Here’s the second of an eight-part devotional for men based upon my chapter on health in Coach Joe Gibbs best-selling book, Gameplan for Life. The devotional was featured by the Men of Integrity ministry of Christianity Today. I hope you enjoy the series. Here’s Part 2 of 8:
THE FOUR WHEELS OF HEALTH
THE SERIES’ THEME: Healthy Through and Through. What does it mean to be a truly healthy man of God?
WHO SAID IT … WALT LARIMORE
Walt Larimore is one of America’s best-known family physicians and has been listed in the Guide to America’s Top Family Doctors and the Best Doctors in America. He’s been a practicing family physician for around three decades—delivering more than 1,500 babies. Walt has been a medical journalist since 1995 and has served as an on-air medical consultant for many radio stations.
WHAT HE SAID … THE FOUR WHEELS OF HEALTH
The Bible’s holistic view of health is most easily seen in Luke 2:52, where the writer describes the preteen Jesus: “So Jesus grew in wisdom and stature and in favor with God and all the people.” Jesus grew in stature (physical health), wisdom (emotional/mental health), and in favor with God (spiritual health) and others (relational health).
The Bible focuses on pursing physical health, emotional health, spiritual health, and healthy relationships with our family and others. I call these elements the four wheels of health, the importance of which has been confirmed by thousands of scientific studies.
If any one of our four wheels is wobbly or flat, our health will suffer. Life won’t run as smoothly, or as far, as it was intended.
Make no mistake—God is concerned about our physical bodies. We need to take care of our physical health—but God also designed three other wheels of health.
Key Study Passage: Psalm 32
I have a free assessment tool that can help you evaluate your four wheels of health. You can take it now, or at the end of this devotional series. You can download it for free here.
You can learn more about this principle in my book, 10 Essentials of Happy, Healthy People: Becoming and staying highly healthy. Autographed copies are available here.

Here’s the entire series:

• Part 1 – Introduction
• Part 2 – The Four Wheels of Health
• Part 3 – The Physical Wheel of Health
• Part 4 – The Emotional Wheel of Health
• Part 5 – The Relational Wheel of Health
• Part 6 – The Spiritual Wheel of Health
• Part 7 – Examine Your Wheels
• Part 8 – Concluding Bible Study

Adapted from Game Plan for Life (Tyndale, 2009) by permission. All rights reserved by the copyright holder and/or the publisher. May not be reproduced.