Is Fitness Godly?

“For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come.” 1 Timothy 4:8

For a long time, God had no part of my fitness world. It really didn’t even come into my thinking that it could be something that involved Him.

For a long time, my physical health was simply that…mine. It’s not like I didn’t want God to make me whole or heal me, it’s just that I really didn’t think to go to Him with my health.

With great ease, I took control of my own health and physical fitness. Not with intent to disown God, but I really hadn’t learned this area of relationship with Him ( I’m still working on it).

God is not advertised in everything we see with our eyes. We often see fitness paired with sexiness, appeal to the opposite sex, perfection, guilt, vanity and obsession. Which really is opposite from all that God is. It makes sense that plugging God into our health journey might be foreign to us.

I’ve had a plethora of symptoms that pre-curse Auto-immune disease for the past 2 years. Constantly limiting myself from foods (and even limiting exercise) has been a big part of trying to heal myself. While I’ve learned a lot, I’ve also realized how much control I’ve held on my health.

“May God himself, the God who makes everything holy and whole, make you holy and whole, put you together—spirit, soul, and body—and keep you fit for the coming of our Master, Jesus Christ. The One who called you is completely dependable. If he said it, he’ll do it!”  1 Thessalonians 5:23

When I get stressed out, I know that I don’t have God first in an area of my life. I know if He was first, He would be responsible for that area and I would be at peace. Stress is the main symptom that reveals my heart is in the wrong place. When we give every single area of our life to God’s control–meaning we completely entrust them to Him without worry– we then become complete in His fulness. Which is: peace, joy, hope, blessing, health and greatness through His righteousness.

Beautiful women! God was the one who laid the foundations of the earth; Who told the seas where to end, and owns the storehouses of snow, rain and hail. He doesn’t let the birds go without food or the flowers without color. We absolutely NEED Him in our health journey. Why? Because sin brought into this world disease, sickness, and ailments. When we turn to Christ and turn from sin, He makes us shameless and forgives us completely. The chains of sin are broken from us and in doing so, healing from what sin brought with it is possible too!

“You realize, don’t you, that you are the temple of God, and God himself is present in you? No one will get by with vandalizing God’s temple, you can be sure of that. God’s temple is sacred—and you, remember, are the temple.”1 Corinthians 3:16-17

When we make our health and fitness a way to pursue God and honor Him, it is most certainly Godly. On the other hand, feeding our bodies anything WE want OR trying super hard to make them look like what WE want them to look like OR even not caring …is incredibly destructive.

“So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.” 1 Corinthians 10:31

God has a beautiful plan for your WHOLE body. Your body, mind and soul together make up a choir of melodies that can sing His songs and reflect His love and light. It takes a BRAVE and FAITHFUL woman (or man) to boldly step onto this path of faith and fitness. Your eyes see the reflection in the mirror, the pretty girl on Instagram or the drool-worthy double chocolate chunk ice cream in your freezer.

FAITH sees God, it sees the cross where Jesus died and disease and sin were cancelled.                                                                                                          FAITH sees God making you WHOLE and HOLY through this process.                           FAITH sees the promises of God and His faithfulness.

With every ounce of sweat and frustration, you are tested and your character is built. You let go of excuses and you run the race in front of you. When we are exercising, our body is tested, challenged and drained. Likewise, our spirit will be affected the same through all sorts of trials. In all respects we are given a choice to believe God is with us and he is dependable through trials which results in JOY. Or we can choose to believe that we have it under control and we will find a way to help ourselves. #choosejoy

“Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance.” James 1:1-3

Look at this journey with your FAITH instead of your eyes, and ask God if this is an area of your life you need to trust Him better with. If you are starting a faith and fitness journey for the first time, PLEASE email me. I’d love to hear where you are starting at and where you want to go.k

“What the eye of faith sees, the hand of faith appropriates.” F.F. Bosworth