Devotion for the week...
Yvonne, of Quilting Jetgirl, and her husband have a philosophy they refer to as 'Biology First.' You can hear Yvonne explain it herself on The Rev Biz Podcast with Sam Hunter. Essentially, their philosophy makes taking care of their physical needs a priority. That means they make sleep, food, water, rest, movement, and more a priority. It makes sense, doesn't it? Dealing with tough situations is even harder if we forget to eat or don't get enough sleep, our health goes downhill if we don't move our bodies, and we can't keep working without rest. Ever since I heard Yvonne talk about their philosophy, I find myself occasionally saying, "Biology First" when tempted to power through something without taking needed breaks.
I was amused, then, to find an example of "biology first" when reading the Bible. In 1 Kings 19, Elijah is running for his life after being threatened by Jezebel.
Then he went on alone into the wilderness, traveling all day. He sat down under a solitary broom tree and prayed that he might die. "I have had enough, Lord," he said. "Take my life, for I am no better than my ancestors who have already died."Then he lay down and slept under the broom tree. But as he was sleeping, an angel touched him and told him, "Get up and eat!" He looked around and there beside his head was some bread baked on hot stones and a jar of water! So he ate and drank and lay down again.Then the angel of the Lord came again and touched him and said, "Get up and eat some more, or the journey ahead will be too much for you." (1 Kings 19:4-7).
See that? The angel essentially said, "Take care of your self! You can't just nibble a little and expect that to be enough. Eat enough to fuel your body."
How often are we tempted to ignore what our bodies need in order to 'get more done' or because we're so busy we're not even paying attention to our bodies? God knows we need to care for our physical needs, and He included examples of that throughout the Bible. We are commanded to rest (Exodus 20:8-9), and Jesus modeled resting, even going so far as to nap in a boat during a storm (Mark 4:38). When enduring his own storm on a ship, Paul coaxed the others with him to eat, reminding them that it would be for their own good (Acts 27:33-34). And, of course, Jesus fed a crowd of 4,000 men (plus women and children), after saying to His disciples, "I don’t want to send them away hungry, or they will faint along the way" (Matthew 15:32).
How or when are you tempted to ignore your physical needs? For me, I'm often tempted to stay up too late when my book is really good and I just want to keep reading, even though I know I don't do well without enough sleep. For you it may be that you forget to stop and stretch, or even to eat, when you're quilting. Whatever it is, our physical needs matter, and we'll be better able to face whatever 'journey' comes next if we take care of ourselves.