Godly Self-CareНамуна

Self-Care is Engagement (Not Escape)

Treat yourself. Eat whatever you want. Watch as much Netflix as you want. Do whatever you want.

This is how self-care is portrayed in the media. It is self-focused and giving yourself whatever you want because you deserve it.  

Self-care today feeds us what we want and not what we need. True self-care is not an excuse to treat ourselves to whatever we want. This is a good thing because when we chase after what we want, we often miss out on what we need.

The example of Jesus paints a different picture of self-care. When we practice the self-care found in Jesus’ example, we can find the true rest our bodies and souls needs.

In this three-day Bible Plan, I’ll reveal the three lessons we learn from Jesus about what godly self-care looks like. After these few days, my hope is that you'll create rhythms of rest and self-care that actually nourish you, rather than practices that leave you more tired and exhausted. 

The first lesson about self-care we learn from Jesus is that self-care is engagement, not escape.

When we have a hard day at work or life gets difficult and stressful, we often want to unplug. Unplugging from the noise of society is a good thing. But today’s self-care leaves it at just unplugging.

Godly self-care means unplugging, but plugging back into something bigger.

We see this with Jesus. In several instances, Jesus leaves the large crowds to find solitude. In these times, however, Jesus does not twiddle His thumbs. He spends time in prayer. 

He’s unplugging from activity, but plugging back into the hope He has in His Father.  

Oftentimes, we can “unplug,” but then just scroll mindlessly on social media. We can escape our problems, but then just distract our minds from our problems until we have to return to them again.

There is hope for us in the midst of our greatest difficulties. We find that hope in God. When we just unplug from our problems and don’t plug into the hope we have in God, then our mind can sink into hopelessness. 

True self-care means casting our anxieties on Him because He cares for us (1 Peter 5:7). 

When you feel the urge to unplug, direct your mind to the hope you have in God. Leave your problems there. Be reminded that your problems can be answered with hope. By plugging into this hope, you can find the rest you actually need.