21 Days of Fasting & Prayer

Day 8

ACTS OF LOVE

BE STILL                 Spend 2 minutes in stillness and silence with God 

SCRIPTURE           4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It does not dishonor others, it is not self- seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 

DEVOTION 

When was the last time you said to yourself, “I love you?” How often do you say it? Do you genuinely mean it? Do your actions reflect that love for yourself? As we finish our last day of thriving in self-care, remember that self-care is an act of love. It felt fitting to end this section with the love staple of the Bible! An abundance of self-love guides us more easily into an abundance of self-care. 

Take a moment and think about the verses that describe love in 1 Corinthians 13. Do we demonstrate this type of love towards ourselves? We may know that we should unconditionally love one another; in fact, Matthew 22:39 commands us to “love your neighbor as yourself.” Still, how how can we effectively love others if we don’t engage in loving ourselves? 

It's easy for us to tell if we are patient, kind, or not easily angered with ourselves. However, some of the descriptors of love appear to only be something we can apply to other people. I mean, how can we really envy ourselves right?! While on the surface that may seem true, the Lord placed it on my heart that older versions of ourselves are other people. 

An example of this happened when one day I came across an old picture of myself from college. Whew, child! The version of Jazmin in that picture was skinnier and I found myself envying her. I then began to think negatively about the current version of me (with a little more cushion on my bones), and that isn’t self-love, is it? 

For those of us who self-sabotage, we are dishonoring ourselves which according to 1 Corinthians 13, isn't love. When bad things happen to us and we feel like we deserve to be punished, we are rejoicing in evil against ourselves (hint: also not love). Do you get where I'm going with this?

We can become people who thrive in self-care by thriving in self-love. It's time to be patient with ourselves. Let's let go of our mistakes and give ourselves grace, forgiveness, and kindness. Self-sabotage is not our portion. We're going to protect and trust ourselves, right? 

Now get that voice ready because it's time! Let's do something different this time. Go find a mirror. Look yourself in your eyes and say, "I love you." Smile. Now tell yourself: "Self-love is not an option, but a necessity." Love never fails, and it won't start now. 

Which parts of 1 Corinthians 13 are the easiest for you to implement with yourself? Which parts are the most difficult? Why? 

PRAY IT OUT 

Lord, I know that I am loved by You, and I remain in Your love. I am blessed to be fearfully and wonderfully made. I am grateful that You have created me in Your image. Thank You for demonstrating Your love towards me, and in doing so I know how to love You, others, and myself. You have instructed me to love my neighbor as myself, and I commit today to making sure I am genuinely loving on me! 

I love that You have uniquely created me! Specifically, here are a few things I love about myself: [state what you love about yourself]. I know that I am the result of Your workmanship, and I want to fully love every quirk and flaw. I struggle to love these parts of me: [state anything you struggle to love about yourself]. Help me to see myself just as You see me, and to give myself the love that You have laid out for us in 1 Corinthians 13. In Jesus’ name, amen. 

THRIVE IN YOUR GIFTS

Growing up, we had what was called the “Talented and Gifted Program” at school. The name has changed over the years, but the notion was that certain students performed at higher levels and needed to be academically challenged. Students would leave their classrooms during a certain period and get into a smaller setting with different types of work and activities. 

Even at a young age, I remember feeling so bothered that a certain group of students was labeled “talented and gifted.” We all had different academic needs for sure, but I felt like it implied to everyone else that they were not talented or gifted. I wondered how it made everyone else feel. I mean, what could be the consequences of hundreds of children hearing from ages 5 – 11 that they are not talented or gifted?! 

With that memory in mind, it's on my heart to start today by affirming. Whether you were in any gifted programs or not, you are talented and gifted. If you have never heard it from anyone growing up, know that you are talented and gifted. You are unique. You are special. You have a power inside of you. It's time to boldly tap into it and unleash it into the world. Are you ready?!