Fatigued beyond ability to carry out work and daily responsibilities
Feeling like my body was failing me
Lack of motivation to care for the blessings God has entrusted to me
Feeling overwhelmed because I couldn’t complete the tasks I needed to do

But what I also experienced through this season was:

More time with God because I had to slow down and rely on Him in ways I hadn’t before
A deeper gratitude for the gift of good health after experiencing how it felt when my body did not function properly
A renewed desire, love, and intentionality to care for the blessings He has given me

If I didn’t experience poor health, I wouldn’t have experienced the restorative power of God in the process of rebuilding and reinforcing my temple of the Holy Spirit.

The 6 Steps God Used to Rebuild My Health

If you’re in a place of needing to rebuild your temple, do not give up hope. It may feel like you don’t know what to do next, but here’s your next step:

Keep your eyes on Jesus. The One who built your inmost being knows the steps to rebuild and reinforce it. He wants to walk you through the process and teach you some things along the way.

Through this season, God revealed 6 steps that helped me rebuild my health and strengthen my body in alignment with how He designed it:

Prayer
- God, I just want to steward my body for your glory but I feel like I can’t. I feel like my body is giving up. I have no idea what to do. Please show me the way forward and who can help me.
- This prayer changed my nutrition: “May this meal give my body the nutrients it needs. If it doesn't, please reveal to me what you want me to eat.”
Connecting With Others
- I told others what I was experiencing with my health so they could pray for me and THIS is how I found a functional medicine doctor that God used to repair my temple.
- Remember, word of mouth is HUGE. The more people you connect with about this, the more opportunity for someone to recommend someone or something to you.
Comprehensive Blood Work
- This was so important to better understand what was going on inside my body. When we get regular blood work done at the doctor, they don’t typically order comprehensive panels—there’s so much going on in our bodies that we’re just not aware of.
- You also need the right practitioner that deeply analyzes your labs with functional ranges. What’s labeled as “normal” isn’t always normal or optimal for functional health.
Change of Nutrition
- As I mentioned before, God changed my nutrition. You may already know I have a background as a dietitian, so I know how to eat well. But still, my body wasn’t getting what it needed. I was a pescetarian for 6 years, and through reading my Bible, God told me to start eating meat again and I would be healed. Well… I heard Him correctly!
- I also started experimenting more in the kitchen so I could eat a variety of exciting meals!
Supplements
- If we go back to the Bible verse from the beginning of this post, it talked about rebuilding AND reinforcing the temple. According to Merriam Webster dictionary, to reinforce means “to strengthen and support something by adding extra materials, assistance, or fresh additions.” Supplements have been part of the rebuilding and reinforcing process for me.
- I learned so much about holistic supplements during this time and how much these supplements support our body.
- Depending on your body’s response, supplements can vary during the rebuilding process and are highly specific to your individual body that God so uniquely created!
Intentional Reinforcement
- Once you begin to notice improvements in your health, it doesn’t stop there! Keep making meals at home that encourage you to eat a variety of homemade foods, ensuring support of your body as God intended.
- Progress supplements as your healthcare provider (or me!) recommends.
- Exercise: Stay as consistent as possible with the exercise you enjoy.
- Sleep and Rest: Ensure you are sleeping at least 8 hours per night and taking Sabbath rest in the Lord.