Sometimes I really don’t get the heart, mind, body connection–or should I say disconnection. I feel like most of the time these three things are out of whack–like, rarely do my heart, mind, and body all agree with one another at the same time. I feel like the only time that my heart, mind, and body agree is when they all say it’s bedtime. Outside of that, good luck.

For example, when I am supposed to be working, my mind says, “Let’s scroll Instagram!” When my mind says it’s time to clean the house, my body is like, “Ha, you tried it, Sis.” Even when it comes to starting on, working toward, or completing some long-term major life goals, my mind then does some Jedi mind trick and tries to shut down, leaving me feeling stuck and paralyzed with fear. I mean really, mind? C’mon.

So what do I do? Even Paul, who lived so many thousands of years ago asked this very question. “The things that I hate, I do,” he said.¹ I mean, that’s a loose translation, but you get what he’s saying. “Who will deliver me from the body of this death?” he seems to almost plead.² And it’s funny because he never straight up says “Jesus will deliver me.” Depending on the Bible translation, Paul just says, “Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord.”³ Like, what? It’s a classic non-answer, answer. I mean, the answer is obviously Jesus, but Paul doesn’t really come right out and tell us how Jesus delivers us from this body that won’t do what it’s supposed to do. Paul goes through such intricate detail to tell us how messed up he is and how conflicted he feels, but then gives a short, almost glib, answer when talking about the solution that we all need.

One thought I had about this mind/body conflict and Paul’s presentation of the solution is that the interplay of these two things represents so much of our lives, generally. Like, we know the answer to our problems is Jesus, but trying to figure out how or when He will work out the problem? Forget it. Who knows, right? This sometimes fitful and uncomfortable certainty keeps us coming back to Jesus again and again–searching and asking for help and ultimately receiving it, sometimes in the most incredible and unpredictable ways. And that seems just about right, because isn’t that what God is wanting from us after all–our desperate, undivided attention? Unless our heart, mind, and body are daily surrendered to Jesus, then they won’t (easily) align.

Only when we acknowledge that it is the Holy Spirit who gives us power to live with heart, mind, and body aligned, that’s when things start clicking and moving and going along as they should. Maybe Paul’s answer to this problem is short because in so many ways, it is indeed a mystery and beyond our own power. Ultimately, the answer is Jesus. He is the one who pours the oil of his Holy Spirit into the squeaky, rusty gears of our hearts, minds, and bodies, and somehow gets them to smoothly operate as one well-oiled machine. The answer is Jesus and it has always been. Let’s not waste anymore time and get aligned right away.

1 Romans 7:15 New King James Version

2 Romans 7:24 New King James Version

3 Romans 7:25 New King James Version