The Daily CHEW™
CHEW on God’s Love. Live Transformed. Multiply Hope.
A few weeks ago, after a tough counseling session, I walked the office park trying to shake off the heaviness. I realized the ache wasn’t just about my client’s grief. It was a reminder that even as an accomplished high-performer, used to “powering through”, loss and wounds aren’t solved by insights alone. As a Strategy and Achiever is in my top five in CliftonStrengths, I value stamina, strength, and strategy. I used to believe that if I just worked harder or analyzed better, healing would show up. But real transformation, I’ve learned, has a different source entirely.
Skeptical? Maybe You Feel This Too.
Maybe you’re reading this and thinking: “Okay, but how does focusing on God’s love actually make a dent in something as concrete as trauma, deep grief, or the need to keep advancing when life gets rough?” Perhaps strategies, self-discipline, or even therapy haven’t closed the gap—the one between what you know is true and what you experience in your gut on hard days. You’re not allergic to feedback or blind to your growth areas. You just need to see how God’s love isn’t “nice” background—it’s practical, lived, and potent.
What’s Really Happening: More Than “Try Harder”
Here’s the key:
Every major struggle—trauma, loss, chronic discouragement, or even that nagging plateau in your leadership—is about a core belief that is out of sync with what the Gospel claims is real. It’s not just your thoughts; it’s the story you live from, the core engine that drives your hopes, reactions, and willingness to risk new growth. For high performers, this can be especially subtle: your external wins and discipline can mask the heart-level need for security, acceptance, love, value, enjoyment, and significance (learn more about these Core Drivers/SALVES).
Here’s how the process works, in real and measurable ways—especially for those of us who like action steps and clarity.
What Does the Gospel Do? (Even When You Don’t “Feel” It)
- God’s love anchors your identity in something unbreakable:
When you focus on how God has already acted through Christ, it shifts your sense of who you are from your last mistake, crisis, or win—to the fact that you are chosen, delighted in, and safe.
This is not self-talk. It’s receiving what’s already true, even before you sense the benefit.
(Why focus on core beliefs?) - God’s love rewires reactions and body-level habits over time:
Trauma is a wound—often wired into the nervous system. When, in the safety of Gospel truth, you get honest about the flashbacks, fears, or numbness, and hear afresh the unblinking commitment of Christ for you, your body and brain begin to build new grooves.
Over time, your default “fight/flight” responses yield more quickly to calm, trust, and even real risk-taking for deeper connection and growth. (See: Rewiring the Mind) - Real growth requires honest grieving—and the Gospel allows all honesty:
True grieving and real growth never come by bypassing loss or forcing positivity. When you confess what actually hurts, God’s love is present enough to hold the ache and call you out of false scripts, step by step.
This is why Christian growth isn’t denial or pretending; it’s about returning again and again to a story where God doesn’t flinch at our worst, meets us in the dark, and plants seeds for radical renewal (see practical grief and healing steps).
So, How Do You Actually Use God’s Love as a Practical, Concrete Kind of Person?
Here’s the 3–5 minute CHEW™ that thousands have used to root this process in daily, physical life—not just Sunday beliefs:
CHEW™ in Action:
- Three deep breaths—right now, God’s love is present, whether or not you sense it.
- Adore: “Father, You love me right now—before I fix this, before I understand, before I grow.”
- Confess: “What am I actually experiencing underneath—regret, anger, exhaustion, confusion? Where has this wound or loss shown up, right now?”
- Hear: “What single truth or promise meets this specific place?”
- Examples:
- “Even in darkness, you will not be alone.” (Psalm 139)
- “You are precious in my eyes.” (Isaiah 43)
- “God is near to the brokenhearted.” (Psalm 34)
(Browse more practical Scriptures for real struggles)
- Examples:
- Exchange: “If this Gospel truth is real, what shifts? I would exchange __ (shame/discouragement/pressure) for __ (comfort, hope, courage to risk a new step).”
- Walk: “What one action will I take as a response today? (Maybe a call, a healthy habit, honest journaling, forgiveness work—not just ‘think happy.’)”
- Thanksgiving & Worship: “God, thank You for meeting me here. My movement may be small, but Your love is already enough. Steady me for the next return.”
The Bottom Line for High-Performers
You don’t have to choose between “practical” growth and Gospel reality—they depend on each other. Real healing from trauma, effective grieving, and sustainable growth all travel the same route:
- Face what’s true.
- Receive what God already accomplished.
- Take action that matches the hope anchored in Christ—not just your willpower.
High-level effort and honesty are powerful, but only when rooted in God’s love do they stop cycling at “try harder” and begin producing genuine peace, resilience, and clarity (see: God’s love as the source of real discipline).
Real-world example: A founder locked in replaying business losses realized that until his worth was anchored in God’s fierce love—proven on his worst day—he couldn’t risk new creative moves or process grief with his team. As he did the CHEW™ throughout a stressful quarter, he saw not only anxiety shrink but his capacity to face pain and possibility grow.
Remember This
Every honest return to God’s love—even with questions still swirling or pain unhealed—is a win. Growth isn’t instant. But over time, the gap narrows, grief finds perspective, and old patterns lose their grip. God delights in your honest returns—not your perfection.
CHEW On This™:
If I really believed God’s love is steadfast, personal, and able to heal even what’s raw, how would that shape my approach to past wounds, this season of grief, or my deepest places of desired growth?
Community Call
The CHEW™ process works best when practiced not in private only, but in honest circles—trusted friendships, family, even work teams. Name where you’re growing. Share a “return story.” Begin embedding Gospel-rooted habits in daily leadership rhythms. (Why community changes everything)
Select Resources
- What are Core Beliefs? The Quiet Engine Behind Growth, Healing, and Hope
- SALVES: Discovering and Redeeming the Core Drivers of Every Heart
- 30 Characteristics of God’s Love (with Verses & CHEW™ Questions)
- The Forgiveness Advantage: 10 Proven Strategies High Performers Use to Forgive—and Why They Work
- God’s Love: The Surprising Source of Sustainable Discipline and Real Change
Want More?
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Ready for lasting transformation?
Learn how to make CHEWing a daily rhythm. Our hope is that everyone can learn to CHEW without ever needing to pay us for help.
If you have a question about the CHEW practice or hit a roadblock you can’t solve, we’re happy to help with quick guidance.
Reach out anytime at info@1stprinciplegroup.com and we’ll do our best to help you keep growing!
Chew on God’s Love. Live Transformed. Multiply Hope.
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