Building Those Muscles | Spiritual Lessons Learned While Working Out

A couple months ago I looked at a picture of myself and had enough. Over the course of a year after stopping breastfeeding, I had gained weight. I winced at pictures of myself, it wasn’t full vanity, it was also unhealthy…and I felt it. With vacations approaching, I determined enough is enough and dusted off the spin bike that sat in my master bedroom (I moved it there months ago to “encourage” me to work out and it just became another clothing rack #keepingitreal).

Over the course of the past two months, I have lost almost 10% of my body weight. But that isn’t the purpose of this post. There is no secret answer, no fad diet, no quick scheme. It’s just plain hard work. It’s self-sacrifice and saying no to foods eaten in excess and it’s putting in lots of sweat time. It isn’t always enjoyable, but as I look at myself in the mirror now, I see myself again. I feel myself again. I feel stronger. I feel healthier. I feel happier. And it’s not just because I’ve lost weight. It’s because moving my body has motivated me in other areas too. And that’s the real purpose of this post.

As I once again accustomed my lungs to cardio intervals, my legs to the tension cable of the bike, and my arms to lifting weights, I thought about Paul and that verse in 1 Corinthians 9:27: “But [like a boxer] I strictly discipline my body and subdue it, for fear that after proclaiming to others the Gospel, I myself should become unfit [not stand the test, rejected as a counterfeit]”. Here I was, putting in all this time, energy, and determination to see the muscles once again reappear and the number on the scale drop, but I had been neglecting my spiritual life. It had been weeks since I truly opened the word beyond Sunday mornings at church. It hit me as I lifted weights above my head, feeling my arms pulse and the sweat roll down my neck. I’ve prioritized working out and eating well because I was tired of how I felt and looked…and yet my Bible remained closed and my journal pages empty revealing the harsh reality that time with God was obviously not a priority to me.

God used this seemingly random moment to remind me that as I was disciplining my body physically, subduing it from bad eating habits, more importantly, I needed to take care of my soul. Later that morning, I opened my Bible and found myself in Exodus 5 and 6. Pharaoh repeatedly declares “Who is the Lord? I know not the Lord.” This isn’t just ignorance, this is defiance. He does not know the Lord and blatantly does not care to know the Lord, for later he condemns the Israelites for their desires to sacrifice to God calling them idle and lazy. Pharaoh saw time spent with God as vain and pointless. Isn’t this the perception of much of the world today? And even more convicting, even us Christ-followers when we don’t prioritize time with Him?

Even after God promises to deliver and redeem the Israelites they refused to listen. Listen used in Exodus 6:9, is the Hebrew word shama meaning “to hear intelligently, hear with attention or interest.” Oh how God wants us to listen to Him. How he wants us to take interest in Him. This is so obvious throughout the passages of the plagues where He tells Pharaoh time and time again all the miracles and wonders are so “You shall know that I am the Lord.” He wants us to know Him.

When the Nile was turned to blood, the Egyptians grew weary of the stinky, dead-fish filled water. As I decided no more in terms of being content with my unhealthiness physically, what will it take for us to grow weary of our sin, our unhealthiness of heart? What will it take for us to grow weary of drinking stinky, death-filled water which doesn’t satisfy and is in fact harmful to us? In an effort to find pure drinking water, the Egyptians dug alongside the Nile. Dug in Hebrew is to dig as a well, a pit. I wrote: Will I choose to dig a well or a pit? Will I choose to allow God to minister to me and spend time with Him, disciplining my body against sin or will I continue digging pits? (Which during Biblical days were broken wells commonly used for torture chambers and prisons.)

Just like we learn to beat our bodies into submission when we workout, we must learn to discipline our souls. I don’t always want to work out, I don’t always want to get covered in sweat and feel the ache of the muscles working (most of the time I don’t) but when I do I always feel better. Reading our Bibles is sometimes the same. I don’t always want to read my Bible. I don’t always want to get covered in the spiritual sweat of conviction or feel the mental muscle ache of trying to understand certain passages, but when I do I never regret it.

As we count calories and learn the benefits of consuming the appropriate foods, we must also examine our lives to see where we are consuming the empty calories of the world instead of the satisfying calories of Christ Himself. This is where the analogy differs though: while we consume food in moderations – sin has no moderation. Sin must be purged. There is no benefit of momentary “moderate” sin. The Bible clearly states sin is evil, it is wickedness to God and must be dealt with severely and intentionally.

Test yourselves to make sure you are solid in the faith. Don’t drift along taking everything for granted. Give yourselves regular checkups. You need firsthand evidence, not mere hearsay, that Jesus Christ is in you. Test it out. If you fail the test, do something about it.

2 Corinthians 13:5, MSG

During the plague of hail, God warns the Egyptians of what is coming. Those who took God’s word to heart obeyed his instruction, but those who did not set his heart to the word of the Lord were exposed to the consequences. God clearly set a division between the Egyptians and the Israelites. “I will put division among my people and your people,” He tells Pharaoh in Exodus 8:23. I love that in Hebrew the word for division here : it’s literally set redemption. He sets redemption on His people. The root word gives me goosebumps. It’s to sacrifice.

While Pharaoh is willing to sacrifice his people for his pride, God literally sacrifices Himself for His people.

This is what makes Jesus different than any other religious figure. This is what makes Jesus real. He became one of us to save us. What other “god” would do such a thing? All for the purpose of redeeming us so that “we shall know the Lord.” Not just know of Him, but intimately engage in communion and life with Him.

Lord, forgive us for not setting our hearts on you and your word. Forgive us for excusing away sin instead of ruthlessly dealing with what exposes us to harm and destroys fellowship with you. You are better than any momentary pleasure. May we recognize anything that tempts us away from you and immediately turn from it. Help us to shama. To intently listen to you with interest and passion. Reveal to us any areas of heart where our hearts are hard and rigid. Make us moldable, Lord. We choose to set our hearts on you today. You, the one true God who is good and good for us. Help us press on to know you despite our feelings. May your word never return void.