Day 9 – Self: vision planning

  “Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body”

1 Corinthians 6:19-20

Your Body Is a Temple

W e owe it to God to look after ourselves based on all He has done for us, including the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. And the fact that we are His children, we should act accordingly and follow His example, since even God took time to rest (Genesis 2:2-3). But there is another reason that arguably supersede these; our body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, and we should be striving to make our bodies a holy place. Knowing that God dwells within us, we must devote time to self-care and self development.

Self-Care and Self-Development

Self-care is anything that facilitates health and wellbeing, such as good sleep, a healthy diet, and indulging in your hobbies. Self-development is whatever enables you to grow, both in your character and your competencies that is not directly tied to your main work (we will cover You and Your Work on Day 15). Examples of self-development are managing anger issues, learning a new language, become more disciplined etc.

To practice self-care and self-development routines consistently, healthy boundaries are required. Healthy boundaries are made by knowing when to say yes or no so you can protect yourself. This should prevent a number of issues, such as ill health, burnout or resentment. 

“God first, me second, then everyone else”

Therefore, today and tomorrow are dedicated to you, your health, your growth and your interests. Because after your relationship with God, your relationship with yourself is the most important one you can have and is part of the foundation you build all other relationships on. Jesus tells us in Matthew 22:39 to “love our neighbours as we love ourselves.” We can’t do that when we are ill, burnt out or resentful. You have to make sure you are in the right place to help others. So say to yourself,  “God first, me second, then everyone else“.

A Prayer To Get You Started

Father, thank you for entrusting me with your Holy Spirit. Help me to be a holy temple for you to dwell in at all times. Keep me mindful of ways to care and develop myself and to have healthy boundaries to make those ways successful. Help me to put you first, and myself second, so I can be in the right place to help others.

In Jesus’ Name I pray, 

Amen.

Food For Thought

We know we should care for and develop ourselves, but in what areas is God telling you to do so? Here are some to consider:

• Spiritual Health: we have already covered this one on Day 7, but God could have more in store for you!
• Physical Health: this relates to anything that could or is helping your body. So your diet; exercise (or lack thereof); getting a health check up; or seeing a healthcare professional when you have a health problem.
• Mental Health: this relates to anything that could or is helping your mind and management of your emotions; so growing in emotional intelligence, seeing a counsellor or practicing mindfulness exercises for example. It also includes intellect, so teaching yourself to read faster or completing puzzles and brainteasers can help.
• Rest: this involves taking time to pause from any activity keeping you busy or sleeping. Additionally, to heal or prevent both physical and mental damage. But it also includes your hobbies or anything that energises you.
• Gifts and talents: these could be anything from cooking or talking to people, to making music or knitting. But try to focus on those that are not tied to your career if possible.
• Character: we all have positive traits we should acknowledge and utilise and negative ones which we should work on.

In summary

Our body is a temple of the Holy Spirit and we have an obligation to keep it holy. This includes addressing all aspects of health and rest through self-care. But also by becoming the best versions of ourselves through self-development.

Questions to ask yourself

• • 1. 1. What is your physical and mental health like at the moment?
       2. Do you rest? If yes, how? If not, how can you start?
       3. What parts of your character are Christ-like and what do you think or know you should change?
       4. Are there any new skills you would love to acquire?
       5. When you think about yourself healthy, rested and growing in skills and character, what do you see?

SMART Goal Setting

Write one or more SMART goals that will help you realise God’s vision for this domain. Remember, a SMART goal is one that is:

S pecific: so you have something to focus on. 

M easurable: success is a measure of “how much” “how many” or “when” a goal is reached

A chievable: you can only reach a goal if it is realistic and success is possible. 

R elevant: the goal needs to be worth pursuing so you feel encouraged to accomplish it.

T ime bound: you can’t measure or achieve success if there is no end point

Further Reading

Matthew 14:23 and Mark 1:35 both show Jesus taking time to be by Himself for a while before He could go back to teaching, healing and saving
Genesis 2:2-3 is when God rested
Exodus 20:8-11 is where God commanded to keep the Sabbath

Up Next

Tomorrow we review Self: Sustainable Success.

Thanks for reading

We hope you enjoy our Devotional.

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