It is easy to get caught up in life and not take proper care of ourselves. Sometimes we approach life as if we have little time left to live. We should always be careful to balance our lives and TO take care of ourselves. Indeed, we see in the Gospels that Jesus faced this very same situation. We know that when faced with overwork He intentionally took time to pray, to be alone and to commune with the Father. As good stewards of the resources that God has given us, we must seek and find balance between work and rest so that we can maintain our energy level.
Mark 3:20-21 (TNIV)
20 Then Jesus entered a house, and again a crowd gathered, so that he and his disciples were not even able to eat. 21 When his family heard about this, they went to take charge of him, for they said, “He is out of his mind.”
Here we see that Jesus and the disciples were so caught up in ministering to the crowds that they didn’t even have time to eat. His family was certainly alarmed just as our families would be alarmed if we are being overworked. I have to be careful because I too, find it easy to be all work and no play. Indeed, my church family becomes alarmed at times with the number of hours I put in. I am blessed with a good mentor and supervisor, Pastor Phil, who understands this principal and goes to great lengths to insure that we who are on staff at LifePoint take the time to rest, relax, refuel and rejuvenate.
Jesus took time out OFTEN to pray and be alone. Yet he still accomplished much. This is a lesson that we must always embrace. What good are we if we burn out? How effective can we be if we are walking zombies?
In Jesus day they didn’t have Fast food but today we do and we often use it as a means of not being hungry because we are in a rush.
Lately I have been focusing on taking time each day to pray as well as taking time every evening to simply “chill”and be with my wife and grandsons. Pastor Phil always reminds me, “life is not a race, it’s a marathon”………meaning, it’s important to pace ourselves, that’s the way to win!
Lastly, if you don’t take good care of yourself as a follower of Jesus, you might just find yourself with one of these Christian medical condition’s:
— Those who only pray at meals have “prayergestion.”
— Those who don’t read the Word have “constipation of the soul.”
— Those who won’t forgive have “hardening of the heart.”
— Those who only attend church twice a year suffer from “biconscience easement.”
— Those who gossip have “hyper-gossipimia.”
— Those who don’t tithe have the common condition of “cirrhosis of the giver.”
— Those who fear witnessing suffer from “great commissionaphobia.”
(Thank you “Bible Humor:Top Seven List”)
Take care of yourself; be concerned about your health. Life is a marathon, not a race. Pace yourself and you will find that you can accomplish much!