The Daily CHEW™
Moving God’s Love from Head to Heart for Christian Professionals
My coach and I had a great session on Monday. He helped me wrestle through things that will impact my practice for years. Then mid-week he texted me a question I was not expecting: “What is one thing you can do next week that reflects a healthy commitment to self-care?”
I told him I was going to go to the gym. He asked what time. I said 5am, starting the workout no later than 5:15. I told him that now that my assistant and I are getting caught up, there is room for the gym. And then I said something that sounded reasonable: “I am hoping that as the Lord gives us more business I will maintain great self-care.”
Five words came back: “Hope is not a strategy.”
I laughed out loud. He was right. He came in harder. He said: please keep doing that — call me out. He said he was looking forward to our next session. That was it. No long lecture. Just a coach who refused to let me pass on self-care for another week.
This morning — despite three urgent Saturday sessions on my calendar — I got up at 4:15am and went to the gym. I CHEWed on the way there, asking God to help me repent. I CHEWed afterward, thrilled to be working out again. I even wondered why I stopped.
Here is what I am learning: I keep putting off self-care to care for others. That is so classically ENFJ. It sounds good. It might even sound godly. But I see how sinful it is. I have not taken care of the temple God entrusted me with. My vitals are normal now — but they will not be forever. And I am losing out. I would love to chase down tennis balls again, especially with my twins. They have missed out on a dad who was physically active with them. I played tennis with them from time to time but I could not last. I feel regret — not shame. There is a difference.
No matter how busy it gets. No matter how many ways I can say “I will get to the gym when things slow down” — the pattern of my life is that even when business slows, I always find a way to remain busy. My Significance driver pushes for long-term impact. But there will not be long-term impact without taking care of the temple. Saturday’s anchor — The Leader Everyone Trusts — taught that trust is built through predictability and follow-through. My coach is holding me to both. And God is using his five words to reshape how I steward the body He gave me.
Clarity
Where am I treating self-care as optional while telling myself it is temporary — and what pattern in my life proves it is not temporary at all?
Hear
“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, ESV). God does not suggest you take care of your body. He declares it His temple — purchased at the highest price the universe has ever known. Scripture reveals that stewarding your physical health is not a lifestyle upgrade. It is an act of worship. God reshapes how you treat your body when that truth moves from head to heart.
Exchange
If I really believed God’s love purchased my body at the price of His Son’s blood and declared it His temple, how would that change the way I treat self-care when the calendar says there is no room?
Walk (30-90 seconds)
Name one self-care commitment you have been pushing to “when things slow down.” Text one person right now — a coach, a spouse, a friend — and tell them what you are committing to and when. Give them permission to say five words back to you if you waver: hope is not a strategy. If this is the only thing I do from this CHEW today, it is enough.
With you on the journey,
Ryan
If you had to put this into one sentence for today, what would you say God is inviting you to rest in or return to?
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