For you have been bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body. -1 Corinthians 6:20 (NASB)
If you’re anything like me, you will run yourself ragged, to the point of near collapse, by falling for the trap of busyness: helping everyone else, and never stopping, except to eat and get a few hours of sleep. Over time, this catches up with you, and your body and soul will need rest.
The truth is, when we do this, we’re kind of letting God fuel us while we go about our business. But we’re not really surrendering completely. And I say this from a personal experience of being the number one offender: if I surrendered completely, I would listen more closely to the urgings of the Spirit. Is everything I’m doing, and the manner in which I’m carrying it out, really honoring the Lord? Have I really prioritized Him first?
If I prioritize Him first, then some of my “obligations” would fall away, or He could show me a better way to tackle them. And one obligation I neglect is my own self! Perhaps you can identify.
This is an issue of stewardship. God gave His only Son so that we may be forgiven of our sins and live eternally once we pass from this world. But we sin when we don’t steward our own bodies and souls well. Running them to exhaustion is trying to handle it all in our own strength…and when we do that, we will always collapse under the weight. We sin in carrying a load that the Lord can empower us to carry, while dropping off burdens that we shouldn’t carry at all.
In that respect, “me time” is “He time,” for we honor Him by stopping the nonstop support and busyness to refocus on Him and His priorities. And as children of God, Paul calls us to honor Him in how we steward ourselves.
Whether it’s a book, sleep, a leisurely drive, or whatever floats your boat, carve out little slices of “me time.” Stop, breathe, and recharge with the Lord, a limitless source of strength, joy, comfort, and proper perspective we thirst for as we go out in the world.
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