I have days where I really don’t want to exercise. I’m tired or sick or too busy…there is always an excuse. My intentions are good, but the action isn't there. Yet, I feel so good after a hard workout, the depression is gone, the anxiety is gone, the anger is gone. My body feels awesome and my brain is clear. I feel like I can take on the world. I am calm and totally at peace. Even if I just start my day with a warm up or stretching exercise and end it that way too…if that is the least I do, It still makes a HUGE difference. Yet, knowing this is how I am going to feel after a workout, there are days where I just don’t feel motivated. Then it occurred to me today, I have days like that when it comes with my walk with God. I know how good it feels to spend time in His presence, to open my Bible and let the Word come alive….but yet, sometimes, I wake up and from the moment my feet hit the ground, I am in “go” mode. I always say I’ll get my quiet time in later, but I never do. It’s those days that I miss God the most. It’s those days that are always the worst and I feel so far away from Him. I let “life” get in the way.
Our bodies only grow strong with exercise. It's vital to our health... reading God's Word is exercise for our soul. We need to know God's word so that our minds and our hearts can grow strong and we can stand firm in the hard times that the enemy may throw at us. If we are weak we can't fight back.
"To be perfectly frank, I'm getting exasperated with your infantile thinking. How long before you grow up and use your head—your adult head? It's all right to have a childlike unfamiliarity with evil; a simple no is all that's needed there. But there's far more to saying yes to something. Only mature and well-exercised intelligence can save you from falling into gullibility. It's written in Scripture that God said, In strange tongues and from the mouths of strangers I will preach to this people, but they'll neither listen nor believe. So where does it get you, all this speaking in tongues no one understands? It doesn't help believers, and it only gives unbelievers something to gawk at. Plain truth-speaking, on the other hand, goes straight to the heart of believers and doesn't get in the way of unbelievers. If you come together as a congregation and some unbelieving outsiders walk in on you as you're all praying in tongues, unintelligible to each other and to them, won't they assume you've taken leave of your senses and get out of there as fast as they can? But if some unbelieving outsiders walk in on a service where people are speaking out God's truth, the plain words will bring them up against the truth and probe their hearts. Before you know it, they're going to be on their faces before God, recognizing that God is among you." ~1 Corinthians 14:19-21 (The Message Bible)
15 minutes of quiet time, even if it is just prayer is like a warm up or stretching routine. Again, it reminds me of the exercise “Principle of Warm-up and Stretching” – This principle requires that every exercise session must begin with a period of warming up and muscle stretching. Not only does this serve to increase the blood flow for improved delivery of nutrients and removal of wastes, but it also improves the efficiency of muscle contraction. There is evidence that the ligaments and tendons also benefit and become more resistant to injury.
Our Quiet time with God, reading His Word, listening to praise and worship music, is our warm up and stretching in life. If we don't start our day off and end it with this sort of warm-up and stretching, it can cause us injury in our day. So simple to do, so important to do and must be done to maintain spiritual health!!! Warm up our bodies and warm up our faith...every day! :)
Today, I warmed up with God. Things aren’t easy and I am watching a loved one go through a lot of hard things. I want to cry out to Him that if he just warms up with God, life would be so much easier to deal with, but like those of us that would rather “do it later when we have time”, He’s missing out on so much!
Lord, thank you for showing me how to “warm up and stretch” with you every morning and every evening. Thank you for showing me through Your Word how to handle the blows that life throws my way. Thank you for showing me that even though the workout may be hard, that I may sweat and moan and groan, that my muscles may ache and my heart rate may go through the roof, this workout will make me healthy and happy and stronger. Lord, I am humbled to be in your presence and to know that you love me inspite of myself! Help me to always start my day of with stretching and end it with more stretching. I praise your name Lord, Amen!
© 2012 Giving Thanks Daily, Darci Escandon
Web: http://shawnsgivingthanksdaily.blogspot.com/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=10150418958162809
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We are Wonderfully Made (https://www.facebook.com/pages/Wonderfully-Made/130178720330362), living to encourage and Equip His People (https://www.facebook.com/pages/Equip-His-People-Ephesians-411-13/170487976325407) and completely committed to believing greatly Psalm 139 with purpose (https://www.facebook.com/pages/Psalm-139-with-purpose/183264461708034).
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