I have recently had my eyes opened to the relationship between physical health and spiritual health. The fact is, our responses to both can be ridiculously alike. Some of us learn something new about an area in our lives that needs attention and immediately get to work in chipping away the rocky areas to reveal the smooth stone underneath. Others of us may hear what we need to do, but not want to face the effort that we know will go into changing our condition, and therefore ourselves. Then there are those of us who hear what we need to do and completely deny the fact that we need to do it. We blatantly say, “Well, that may work for others, but it is not going to work for me so I am going to keep doing what I am doing.”
God’s hope, obviously is that we all respond to His revelations with wholehearted obedience, because of our relationship with Him; one which is built upon knowing that we know that we know that God loves us and wants only the best for us, even if He is leading us down a path that will clearly bring some pain or discomfort. He is able to see the proverbial “light at the end of the tunnel” for us, even if we cannot see anything clearly yet. He knows that even though we will need to endure and persevere through a trying time, the life that will emerge from the difficult time will be a beautiful diamond, full of fulfillment and true happiness, where He has allowed us to partner with Him in writing us into His story and revealing His glory. Those of us who are able to keep our eyes on God and His vision for our lives will be able to withstand trials of this world, because “we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose (Romans 8:28).” Only in our trust of God can we truly begin to follow Him without hesitation. The critical element in being able to trust God, though, is first understanding the character of God. If we have trust issues with God, it is because we do not yet know His character and that He alone is trustworthy. Our God is such an awesome and wonderful God, and when we really embrace how much He loves us, how desperately He wants us to be whole in this world of brokenness, we will be able to willingly follow and obey His leading, even in times of uncertainty and fear.
When God calls us to behave a certain way, He is doing so because He knows that it will result in us experiencing true freedom in this world and therefore true happiness, found in joy. God does not tell us to obey so that we can be respected, or brought into positions of authority or influence, or so that we can become wealthy. His goals are deeper than that for us. He is not focused on the external, but the internal condition. It is for this reason that the Pharisees were rejected by Christ; their actions may have been obedient to the law, but their hearts were selfish and greedy with a wrong motivation. They sought prestige and power, not closeness and relationship with God. He understands that when we seek to know Him more intimately through our daily bible study and quiet time with Him throughout the day, in prayer, we will begin to be transformed from the inside out, naturally flowing with compassion for others, respect for our spouses, patience with our children, and many other displays of spiritual fruit. We will no longer have to “try” to live in the spirit, because the spirit will just flow freely through us in our actions. James 2: 18 says, “Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do.” James understood that his faith and relationship with God naturally flowed and showed in his behavior and his actions. He lived a lifestyle that resulted in Godly behavior.
So, what does this have to do with fitness? Plenty! If our motivation to lose weight is so that we can be more lovable, sexier, thinner, etc. than we are aiming for a goal that is too focused on the surface. Gaining abs for abs sake should not be the goal, but living a lifestyle of predictable discipline (both in exercise and nutrition), which will naturally result in a healthy looking body, should be the intention. When we view our exercise as a means of conditioning our bodies so that they can be stronger and more capable to handle daily tasks, we are thinking of things in truth. When we eat foods because they fuel our bodies with the necessary energy to live each day, knowing that we will in turn have more energy and feel better overall (both mentally and physically), we are living with a truth-focused mindset.
God’s love and offer for TRUE happiness and fulfillment can only be found through walking with Him each day and applying His Word. Our walk with Him prepares us for difficult situations and keeps us “at the ready” for tests and temptations that may arise. Similarly, our food and exercise choices offer us the chance to live a life where we are comfortable in our skin, are able to move about freely, and can face the years with confidence and focus, no matter what circumstances lay ahead. As a result of healthy nutrition and regular exercise, we have more vitality, energy, and feel good about ourselves. Our bodies begin to show on the outside what is happening inside. Our God-given physique begins to emerge, that which God knit together when we were in our mother’s womb, and that body may or may not look like the bodies on the cover of “Shape” magazine. I pray that we all seek to develop a lifestyle of discipline and predictable patterns of health, understanding that our bodies will reflect our choices, but not be the motivation for those choices. Let us each take care of the body that God has given us; we only have one.
