Spiritual Training Cycle: Submission (wk. 4/13)
There’s a few different reasons people typically seek out a personal trainer, group fitness class, and/or a nutrition coach. They’re either just beginning their fitness journey and need some external motivation and guidance to help them be consistent; others just want to be part of a community, and some know what to do and what to eat but they need the extra accountability to execute what they already know.
I’ve been in the health and fitness industry for over twenty years. I know what to do and I know how to eat well yet there is a freedom in having a coach, going to a class and being a part of a community. It’s one less decision I have to make in my day. I show up, the workout has already been prepared for me, I get the motivation and coaching I need, I work hard, I leave, and I can better serve those around me the rest of my day.
If you’ve put your faith in Jesus, you have freedom that is only found in Christ. The Holy Spirit is your freedom coach. You don’t need to earn it; it’s already been given to you. “It is absolutely clear that God has called you to a free life. Just make sure that you don’t use this freedom as an excuse to do whatever you want to do and destroy your freedom”. -Galatians 5:13 (MSG). The presence of the Holy Spirit living in our hearts is a gift from God.
This sounds amazing, doesn’t it? All I need to do is follow Jesus and I’ll be free from my sinful ways? I’ll never be tempted? Life will be smooth sailing from now until forever? Not so fast…
“For there is a root of sinful self-interest in us that is at odds with a free spirit, just as the free spirit is incompatible with selfishness. These two ways of life are contrary to each other, so that you cannot live at times one way and at times another way according to how you feel on a given day.” Galatians 5:17 (MSG).
“You cannot live at times one way and at times another way according to how you feel on a given day.”
Motivation to go to the gym wanes. Some days we want to eat well; most days we want to eat with abandon throwing all caution to the wind. Our self-control starts draining the minute we wake up. The average adult makes around 35,000 decisions each day. By the time dinner rolls around, or the task of going to the gym after work, our natural, mentally exhausted desire is to grab a bag of chips and sit on the couch the rest of the evening. This is where discipline takes over. When motivation fails you, you have to rely on the discipline you’ve built over time. When your free spirit (the flesh) fails you, you need to rely on your Freedom Coach.
Our freedom coach, The Holy Spirit, extends these spiritual gifts to us: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness, and self-control. These gifts are available to us every minute of every day. We just need to implement them, practice them, and cultivate them so they become our natural response when life and situations beyond our control come at us.
How do we do this? Consistently seek God and his word, go to a Bible study, church on Sundays, surround yourself with a community of believers. The more you engage with your freedom coach the more these fruits begin to show up in all areas of your life. When you show up to the gym consistently for yourself you show up in other areas of life as well. You build “fitness fruits” like work ethic, grit, determination, resiliency, self-confidence, a strong mind and a strong body.
“Since this is the kind of life we have chosen, the life of the Spirit, let us make sure that we do not just hold it as an idea in our heads or a sentiment in our hearts, but work out its implications in every detail of our lives” - Galatians 5:25 (MSG).
When you choose the fitness life it’s not enough to just talk about it; you have to be about it. It’s not enough to talk about wanting and wishing you were more loving, patient, kind, etc…you have to be about it. Check in with your freedom coach daily and see these spiritual gifts become part of your daily discipline.
Questions for Reflection:
How important is consistency in your life?
What areas of your life do you feel you are consistent in?
Would you say you struggle sometimes with your freedom? What do those struggle look like?
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