3 Principles God Taught Me When Working Out
I’ve been a runner since sixth grade, and got into working out my freshman year of college. As I grew into my relationship with God, I noticed that even through this, He would reveal pieces of how He moves in my life.
Here’s three of my favorite principles He taught me during a workout:
Principle 1: Strengthen your core
Rule of thumb to work out properly: TIGHTEN YOUR CORE. (For those of you who are a little uncertain as to what that means, it is the reaction you do to flex if I were to punch you in the stomach.)
In working out, your core is the foundation of every movement. It is the part that protects you from getting injured and also allows you to move in the correct way. This is why ab exercises, even though they’re the worst, is essential. When you have a strong core, you have a strong everything.
“For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul?”
Mark 8:36 (ESV)
In your relationship with God, it’s easy to fall into this mentality that all this “extra” stuff is what God wants from you. Two hours of quiet time, prayer, worship, service, your tithes, less sinning - but in reality, all he wants.. You.
Take a minute to ask yourself this question:
If you were in a position where all that was left was you and God what is at the core of your being?
Removing all relationship, ability, goal, dream taken away, what is your hope set on? When at the core of your being is who you know God to be, you are protected and able to move in the right direction. A strong core with God, is a strong life in all that you do.
Principle 2: To lift stronger, you need to lift heavier
In order to get stronger, you need to apply the principle of “progressive overload”. This means, in order to get stronger, you need to increase the resistance your body is under. This can be done by adding more weight, doing more sets and repetitions, or adding an extra component to challenge the body. No matter how you do it, you’ll get stronger.
“For everyone who lives on milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, since he is a child. But solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil.”
Hebrews 5:13-14 (ESV)
As you mature in your walk with the Lord, He will train you to be spiritually strong. Just like training your body, the load will transform from baby weights to big-girl weights, but the strength that comes from it is a good thing. The tests and trials of life are the way that God can unleash and strengthen your spirit to gain His wisdom, discernment, patience, and all that good stuff from Him.
Be keen to the way God is training you, and one day you’ll be able to see that your life will transform and be led by a buff spirit.
Principle 3: Go. And when you fail, keep going.
I’ve come across two groups of people:
The first, is the one that knows better, but has yet to change. “Oh, it’s summer and we are having a lot of parties. And then it’s going to be my birthday, then christmas, so i’ll just wait until New Year and that’s when I’ll REALLY lose weight.”
Then they go into the “Oh my goodness, i was doing so well, but now I ate so bad, and” now it’s been five years since they’ve worked out and tried to eat a little better.
The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.
Lamentations 3:22-23 (ESV)
To the first group - just go.
The thing is that you will always find a reason to have our no. With God, you think it needs to be the perfect time and you need to have it all together and come to Him when you’re at a high point in your life. No! That’s the equivalent of waiting to come to a personal trainer when you already reached your goals. Come as you are. Start with what you can. Even if it’s a little prayer or the verse of the day, go with God.
The second group of people is the one who’s doing “good” but then doesn’t know how to bounce back when they have a “bad” moment. They’re training well, eating healthy, and drinking enough water. But then one day, they eat too much at the party.
To the second group - when you fail, keep going.
You can easily give up after a streak of being perfect. When we come to God every day in prayer for two weeks straight, quiet time is on fire and you hear the Lord clearly, and worship is like the heavens and earth have met. But then.. You miss a day.
And then you think it’s over and God’s mad at you and never ever come back.
No one pops one tire and then thinks that they should pop the other three. It’s not over!
Same for the workouts. You miss a day, then start a new workout a new day.
Same for God. You didn’t have quiet time with Him today, then the moment you notice, take a minute to pray and bring yourself a little closer to Him.
Praying you take these training principles into your own workouts and into your spiritual workouts as well.
xx,
Jo