Self-Care Part 3: Act on What I Know

As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead. (James 2:26, NIV)

Now that my unbelief has been revealed to me, and I confessed and asked for forgiveness, I now need to act on what I know to be true. 

If I don’t, I remain dead in my sin.

This is part three of a five-part blog series on self-care. (Read Part two here.)

Today I pondered my successes and failures over the past week.

• Instead of going shopping after dropping Don off at the doctor, I went swimming. Success!
• Instead of eating quick meals, I prepared salads…and chose salad when out to eat. Success!
• Didn’t take supplements. Oops, started today.

Not too bad – I’m moving in the right direction. God provided more insight on my condition this morning from Matthew 9:1-8 (click here for passage from Biblegateway).  

  

In this story about the paralytic man healed by Jesus, Jesus chose to forgive his sins first. After forgiving his sins, Jesus commanded the man to, “Get up, take up your mat, and go home.” The man obeyed. The crowd watched in awe and wonder, praising God.

What if the man chose not to get up – chose not to obey Jesus? Jesus forgave him – what if he didn’t receive forgiveness? We’ll never know for sure, but I believe he would have remained paralyzed in his sins.

That’s where I’ve been. 

Whether it’s exercise, eat right, or take supplements, I often find myself unable to move in that direction, frozen to the chair. Then I have reason to beat myself up later, which I do with ease as the enemy feeds my guilt with condemning but truthful thoughts.

What’s worse, those around me miss the opportunity to watch in awe and wonder, praising God for the miraculous healing and transformation they see in my life. They miss the opportunity to see what an amazing God I serve.

I'm not the only one affected. In fact, it's not about me at all!

But it IS about what I choose. It's my choice to believe God loves me with an everlasting love. It's my choice to act on that belief by taking care of my health.

It's my choice to act on what I know to be true.

Only then can I truly glorify God, and grow in love for others.  

I've started my journey, and I'm excited to see what comes next. Life with Jesus is always such a grand adventure!

Stay tuned for Self-Care Part 4, coming next month, where I’ll share a progress report of what I continue to learn.

TODAY’S CHALLENGE: Who is impacted the most when you don’t take care of yourself? Hint, it’s not you!

If God spoke to you through this blog, I'd love to hear your comments.