As we wrap up our discussion about resting and investing in ourselves, I want to give you a summarizing thought to inherit: investing in yourself is one of the best ways to invest in the people you love. 

I was privileged to listen to a great interview by Sara Blakely, who is the founder and CEO of Spanx, a profitable line of women’s hosiery (if you don’t know what it is, feel free to Google it). Anyway, she’s an incredibly successful businessperson, a multi-billionaire in fact, and she was being asked for her advice on how to succeed financially. Her response was that although people will tell you to do lots of different things with your money, the most important thing is to invest in yourself. To quote her, “We spend a lot of money in our culture on entertainment, but we spend very little money on the inner work of our self. That’s an investment that ends up reaping benefits for the rest of your life.” This statement struck me in a profound way, and I began pondering its parallels to the teachings of Jesus when He instructs us to store up treasures in (the) heavens. Just like her advice to invest in yourself, when you focus on obtaining spiritual wealth, it affects every part of your life and other good things come from it. I believe this is why the Lord taught us to seek His Kingdom first with the promise that additional good gifts will follow! 

Friend, living as a disciple of Jesus is like breathing; you can’t exhale all the time, you have to inhale, too. A lot of the things you do in your job, in your ministry, and in service to others are like exhaling — if you do them continually, you’ll run out of breath. In order to keep winning your race, you need to be filled with the good stuff that comes from inhaling: joy, peace, rest, and renewal. Instead of looking at your phone (which the average person does 120 per day) and taking in more data, set aside time to study the Bible, to pray, to read a good book, to enroll in a class, to take a nap, or to learn something new. Whatever form it takes, it’s vitally important to rest and invest in you, because doing so is a priceless gift to yourself and those you love and spend time with!