Fitness Is A Journey

By: Erlinda Mejia-Olson

1 CORINTHIANS 10:31 ~ "Therefore, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God."

I was admiring the beauty of the sun ... the sun-kissed glow! Though the heat was wearing me down fast, like a halo of dark clouds hanging over my head, I thank God for the sun! To beat the heat off, I was able to convince myself to workout instead. I have learned never fail to do something because I don't feel like it—by the strength of Christ, I can do all things for His greater glory. I just need to do it without complaining. I try to make it a point to listen to what the Lord might be telling me. Through any given circumstances. Through the place where He puts me. Through the people around me.

Every day provides opportunities to put the Lord where He belongs—at the center of my life.  When I do so, I have discovered that I worship Him in every journey. The Bible says in 1 Corinthians 6:19, "... your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own?" I want to treat it that way and consider my physical well-being to be one way also an important way of worshiping the Lord.  To treat this body He blessed me with respect.

How does worship relate to  fitness?  It  depends on how you see worship.  If  you see worship to be just a 'Sunday only'  activity—an obligation that only occurs within the four walls of a local church, then fitness and worship may seem totally unrelated.  However, I see worship as a journey that influences every 'wall' of my life.  It influences my lifestyle, my choices, my health.  Every fiber of my being. I believe that every aspect of human life is a form of worship and that includes keeping the body that God gave us to be physically fit. I see worship as something far more than just a 'one-day-a-week' obligation.

Make no mistake, all of us is engaged in some form of worship. But the question is not whether we worship, but who and what we worship. Some of us choose to worship our Heavenly Father, and the consequence is a plentiful harvest of joy, peace, and abundance. Some dissociate themselves with the Lord by putting the desire for self- gratification above the need for spiritual-gratification that can lead to a terrible mistake with eternal consequences.

By the grace of God, this aspect of my journey, has empowered my physical-being. Because when we put God first in the center of our lives and worship Him in obedience to His Word, according to the righteousnes of Christ, He will guide our steps and bless our lives.

For me, "Fitness is a Journey, not a destination."  Therefore, I exercise, so I can be more useful for the Lord's service—in everything that He calls me to do — "For bodily exercise profits a little, but godliness is profitable for all things, having promise of the life that now is and of that which is to come." (1 Timothy 4:8).  "However, I consider my life worth nothing to me; my only aim is to finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me—the task of testifying to the good news of God’s grace." (Acts 20:24)

More to Christ. Less to self. That’s perfectly healthy! 

"Only fear the LORD, and serve Him in truth with all your heart; For consider what great things He has done for you." (1 Samuel 12:24)