I thought you said this guy was strong!

Have you ever just felt beaten up, tired, broken down, completely lacking the energy to take another step? You feel weak physically, mentally, and spiritually. You lack the energy to get out of bed in the morning, never mind take on the responsibilities of dad, husband, employee, friend, or… fill in the blank. I know I have.

As men we are counted on to be strong, we are built for it, but we don’t always feel it. But guess what, whether you feel like it or not, it’s your responsibility to be a pillar of strength in your home. I think of my wife who is currently pregnant. She was built to carry children, but trust me when I tell you that she doesn’t always want to. When her hips are hurting, she can’t sleep (or just wakes up 100 times to pee), her back hurts, and so on – she can’t just call it quits. She has to see it through, it is part of being a mom and becoming a parent.

Although there are many examples in scripture of physical, mental, and spiritual strength, a person that comes to mind for me is Samson. This man was physically unmatched in strength. With his bare hands he “tore [a] lion into pieces as one tears a young goat” (Judges 14:6). He killed 1,000 men with a jawbone from a donkey (Judges 15:15). To protect himself from an ambush “He arose and took hold of the doors of the gate of the city and the two posts, and pulled them up, bar and all, and put them on his shoulders and carried them to the top of the hill that is in front of Hebron” (Judges 16:3). There was no doubt that physically Samson was exceptionally strong.

When it came to mental strength, for Samson, this was not his strongest attribute. Although Samson was extremely intelligent, and displayed mental strength often in his lifetime, he was broken down mentally on numerous occasions throughout his life. It was in those times that he saw the greatest trials come his way. The greatest example of this was in the case of Delilah asking him where his strength comes from. He tricked her numerous times and every time she betrayed him and shared this information with the Philistines. Even with this she continued to ask and eventually wore him down mentally to the point that he told her the truth. With that she told the Philistines – big surprise – and they captured Samson, gouged out his eyes, and threw him in prison. Without his superior level of physical strength he was no match for the men who sought to capture him.

When it came to spiritual strength it was very clear throughout Samson’s life that he was led by the Lord through many of his decisions and actions. In Judges 13:25 we see that the spirit of the Lord was with Samson. On many occasions through the story of Samson in Judges you see the account of “the spirit of the Lord rushing upon him” to help him. This is noted especially in circumstances where Samson needed to fight. The fact of the matter is, Samson trusted the Lord and believed that the strength of the spirit of the Lord within him would help him through even the most difficult circumstances in his life.

I think the important takeaway from the life of Sampson is that when you are weak in one area it can affect the others negatively as well. When Samson broke down mentally and told Delilah where the source of his strength came from, not only did she betray him, but he sacrificed his physical and spiritual strength. Judges 16:19-20 tells us that not only did his physical strength leave him but also the spirit of the Lord left him. As a result he was vulnerable and weak.

I believe the same is true for us. It is important to take care of ourselves physically, mentally, and spiritually so that we can stand against the schemes of the devil. When we are weak in our physical bodies we can break down mentally and as a result our spiritual lives can suffer. When we are weak mentally (as seen in the example of Samson) we can pay the price physically and spiritually. And if we are weak spiritually – don’t even get me started on the physical and mental effects of losing battles in spiritual warfare – we can see a great impact on our physical and mental health.

So what does it look like to stay healthy in these areas? Well, let's take a few examples from the many that we find in scripture and use those as our guide.

Physical Strength:

1 Corinthians 3:16-17: Do you not know that you are God's temple and that God's Spirit dwells in you? If anyone destroys God's temple, God will destroy him. For God's temple is holy, and you are that temple.

Proverbs 23 tells us to not be among the drunkards or gluttons as it will only bring us to poverty.

Taking care of your physical health is extremely important and there is no question that God has blessed us with bodies that he wants us to take care of. Now, as a health and fitness professional I could write an entire article on this alone, but I won’t. I think keeping it as simple as focusing on building your nutrition around whole, nutrient dense foods and avoiding overeating as well as incorporating regular movement and exercise in your life will go a long way in helping most people improve their physical health. It is our job to take care of the bodies God has given us. How often do we pray for physical healing over things that could have been avoided if we had taken care of ourselves in the first place? Ouch, I know, but the truth hurts sometimes. Moving on…

Mental Strength:

2 Corinthians 10:5, “We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ.”

Now I can think of numerous verses in scripture that hit the nail on the head when it comes to being strong mentally but I think this one is like an umbrella that covers them all. Take every thought captive, whether it's anger, greed, anxiety, fear, strife, envy, and so on. No matter what the thought is, if it isn’t in alignment with obedience to Christ you must take it captive and refocus your thoughts on Christ. Trust me when I tell you, the Spirit within you is there to help with this. In moments of mental weakness, cry out to the Lord to help you capture those thoughts and redirect your mental energy to him. It works. Prayer is powerful in drawing you out of mental weakness and into mental strength!

Spiritual Strength:

Philippians 4:13, “I can do all things through him who gives me strength”

Isaiah 40:31, But those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.

Spiritual strength relies entirely on faith and trust. If you do not trust in the Lord with all of your heart and mind as well as walk by faith, you will find yourself fighting an uphill battle spiritually. Let me ask you this, how do you build trust and faith with anyone else in your life? You do so by spending time with them, getting to know them, understanding how they treat you and others, learn about their character and level of integrity. These things help strengthen trust and faith. Do the same with your Father! Spend time with him, pray, read scripture, call on him for wisdom and understanding. How will you know if you do not ask? How will you know Him if you don't spend time with Him? "Come on somebody" - Brad Matherne. The closer you are to the Father, the more you trust and walk by faith, the stronger you will be spiritually.

You were built for physical, mental, and spiritual strength. God desires those things for you. No matter your situation, you can thrive in these areas now!

Be strong and of great courage, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go! And he will never leave you nor forsake you! (Joshua 1)