How Self-Care Honors The Lord

 

Do you make your self-care a priority? If you don’t it might be time to start because your self-care honors the Lord.

We are so excited to have Lisa from My Life Nurse join us today on the blog to discuss this topic. Honoring the Lord with self-care is near and dear to our hearts, especially since we’ve been combating chronic illness with chronic faith. So welcome Lisa!

It’s true! But, maybe like me, hearing ‘your self-care honors the Lord’ creates a little bit of tension. Or perhaps even some remorse.

You too might be thinking about your recent self-care decisions and reflecting how you could have done at least a little bit better.

I suspect we all might feel that way.

But you know what would be inspiring? Hearing our God say something like, “I want you to worship Me, Your Lord, through the way you take care of yourself. It will strengthen your faith and make you well. Your obedience pleases me and impacts the growth of My Kingdom. Your self-care matters to Me.”

What a boost of motivation if we heard the Lord say that!

Well, guess what.

He did! God put it in the Bible. He shows us there’s a relationship between our self-care and His Kingdom growth.

What’s the connection? God’s love and grace.

Why Self-Care Honors The Lord 

I spent about a year and a half studying Romans 12:1-5. I learned that taking care of ourselves in an honoring way is another way to worship God. Just like singing worship songs, prayer, and going to church is a way to worship God.

Let’s dig into the Scripture to understand.

“Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God-this is your true and proper worship.” ~ Romans 12:1(NLT).

Paul instructs us to offer our bodies as a living sacrifice.

One way to do that? Through our self-care. Or taking care of ourselves specifically to honor the Lord. Paul tells us when we offer ourselves this way, it’s pleasing and honoring to God.

Why is it pleasing to God?

Simply because of the reason we do it. Obedience.

Paul’s saying we should offer ourselves as a living sacrifice because of the awe we have of God’s mercy. Or in other words, we should have almost unexplainable gratitude because God has not punished us for our sins.

I’m embarrassed to admit not only do I not stand in awe, but I get so caught up in the busyness of life I ignore my self-care. And I even sometimes forget I’m a sinner.

We’re all sinners. But instead of punishing us, He loved us – you and me – so much that He didn’t. Instead, He sent his son Jesus to come to die on a cross, be buried, and then ascend into heaven.

And when we claim him as our savior, we are spared from our sin and can be with God in heaven when we die, instead of going to hell as we deserve. That’s the grace – that the ‘in view of God’s mercy’ part of Romans 12:1.

The blood of Jesus covers our sins.

Faith-Driven Self-Care

Paul goes on to explain that offering ourselves as a living sacrifice is a way to deepen our faith and develop a closer relationship with God. In fact, he clarifies that it is true and proper worship.

But the thing is, most of us never think of our self-care as a method to honor or worship the Lord.

And I bet the majority of us have never, ever considered that the everyday minutiae, like how we take care of our bodies in the morning or night, can be used as a way to be obedient to God.

But, it is.

And when we do it this way, our faith drives our self-care decisions.

What a resource for self-care motivation!

Faith-driven self-care is so intriguing to me as a nurse because so many of us struggle with our self-care — with or without illness. And yet, it pleases God when we offer our bodies or take care of our bodies with the intent to glorify Him!

But, there’s more. Did you know that God uses Romans 12:2  to specifically teach us how to use our self-care as a form of worship to Him?

He does. Because He wants us to succeed.

“Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.”  ~ Romans 12: 2 (NLT)

What does God tell us to do? He tells us not to conform to the world.

Self-Care And Freedom In The Spirit

When we focus on the Lord instead of the world (or ourselves), we allow Him to renew our mind.

You see, our obedience, or allowing our faith to drive our self-care is freeing.

It frees us from the stress of our worldly expectations, worldly pressures. and unnecessary busywork; we’ve ‘been conditioned’ to think we need to do to take care of ourselves.

However, something vital occurs when we focus on the Lord and worship God with our self-care. It prepares and strengthens our minds and bodies to carry out the Great Commission.

In The End

In closing, worshiping with our self-care honors the Lord. It makes us well, frees us from the world, and it prepares us to grow the Lord’s Kingdom.

When you make God your first priority, you’ll make self-care a priority too. Faith-driven self-care honors the Lord and helps you take better care of yourself. You can do this!

Thank you Lisa for sharing with our community!

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~ André & Timberley Gray

Lisa Kimrey is an RN who shares how to Grow Your Faith While Taking Better Care of Yourself and Family over at My Life Nurse.  After 27 years as a nurse, Lisa has a penchant for helping people caring and serving others care for themselves too. She can also be found on Pinterest and Facebook.