Getting a Spiritual Workout

By M. Sellers

Rather, you must grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. All glory to him, both now and forever! Amen. ~ 2 Peter 3:18, NLT

When I was on my last ship in the Navy, I worked out a lot. We did a 10 month long deployment and in those 10 months I worked out six days a week for about two to three hours a day: lifting weights, running… you name it. When I got back home, even though I was a little over 40-years-old, I was in the best shape of my life!

Of course things changed when I got home. At first I kept working out, but the workouts were a little shorter, took a little less time. I really didn't want to get up at 4:00 a.m. while I was home, so I cut back a little. As time went by, I cut it down to three days a week. After a little more time, I stopped lifting weights and just ran. Slowly all the work I had done was being undone. I worked hard to get stronger and to gain stamina … but when I got home it all eventually went away. The workouts and the running stopped and those muscles that I had worked on to get stronger slowly went back to the way they had been before I started my workouts.

Our walk with Christ can be much like those workouts I did long ago. When we get into the Word each day and spend time with the Lord, we are getting stronger in our knowledge of God and in our understanding of who we can be through Him. Most of all we are growing our relationship with Christ.

The thing is, too often we can let it slip. Too often we can find other things to do. We can get busy at home or at work or with friends and our God workout takes a back seat. Maybe we started at some point and spent an hour or a half-hour with Him, but slowly life got in the way and now we say a quick prayer each day. After all, that would be enough, right?

When we fail to spend time with Christ, we get weaker. We lose our focus and that is when the Devil can move in. You see, the Devil has his eye on you and he wants to see you fail. He puts things in your life and mine to make us too busy to spend time with Christ. The Devil knows that when we give time to growing our relationship with Christ, he doesn't stand a chance. So he gets in the way. He makes us think we know enough to get by. He preys on our weakness.

So are you spending enough time with Him every day? Are you continually learning about Christ, are you working out in your spiritual walk with Him? Today it's time to get back in the Word; today it's time to continue growing your relationship with Christ. It's time to hit the gym and learn the Word. So, are you ready for your workout?