It is just as important to care for your body as it is to care for your spirit.
I have an unpopular opinion to share. Or, as people call it nowadays, a ‘hot take.’
It is just as important to care for your body as it is to care for your spirit.
Somehow, somewhere, as Christians, we have developed the idea that our bodies aren’t a priority and that our spiritual journey is limited to what takes place in our hearts and minds.
We think that as long as our body isn’t causing any overwhelming problems, we can ignore it in favour of more “spiritual” endeavours such as reading scripture and prayer.
But the truth is that our spiritual journey is taken in a physical body, and there is a real connection between caring for our body and deepening our relationship with God. – Ruth Haley Barton in Invitation to Solitude and Silence
In the story of Elijah in 1 Kings 19 we see how God did not waste time trying to deal with Elijah intellectually or even spiritually, because it wouldn’t have done any good. He begins by dealing with Elijah’s physical weariness. He lets him sleep.
A few days ago, I shared the HALT principle to check your physical state at a given moment. But sometimes our sense of depletion and tiredness isn't a temporary problem; it goes beyond what a nap can fix, and we feel tired to the bone. Dangerously tired.
When that happens, it becomes hard to spend time with God, to sit in His presence, or even to worship. Because our body, mind and spirit are so connected, when one of those is depleted, the others suffer too.
God cares for you just as He cared for Elijah. Jesus says:
Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. – Matthew 11:28
What if, instead of focusing on everything you have to do, you allow yourself time to just be in God’s presence?
Talk to Him about how tired and depleted you feel, like a child would tell a parent. Being honest with God allows Him to touch you in the midst of your humanness.
