Do What is Hard
I went to urgent care this morning. Acute bronchitis and a sinus infection bought me some much needed downtime. I'm prayerfully talking to the LORD about my tendency to get so busy I don't prioritize rest until I get sick.
I'm on a steroid and Z-pac and the doctor said I can be "back to work" by Tuesday, so Tuesday I’ll be back to my routine: discipleship, book deliveries, and Bible study.
Last night I plugged my phone in the office at 8pm and laid in bed reading 1 John. It was nice. I’ve gotten so hurried that by the time I lie down in bed, I’m usually turning on the Bible as an audiobook, laying my phone next to my head and going to sleep. Not a good idea, but I’m usually out within five minutes of turning the Bible on.
I told my husband I won't participate in TV after 8pm anymore. I'm also plugging my phone in…IN THE OFFICE so I’m not tempted to check my text, email, or handle all the things I was too busy to do during daylight hours. I've been up till 11-12 every night since his surgery and he is ready to handle evenings on his own now. While he recovers, he can sleep in, I can’t. I'm getting up for a prayer call 5-6 hours later a couple days a week and another full day of physical labor pretty much every day.
I'm honestly thankful for this miserable condition. Not because I want it but because it is a very tangible reminder that "missing the mark" in the way we live has tangible consequences.
I talked to my daughter about how my lack of rest opened the door for the enemy to put this illness on me. She said, “I don't think it works like that Mom.” I replied, “I do.”
The natural world would say that I simply lowered my immune system through not resting and taking good care of my body, and that is how I ended up sick. That’s true, but it’s not the full truth.
God created our bodies to need certain things, so when we provide our bodies with the rest, hydration, nutrition, and movement they need, we participate with God in the health and wholeness He intended us to have. In doing so, we honor Him with our bodies.
When we don't do those things, we are sinning or “missing the mark” of God's best for our lives. When we don’t take care of our bodies, I do believe it is the enemy who puts things like illness and disease in our path, even if indirectly…not God. Let me explain what I mean.
John 10:10 says that the enemy comes only to steal, kill, and destroy, but that Jesus came to bring us life, and that life abundantly. I don’t know about you, but to me, acute bronchitis and a sinus infection does NOT feel like an abundant life.
1 Peter 5:8 says that the devil roams around like a lion, seeking whom he may devour. If I were a lion, the first ones I’d go for are the sick, the weak, and the injured. Easy prey. When I fail to take care of my health and find myself among the sick, the weak, and the injured due to my own ignorance or rebellion, I am unintentionally setting myself up as easy prey.
When we are sick, it’s easy to justify poor food choices or comfort foods. When we are sick, we are less likely to move our bodies so they grow a bit weaker. When we are sick, it’s easy to choose mindless TV or endless doom-scrolling to pass the time over restorative sleep. When we are sick, it is more challenging to think of life from an optimistic perspective. We fall behind on paperwork, housework, and yardwork.
I believe that God gave us all of the life principles we NEED to know in order to be healthy and happy in the pages of Scripture. He also gave us the indwelling Holy Spirit to lead and guide us as we seek to implement those principles in our lives.
I KNOW that I have not been prioritizing rest.
I KNOW that I have not been honoring the Sabbath.
I KNOW that I have not been choosing wisely when I eat and I have been eating more than my body needs out of boredom or tiredness.
I KNOW that I have not prioritized physical exercise for about a month now.
I KNOW that I have allowed myself to get behind on things I don’t find particularly enjoyable like billing my clients, filing paperwork, and making calls about things that need to be resolved.
It’s easy to do what lights up the dopamine centers in our brains, and it’s harder to do the things that will lead to health and order. I was talking to a couple young ladies a couple weeks ago who were talking about all the things they “know they should do” but don’t want to and I said,
If you do what is easy now, your life will become progressively harder.
If you do what is hard now, in the moment, your life will become progressively easier.
Time for me to take my own advice.
"Now no chastening seems to be joyful for the present, but painful; nevertheless, afterward it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.” - Hebrews 12:11
“And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart.” - Galatians 6:9
"Good understanding gains favor, But the way of the unfaithful is hard."
- Proverbs 13:15
"Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it." - Matthew 7:13-14
"My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing." - James 1:2-4