Exercise and the Spiritual Life -Ep.255 -Run With Horses Podcast

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Today we are continuing to look at our spiritual life and the five areas we need to focus on if we want to see consistent progress in our spiritual life. Today’s area? Our Physical Health.

Welcome to Run With Horses. My name is Norman and my goal is to help you Thrive as as follower of Jesus. The spiritual battles we face are real. The battles of the future will require you to be growing and trusting God even more than you do today. An important piece in your overall spiritual health is your physical well-being. From handling stress to having the energy to push through a difficult situation, your physical health greatly impacts your spiritual ability to respond well tot the trials that will come.

Quick review to get us started today. Five area of life that are critical for our overall spiritual growth and maturity.

Spiritual Life – The life lived in Jesus, in communion with God.
Basics – prayer, spiritual community, bible knowledge. Or three areas of spirituality – doctrine, affection (love) and experience.

Mental Life - Mental life includes emotional, psychological, and social aspects. It is how we think, feel, and act, and determines how we handle stress, relate to others, and make choices. Includes education.

Physical Life – From conception to our last breathe we are physical beings. We don’t have control over much of our physical life but our choices do influence our health and ability. Exercise and diet are key.

Relational Life - Humans are interconnected. The family and community play an important role in our lives. Humans are meant to connect with others on a personal and emotional level and strong, fulfilling relationships help people build and maintain emotional health. We need people. Mentors, coworkers, friends.

Emotional Life - There are many types of emotional skills (aka emotional intelligence). These skills: like emotion regulation, gratitude, empathy, and kindness — help you relate better to others and yourself. Feelings don’t lead us but they do impact us greatly.

Physical Health - 1 Corinthians 3:16 – 16 Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? 17 If anyone defiles the temple of God, God will destroy him. For the temple of God is holy, which temple you are.
1 Corinthians 3:16 tells us that our bodies are the temple of the true and living God. We are stewards of His dwelling place here on earth. What an awesome responsibility! To maintain a fitting vessel prepared for His service, we will exercise daily and be ready for every opportunity that He gives us to serve.
1 Cor. 6:19-20 – 19 Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? 20 For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s.
“Physical training is good…” (1 Timothy 4:8 - 7 But reject profane and old wives’ fables, and exercise yourself toward godliness. 8 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.)
So why focus on our physical health?
1. We are to Glorify God in our Body. 1 Cor. 6:20
2. Being healthy means being physically able to serve others.
Increase energy levels. Can reduce pain. Improve sleep quality.
3. Regular exercise can be a spiritual discipline.
Builds humility, self-control, endurance.
4. Stress relief <https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/stress-management/in-depth/exercise-and-stress/art-20044469>
Virtually any form of exercise, from aerobics to yoga, can act as a stress reliever. It’s meditation in motion. It improves your mood.
5. Taking care of your body is stewardship of God’s gift to you.
Stewardship : the careful and responsible management of something entrusted to one's care (Merriam-Webster)
“Stewardship defines our practical obedience in the administration of everything under our control, everything entrusted to us. It is the consecration of one’s self and possessions to God’s service. Stewardship acknowledges in practice that we do not have the right of control over ourselves or our property—God has that control. It means as stewards of God we are managers of that which belongs to God, and we are under His constant authority as we administer His affairs. Faithful stewardship means that we fully acknowledge we are not our own but belong to Christ, the Lord, who gave Himself for us.” - https://www.gotquestions.org/biblical-stewardship.html
A focus on physical fitness will allow us to see the results of consistent training and challenge us to apply the same concept to our spiritual lives. Progress is the result of developing new habits. New habits are the result of hard work. Ministry is often tiring and stressful but by maintaining a high level of fitness, we recover faster from hard days and are better able to handle the stress of ministry, preventing burnout and extending our years of productive ministry. Following the Jesus is not easy.
The question we all must ask ourselves is not “Where will I be when I face the most difficult challenge in my life?”, but “Who will I be?
Thanks for joining me today. If you have thoughts or questions about your spiritual life, write me at norman@runwithhorses.net I would love to hear from you. Our lives are complicated with all five of these areas interacting in many ways. The good thing to remember is that God is using all of them in the process of sanctification, preparing us for the day we meet Him face to face.
Until that great day, keep running!