Day 14 - Issue 25
Proverbs 4:10 NLT
'My child, listen to me and do as I say, and you will have a long, good life.'
The media is full of messages about personal health and well-being. The food we eat, remaining hydrated, ensuring we get sufficient exercise, the list is endless. There is a fascination with diets, all with the hope of a silver bullet that will resolve all our health and well-being issues.
My own journey has been to discover the value of establishing a rhythm for life that suits my temperament. I tried and tested numerous approaches until settling on what works best for me.
An early riser, this influences my entry point to the day. Once I wake I take a few moments to turn my attention to God, and then get up. Making my way downstairs, avoiding all electronic devices, I begin my day with my morning office of prayer, stood before a lighted candle. In these moments I bring myself together around the reality of God, who I see as the source of my life. Once that is accomplished I move forward into my day. This is marked by rhythms throughout, planned and implemented with the help of a scheduling app on my phone.
In an age in which mental health issues are reaching epidemic proportions and where stress-related illnesses cost employers a fortune each year, there are ways to take action to reduce our stress load. It starts with ordering your life first around God’s priority that we find time and space for meaningful daily encounter with him, and then structuring our life so we manage it rather than it managing us.
QUESTION: Take some time to review the pattern of your life. How might you take back control in ordering your life so you live it rather than remain enslaved to it?
PRAYER: Lord Jesus, be the centre and foundation of my life.
