when the enemy attacks

St Leo the Great gives us good advice today in A Year with the Church Fathers. He says that our enemy attacks us at our weakest points. And I know that in the lives of the people I know and love, that seems to be the case.

I have friends who struggle with their temper. And I notice that when they're tired, they get cranky. They have a hard time controlling their temper when their energy is low. Other friends struggle with sexual sin. And again, I've seen that they seem to have the greatest difficulty when they're exhausted. There seems to be a direct correlation between our physical energy and our ability to defend ourselves spiritually against the attacks of the enemy.

That's interesting, isn't it? It points to the holistic nature of our being. Our bodies and minds and spirits are all inextricably interconnected, and they affect one another in ways that we don't even realize sometimes. That's why it's important for our spiritual lives to stay physically healthy. Sometimes the most spiritual thing you can do is take a nap. Or go for a jog. Sometimes we can worship God by eating a healthy lunch. What we do to our bodies determines how it will respond to the spiritual realm... positively or negatively.

Let's fight the good fight on every front, and keep our bodies healthy, get plenty of rest and exercise, so we can run the race set before us.

God, thanks for teaching us about our holistic selves.