Made For These Days: Steward Our Health

Welcome to Real Life Overtime, where the sermon doesn’t end on Sunday! This week, Craig Miles is joined by Pat Lessard and Jim Blazin for a deep dive into the topic of stewarding our health. It’s a comprehensive conversation touching on physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual well-being. Often overlooked in stewardship discussions, this episode highlights how caring for our health is a key part of honoring God. Join us as we unpack what it means to navigate these areas faithfully, no matter your starting point.
 
Key Points Covered:
1. Holistic Health Is Complex and Interconnected:

• Health involves physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual components that influence one another deeply.
• Life experiences, family history, and personal challenges shape how we approach health in these areas.
• It’s essential to avoid comparisons to others and focus on faithfulness in our unique circumstances.

2. The Role of Hardship in Growth:

• God uses trials and struggles to refine us and teach stewardship.
• Scripture encourages embracing challenges as a way to grow in resilience and faith.

3. Practical Stewardship Requires Action:

• Stewardship isn’t formulaic; it involves intentional, often challenging steps.
• Practicing disciplines like taking thoughts captive (2 Corinthians 10) or abiding in Christ (John 15) keeps us rooted in truth.

4. Small, Sustainable Steps Matter:

• A simple walk, time in God’s Word, or moments of gratitude can recalibrate your mind, emotions, and spirit.
• Small practices like journaling or reframing thoughts can lead to significant mental and emotional health benefits.

5. Recognizing the Spiritual Battle:

• Satan thrives in imbalance, aiming to distort our health and derail our focus.
• Staying connected to God and His truth through scripture and prayer is vital for balanced living.
   

Discussion Questions:

1. How have you seen the interconnectedness of physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual health in your own life?

2. What steps can you take to address an area of health you’ve been neglecting?

3. Reflect on a recent hardship: How might God be using it to grow your stewardship or deepen your faith?

4. How does the practice of gratitude shift your perspective during challenging times?
 
Action Steps:
Gratitude Practice: Spend a few minutes each night thanking God for three things from your day.

Take a Walk: Commit to a 5-15 minute walk this week to clear your mind, pray, or reflect.

Daily Scripture Focus: Choose a passage to meditate on and pray through, even on busy days.

Reframe Your Thoughts: Use a tool like journaling or an app to identify and combat cognitive distortions with God’s truth. (You can find the one Pat mentions here: https://www.thinkwithclarity.com/ )
 
Closing:

Stewarding our health—physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual—is part of honoring God with all He’s entrusted to us. While perfection isn’t the goal, faithfulness is. As you step into this week, remember to abide in Christ, take small steps, and trust God’s process of growth through life’s complexities.

Thank you for joining us for this episode of Real Life Overtime. See you next time as we continue to explore what it means to live out our faith every day!