Don’t you think taking care of ourselves to lose weight, feel better, improve health, and reduce stress can be…stressful!?
We all know the truth. Our bodies are not maintenance free. But, geez, why does it have to take so much work to keep it going?
No wonder no one can keep any New Year’s resolutions!
Seriously though, most of us view our ‘upkeep’ to be something of a chore.
I know I did. But then I did something different.
And I want you to do something different too-because it works. So today I’m sharing 3 ways how to use your faith in your self-care. Applying faith in self-care goals avoids stress and makes taking care of yourself easier.
In fact, not only can you use your faith to reduce stress; you can also use your faith to improve and strengthen your self-care.
1 Applying Faith in Self-care Goals Avoids Stress and Consequences
Have you ever noticed how we lean towards the quick, convenient, inexpensive, tasty and FUN options for our self-care?
Ever wonder why we do that?
I think our choices are driven by over-committed schedules, misaligned priorities, and our own personal desires.
But something interesting happens after we are on this path for a while.
We start to feel like we need to be looking for ‘more sophisticated’ solutions to help us to change our lifestyles. Things get more complicated. And sometimes, more expensive.
Then we get overwhelmed and lured into more labyrinths of ‘natural’ or ‘better’ self-care, which leads us to even more stress, negative thoughts about ourselves, and lots of emotional distraction.
It’s a trap! Without intentional efforts to apply our faith in our self-care, it’s easy to go down this road.
It may seem like the path of least resistance.
But, it takes us farther away from our faith.
Typically, we as Christians are not intentional in applying faith in our self-care goals. But the distractions towards ‘worldly’ self-care efforts are deliberate efforts.
This is no accident.
One of my favorite authors, Priscilla Shirer, writes what I found as a shocking truth in her book The Armor of God. Her words nearly knocked me over when I read, “One of the most cunning tricks of the enemy is to get us to sink our energy into changing [ourselves] instead of focusing it on cultivating health and wellness in Christ.”
This is so true! I’ve lived that way, and it creates a LOT of stress!
2 Applying Faith in Self-care Goals Avoids Stress and Brings Us Closer to God
Thankfully, God created our bodies with our physical, mental and emotional, and spiritual systems woven as one. He created us with this unique design so that we could apply our faith in our self-care and goals.
When we do, we can overcome the struggles of taking care of ourselves.
Applying faith in our self-care goals avoids the distractions of quick or overnight changes.
Changing how we approach our self-care and applying our faith in self-care goals helps us to avoid the stress associated with the intense work (and false beliefs) of overnight success. It also prevents the feeling of disappointment in ourselves when we don’t achieve what the world tells us to achieve
What do we gain? We focus on what is best for us based on how we’ve been created. We focus on our gifts. And, we have the chance to know God in a close and intimate way.
All of our body systems flourish and thrive. And you know what is really amazing?
When we prosper, Kingdom growth thrives!
3 How to Experience Transformation
Where do you find yourself tempted to choose the path of least resistance related to your self-care?
What could you be missing when you take the path of least resistance related to your self-care:
- God’s promptings
- Opportunities for God’s equipping for larger tasks
- God’s wisdom
- The blessings that are around you
These are BIG things to miss! All of these interfere with Kingdom Growth because it puts our focus on ourselves and not the Lord.
We not only find joy when we focus on the Lord, but we avoid putting stress more on ourselves when we try to do things our way or in our strength.
It is so worth it when you avoid stress and consequences, grow closer to God, and experience transformation!
In closing, I want to challenge you to turn your energy and efforts away from the easy, quick, convenient, inexpensive and tasty choices for self-care, and instead be intentional towards applying faith in self-care goals through quiet obedience for the glory of God.
Learn how to use your faith to find the time and motivation to take better care of yourself and meet your goals!
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