Are You Spiritually Flabby?
24 Don’t you realize that in a race everyone runs, but only one person gets the prize? So run to win! 25 All athletes are disciplined in their training. They do it to win a prize that will fade away, but we do it for an eternal prize. 26 So I run with purpose in every step. I am not just shadowboxing. 27 I discipline my body like an athlete, training it to do what it should. Otherwise, I fear that after preaching to others I myself might be disqualified.
Romans 12:2
2 Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect
Psalm 1:1-2
1 Oh, the joys of those who do not follow the advice of the wicked, or stand around with sinners, or join in with mockers.
2 But they delight in the law of the Lord, meditating on it day and night.
1 Thessalonians 5:17
17 Never stop praying.
Acts 17:11
11 And the people of Berea were more open-minded than those in Thessalonica, and they listened eagerly to Paul’s message. They searched the Scriptures day after day to see if Paul and Silas were teaching the truth.
For the last four years I have been dealing with a severe illness. Because it has been so debilitating, I have not been able to be as physical as I normally would have been in the past. This has caused my muscles to weaken, and even become what some would call flabby. I am currently in physical therapy to strengthen the areas that have become severely weakened due to a lack of movement and exercise.
Believe it or not, we can also become spiritually flabby. When we miss several days of a good workout of prayer and Bible reading, our spiritual muscles weaken and we leave ourselves open to the attacks of the enemy. We start to walk in fear and doubt, and even in some severe cases disbelief. We may even find ourselves committing sins and getting into situations that we wouldn’t ordinarily get into. And this is simply because we have not been working out spiritually.
Let’s look at what we need to do to get spiritually fit.
- Set a time each day that you will meet with God. Respect this appointment as you would any other important appointment. Make it a priority.
- Come to your appointment prepared. Bring your Bible and a notebook or journal, to write down the downloads that you will receive from God for your day.
- Start with praising God. You may choose to sing or you may want to have some praise music going to prepare your heart to hear from God.
- Quietly sit and pray and ask God to help you understand what you are about to read from His Word.
- Make sure that you have selected a place and a time where you will not be interrupted. Be sure to silence your phone.
- Initially just sit to silence yourself. Let all of the thoughts of what you need to do for the day drift away. If you find it difficult to silence the noise that is going on inside your head, write your thoughts in your notebook to get to a place of silence.
- Enjoy reading God’s word and just spending time with Him. Repeat tomorrow and the next day and the next, until it becomes a habit.
I can honestly assure you, that you will never ever regret these spiritual workouts. It will be the best investment of your time ever. You will grow stronger in your faith and your love for God. You will find that with God’s help you can weather the toughest of storms.
From these workouts you will find yourself joyful and hopeful about your life now and in the future. I hope that this blesses you and encourages you to have a spiritual workout each and everyday. And oh, don’t forget it’s important to commit to staying physically fit as well.
