THE LATEST

Monday 22 Feb

Freedom from Fear

Not all fear is bad – it can be the right response to danger, releasing adrenaline when we need it! The fear we are talking about today is the fear that is stealing our peace or that becomes a prison. The first step is to identify your fear and put a name to it. God’s love can replenish us and heal our fears as we see in the story of Elijah (1 Kings 19ff).

To confront your fears you may need a trusted friend or spiritual leader to pray with you. If you are aware of obvious fears, write them down. What are the roots and when did they take hold? Ask God to reveal other fears that are less obvious and bring them all to him. Ask God to fill you with his perfect love (1 John 4.18). Consider seeking the help of a counsellor if you have ongoing crippling fears.

WEEK THREE: EMOTIONAL WELLBEING

Sunday 21 Feb

Emotional health matters

You may think you’re doing quite well with your emotional health. Dave Smith, the author of this course, only realised how much better his emotional health could be when he faced some of the ‘shadow sides’ of his personality type. Or you may be experiencing symptoms of depression or even burnout. God has a plan for our replenishment and wellbeing.

Our emotions matter! We see in Jesus’ life that he sometimes was joyful, angry, sad, grieving. God’s Spirit wants to heal us so that we can express our emotions in a healthy way. There is a place for both ‘positive’ and ‘negative’ emotions. Problems arise when we carry negative emotions long-term. For every negative emotion you endure, try to experience two or three positive ones! As Christians develop their relationship with the Holy Spirit, they experience the positive ‘fruit’ of his presence: ‘love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control’ (Galatians 5.22-23)

Take another look at your emotional dial: Is it red, amber or green? Invite the Holy Spirit to heal you and grow positive ‘fruit’ in your life.

Saturday 20 Feb

Habits for physical wellbeing

The key to making progress is establishing healthy habits. Routines and habits – good ones and bad ones – make up around 45 percent of our everyday actions! Small changes can have big effects over time. In his book Atomic Habits, James Clear suggests three steps:

• Reminder (the trigger that initiates the behaviour)
• Routine (the action you take)
• Reward (the benefit you get from doing it)

Plan to make a change, based on this principle, for example: put out your running shoes before you go to bed and treat yourself to a hot bath or some nice music or a favourite book or magazine after your run.

Take some time today to review what you’ve learned this week. Which one step could you take in the areas of sleep, diet and exercise?

Thursday 18 Feb

Exercise

We need to be intentional about exercise without falling into the trap of making an idol of our physique. It helps us feel good. It gives increasing levels of energy. We invest in long-term health.

Unlike Elijah, we don’t walk long distances anymore as a necessary part of our daily activities. God prepared him for a spiritual encounter with a long walk!

• Invest the time (at least 30 minutes of moderate aerobic exercise five times a week) plus some muscle-strengthening exercise (NHS guideline).
• Make it fun.
• Don’t compare.
• Take small steps.

If you are not motivated to exercise, think about one thing you might enjoy that will get you started.