Have You Ever Noticed
How much better your day feels when you’ve had a good night’s rest, eaten something fresh instead of fried, or just taken a walk outside?
Suddenly, you’re smiling at strangers, humming along to bird songs, and maybe you’re a little more patient. An accident?
Happiness and health are holding hands, and they’ve been inseparable since the beginning.
God designed our bodies as temples, not trash bins. That means what we eat, how we move, rest, how we think, directly affect the joy we experience.
To honor your body is not to worship it, but to care for it as a gift entrusted to you. And when you do, you’ll find that health and happiness walk in step.
Ever Heard Of The Blue Zones?
Regions of the world where people live longer, healthier, and happier than almost anywhere else.
From Okinawa, Japan to Sardinia, Italy to Loma Linda, California. They found common threads.
Simple whole food diets, daily movement, strong community ties, purposeful living, and yes, a rhythm of rest.
It wasn’t about having a perfect gym membership or the latest diet trend. It was about daily choices that honored the body and gave meaning to life.
It’s almost as if these people stumbled on some Forgotten Healing Promise. But hasn’t Scripture long told us?
Happiness Has a Body
Think about it. When you’re sleep-deprived, overloaded with sugar, or glued to a screen for 12 hours, happiness feels slippery. On the other hand, when you breathe deeply, eat well, move your body, and rest, joy feels natural.
Why? Because the mind and body aren’t two separate worlds. They’re neighbors that share the same fence. And when one is neglected, the other complains loudly.
This is why honoring your body is honoring your happiness.
It’s not about abs or green smoothies for Instagram. It’s about living in a way where your body can support your joy instead of stealing it.
The NEWSTART Connection
One of the simplest, most practical guides to honoring your body is captured in NEWSTART.
Aset of lifestyle principles that have been tested in both science and Scripture:
- ✅ Nutrition: You don’t have to be a foodie to know that what you eat affects how you feel. Ever tried being happy after 3 energy drinks and a bag of chips? Whole-food diet? It’s fuel for joy.
- ✅ Exercise: You don’t need to be Goggins. Daily walks, some stretching, or weights can improve brain chemistry.
- ✅ Water: Your brain is 75% water, no wonder dehydration makes us cranky. Drink up. It’s cheaper than therapy.
- ✅ Sunlight: It’s almost unfair how God packed free happiness into something as simple as stepping outside.
- ✅ Temperance: Avoiding harmful things and using good things wisely. Self-control is a happiness superpower.
- ✅ Air: Step outside, breathe deeply, particularly where there’re trees, and tell me it doesn’t feel like medicine.
- ✅ Rest: Sleep renews the mind and body, and the weekly Sabbath rest renews the soul.
- ✅ Trust in God: You can do all the above, but without peace in your soul, happiness slips through your fingers.
See? Honoring your body is not complicated. It’s not about guilt or perfection. It’s about partnership. Living in rhythm with how you were created.
No One Becomes Happy & Healthy Overnight
The people in the Blue Zones didn’t decide at age 90 to suddenly start walking daily and eating vegetables.
They made daily choices. Small, consistent habits that honored their bodies and built joy.
And that’s the invitation for you, too. Not a crash diet. Not an extreme workout challenge. Just daily steps of honoring the gift you’ve been given.
Because when you honor your body, you’re not just adding years to your life. You’re adding life to your years.
Heaven is all Health; and the more deeply heavenly influences are realized, the more sure will be the recovery of the believing invalid—Ellen White
Conclusion Of The Series
The You Can Be Happy If series has shown us various doorways into happness.
Through consciously choosing it, living for others, experiencing truth, and embracing discomfort, as Alfred weaved them together.
Honoring your body is a cherry on top. Because how can you fully enjoy your blessings, your friendships, your purpose, or even your worship if your health is falling apart?
Your body is the stage on which happiness performs. Care for it, and happiness has room to dance. Neglect it, and even the best blessings feel dim.
So what’s one small way you can honor your body today? Drink more water? Step into the sun? Put your phone down and go to bed earlier? Start there.
Honor your body. And watch how happiness begins to honor you back.
