Exercise and...Ministry?

Fitness increases out ability to serve others and to share His love. 

The biggest realization that I made this month is that exercise affects ministry. So often I take the verse in Timothy 4, which says “while bodily training is of some value, godliness is of value in every way”, and use it as an excuse to dismiss exercise in my life.

We never know what day to day things God will call us to do that requires an in shape body.

If are not healthy, we could possibly miss out on a spontaneous opportunity to perform physical labor for someone in need or stand on our feet for long periods of time while ministering to someone. As funny as it sounds, our workout routine has Kingdom value. Our body is owned by God. I have always known that my body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, but I have never let that truth sink in. God lives through our bodies. We share the Gospel with our bodies. And we exemplify Christ with our bodies. This fact should effect what we do with our body and what we put inside of it. We cannot indulge in the flesh by being lazy and eating junk food all the time, but must treat our body like the temple it is. 

We must be a good steward of the body that God has given us for it is truly a gift from above.

All this being said, it is possible for people to take fitness too far. Personally, my healthy diet kicks can be consumed with selfish thoughts and insecurities regarding my appearance. Rarely are they actually about getting healthy. I am also prone to feel really down when I do not meet a certain exercise goal or did not complete all three of my workouts for the week.

It is important to remember that God will not love you any less if you do not exercise or eat right. 

God can still use you even if you are not in the healthiest of conditions. He works powerfully through weakness! But wouldn't it be great if we strengthen our body so that God could use it to the the fullest? Let us not pursue fitness with the motivation to earn His favor. Instead, let us pursue fitness because of His great love for us. He died so that our body can live! May we not be indifferent to exercise. Living a healthy lifestyle ultimately glorifies God.

☎︎

The Girl Next Door