Get in Shape in 08

A month of this New Year has already past. Time flies when you are having fun or closing in on fifty years of age. Before too much more of this year goes by I want to encourage each of us to accept a very special challenge.

My personal challenge for 2008 is to get in shape. I want to be in the best shape of my life as I face this year and the coming years ahead. These years may hold difficult times as well as overwhelming joys. I want to be in great shape to endure and enjoy them.

You are probably saying “It’s about time -- Pastor Dave needs to get off the couch and over to Balleys.” I would be the first to agree with you and I intend to do just that. However, the shape I was speaking of was my spiritual shape. My challenge to myself as well as to you is in regard to our spiritual shape.

Our inner man, just like our outward man, needs to be cared for. Indeed, failure to care for the soul will cause damage that can be more severe than not caring for the body. Neglecting the soul causes spiritual maladies like apathy, apostasy and hard heartedness. With this in view, here are some surefire ways to get your soul in great shape this year.

In many ways the world is God’s gymnasium for us. It is after all, God who works in us both to will and to do His good pleasure (Phil. 2:13). To get in shape in 08 I must see my life in this way. I am in God’s gym and everything that comes my way is designed or permitted by God to exercise me. That strenuous place of employment is a stairmaster sent to develop my endurance. Those difficult relationships are the heavy weights designed to strengthen me. Those trails and tribulations are the treadmill permitted by God to insure my heart’s good health.

My spiritual diet is going to play a major role in my soul’s welfare in the New Year. Here are a few simple suggestions. Take in some of God’s Word, our spiritual meat and substance, everyday. Days on end without time in the Word make the soul malnourished. It’s been said that “Seven days without prayer and Bible reading make one weak”. One Proverb a day can make our souls wise. Five Psalms a day keeps our souls worshipful. A regular reading of the gospels will stir our souls to Christ-likeness.

I would be smart to eliminate certain things from my soul’s diet as well. Books, magazines, movies, websites, or TV programs that lack virtue have no place on my plate. They are junk food at best. Negative people and influences can be toxic to the soul and thus should be avoided whenever possible.

In addition to our diet, our conversation with God -- our proper breathing, if you will, is critical. Daily, I need to make time for this conversation. Minute by minute I need to be conscious of this conversation. Prayer enables my soul to draw strength from God as well as claim God’s promises. I need to pray for forgiveness when I sin, pray for wisdom when I am confused, pray for help when I am in trouble and pray a huge “thank you” when God answers my prayers. It is well with the soul that prays.

For my soul to “get in shape in 08” I am also going to need to enlist a personal trainer. By this, I don’t mean just the Lord. We all need mentors, or in contemporary language, we all need a “life coach”. Joshua had Moses. Elisha had Elijah. The Disciples had Jesus. Timothy had Paul, and Paul had Barnabas. We need someone with experience, who knows the ropes, to keep us accountable. Who is your spiritual life coach?

Finally, for my soul to be healthy in the New Year, it is going to need rest. Yes, I said rest. The Sabbath rest is a Biblical principal that just can’t be violated without causing harm. My life schedule must carve out time for rest and restoration. Rejuvenation takes down time. If I don’t take time to “come apart”-- I’ll just plain come apart.

Welcome to the gym. Get in shape in 08.

Dave Watson, An Urban Christian