Train Right!

Physical exercise has some value, but spiritual exercise is valuable in every way, because it promises life both for the present and for the future. 1 Timothy 4:8 GNB

Exercise daily in God—no spiritual flabbiness, please! Workouts in the gymnasium are useful, but a disciplined life in God is far more so, making you fit both today and forever. 1 Timothy 4:8 MSG

I'm encouraged to strike the right balance between physical and spiritual exercise. Both have good ends, as both lead to a healthy life. However, one has value beyond the physical, and only adequate knowledge and understanding of the benefits will keep the heart rightly focused.

What is the place of physical exercise? It helps to keep the body in shape, ensures that blood pumps right, every part is nourished right and the whole body functions well. I also note that physical exercise also includes eating right. Of what use is a healthy workout immediately followed by junk and unhealthy food?

As you keep up the pace of regular exercise, you discover your body responds accordingly. Muscles are firmer, body is healthier, you are able to take on more tasks than you could before. Is there an equivalent of these in the spiritual? What constitutes spiritual exercise? How do I build spiritual muscles? Of fundamental importance is God's Word, as well as speaking the same words back to him in prayer. Of importance too is fellowship with other people, where there can be mutual benefits, as iron will sharpen iron, and lives can be blessed. As I engage in all these activities, I build myself up in faith, I grow in my understanding of who God is and what he desires and I am guided in my thoughts, relationships and actions.

Keep an eye on the benefit indicated in today's extract: 'promises life both for the present and the future'. What could be bigger or better than this? Of what use is my pursuit/race if everything just ends here? Why do I deny myself so many things if there is nothing to look forward to? If it were all for this present life, I might as well just live well, live as I please and go when my time is up. But, as God as established it, it is beyond the now. The NOW is only a preparation for the future, and everything I do now will speak in eternity. As I exercise in the physical, so must I build spiritual muscles for the life to come. As I strive for mastery in the physical, so must I strive for mastery in the spiritual, learning about God, living for him and preparing for the life to come.

The day will soon come, when there will be an end to physical exercise. All that will count will be the eternal investments I have made. Check your stock profile today: what's your status? If God were to demand an account today, what will be your balance? His time of favour is here.