Emotional Health Leads to Healthy Relationships
By Rick Warren
“Being cheerful keeps you healthy” (Proverbs 17:22 GNT).
When you need to be physically recharged, your body gives you various signs. If your stomach growls, it’s time to eat. If your eyelids get heavy, it’s time to sleep.
We tend to notice those signs, but we often overlook the other signs that say we need emotional recharging, such as a sense of being overwhelmed, a short fuse, an impatient outburst, or avoiding people. You also have no desire to love people when your emotional tank is running low.
To keep on loving well and doing the things God’s called you to do, keep your emotional tank full. How do you do that?
First, get some time alone. Even Jesus withdrew from crowds when he needed to recharge himself emotionally. Mark 6:31 says, “Then Jesus suggested, ‘Let’s get away from the crowds for a while and rest.’ For so many people were coming and going that they scarcely had time to eat” (TLB). People who are available all the time aren’t really fully available unless they set aside time to rest.
Then figure out what activities recreate energy in your life and recharge you. Each one of us has different things that recharge us because we’re all made differently. It may be hobbies, a sport, a craft, or games for you. Find out what recharges you emotionally, and then make time for it.
Jesus was the most intensive, ministry-oriented person who ever lived, yet the Bible says, “The Son of Man came, enjoying life” (Matthew 11:19 PHILLIPS). You weren’t made to be exhausted all the time. You were made to be more like Jesus.
Finally, develop the habit of laughter. The Bible says, “Being cheerful keeps you healthy” (Proverbs 17:22 GNT). Laughter increases the number of T-cells in your body, which raises your immunity and releases endorphins in your brain. Laughter is good for your health! It’s God’s gift to you that doesn’t just make you enjoy life more; it also helps you love others well.
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This devotional © 2018 by Rick Warren. All rights reserved. Used by permission.
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