Training for Godliness - Six Steps to Spiritual Fitness
by Travis Runion
Our Culture’s Fitness Fixation
You don’t have to look far for proof that our culture is obsessed with physical fitness and wellness. It seems almost every suburban retail development has a workout or yoga facility, a nutritional supplement retailer, and a healthy foods cafe. YouTube is full of fitness trainers and wellness “role models” with new HIIT workouts for that perfect body. Our sidewalks, grocery stores, and shopping malls are flooded with people young and old sporting the latest in compression gear, yoga pants and leggings who are busy counting steps and checking heart rates on devices.
Regardless how you view the current state of our culture fitness fixation, here’s the truth I hope we can take away from it. In Paul’s first letter to Timothy, he encourages Timothy to “Train yourself to be godly.
Physical training is good, but training for godliness is much better,
promising benefits in this life and in the life to come.
1 Timothy 4:7b-8 NLT
Don’t let GOOD get in the way of BEST
Let’s remind each other to not neglect the BEST things in our pursuit of GOOD things. Paul acknowledges the obvious, that physical training is “good” (NLT), “only of little profit” (NASB) or “of some value” (NIV). However, he reminds Timothy that training for godliness is “much better”, “profitable for all things,” and “has value for all things.”
Here’s why that’s true. Of the six “Big Rocks” (watch the video above) that we encourage you to give the highest priority in your life, the most important Big Rock is Spiritual Health and Growth. The time and energy invested in this Big Rock reaps dividends throughout the rest of your life. Like water to deep roots, it trickles down blessing to all other areas. Your spiritual health produces perseverance and self-control that you need to be physically healthy. It produces the sacrificial love and faithfulness that you need to strengthen your marriage. It produces wisdom, patience and gentleness that you need to parent your children. Spiritual training produces kindness, humility and peace that you need to develop authentic community, and finally, it produces the joy and gratitude that you need to be a faithful steward of God’s resources.
The benefits of Spiritual Training don’t end in this life. The Apostle Paul tells Timothy that “training for godliness” has lasting benefits “in this life and the life to come.” What more motivation do we need? Every minute we spend towards our Spiritual Training continues to reap benefits for eternity. I’m no financial expert, but that seems like a pretty good return.
SIX Steps to Spiritual Fitness
So, let’s discuss how we can get “Spiritually Fit.” The approach to Spiritual Fitness is actually not that different from how you approach Physical Fitness.
1. Develop a daily habit
This is the key to fitness success. Start small and make a commitment to spend time EVERY day. Select a good daily devotional or sign up for a daily bible reading plan. Remember, it’s about developing a daily habit more than about the amount of time spent. Starting your day seeking God and finishing your day thanking Him will absolutely change your days.
Do not be deceived: God is not mocked,
for whatever one sows, that will he also reap.
Galatians 6:7
2. Consume a healthy diet
Make sure that your daily intake includes healthy servings of wisdom and truth along with the grace of the Gospel. As you start out, it’s natural to crave teaching and truths that are easier to digest.
Like newborn babies, you must crave pure spiritual milk
so that you will grow into a full experience of salvation.
1 Peter 2:2
But we can’t stay there, we need to grow out of the baby food.
I had to feed you with milk, not with solid food,
because you weren’t ready for anything stronger.
1 Corinthians 3:2
Watch out for the hidden “fats and sugars” found in some books, blogs and podcasts. Those may be fine as occasional treats, but you need to build your spiritual diet around the meat of the Scriptures.
3. Breathe In & Breathe Out
A good physical trainer will constantly remind you during a workout how to breathe. In through your nose and out through your mouth. It’s the same with spiritual training. We need to “breathe” in the Spirit, asking the Holy Spirit to fill us and lead us.
Since we are living by the Spirit,
let us follow the Sprit’s leading in every part of our lives.
Galatians 5:25
We also need to “breathe out through our mouths” in prayer. I love how Philippians 4:6 simplifies the concept of prayer.
Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything.
Tell God what you need and thank Him for all He has done.
Philippians 4: 6
4. Partner Up
Everyone works out better with a partner. We will push ourselves farther; do one more rep; and won’t quit or skip a day. So, increase your spiritual fitness by asking someone to join with you. Read through a book or a passage of scripture together with your spouse or a friend and discuss it each week. Meet with a group of friends over breakfast or lunch to discuss what God is teaching you and how you need to grow. Join a group of men like our Next Level Discipleship groups launching this August. Use technology creatively for those times when you can’t meet in person. The wisest man who ever lived knew this truth…
Two people are better off than one,
for they can help each other succeed.
Ecclesiastes 4:9
5. Build Muscle Memory
High performing athletes know that when you’ve repeated a complex motion often enough your muscles can be trained to remember how to do that motion without your conscious mind instructing all the steps. The motion moves to the instinctual category and you free up more brain power to do more complex tasks. The same principle applies to Scripture Memory. When you meditate and memorize Biblical truths you are accessing power through the Spirit to 1) be more like Christ, 2) to triumph over your sinful nature and temptation, 3) give biblical comfort and counsel, 4) share the Gospel and 5) enjoy deeper fellowship with God.
I have hidden your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you.
Psalm 119:11
Study this Book of Instruction continually.
Meditate on it day and night so you will be sure to obey everything written in it.
Only then will you prosper and succeed in all you do.
Joshua 1:8
6. Find a pro
Despite the best systems and resources, even the most disciplined athletes can plateau in their performance. As you develop a daily habit, consume a healthy spiritual diet, learn to breathe spiritually, and partner with other believers, you can still stagnate and lose ground. Sometimes we just have blind spots or underlying conditions that keep us from growing. In these times, we need to shake up the routine a bit. Maybe you need to attend a retreat or conference to focus a greater intensity of time on a specific area of weakness. Maybe you need to see a professional Christian counselor to help reveal unseen wounds that are holding you back. Don’t get discouraged during these times, but remember God’s response to Paul when he asked God to remove his “thorn in the flesh.”
My grace is all you need.
My power works best in weakness.
2 Corinthians 12:9
“Fail” back on Grace
So let’s lean hard on that grace. At some point in this process we are going to fall back. We are going to fail in our attempts at “going 30 days without a miss.” We are going to succumb to laziness, busyness, and the choosing of lesser activities. We are going to hit a limit. We are going to fail. The great news is that we get to “fail” back on God’s grace. We can remember that we are on a journey from the “already” to the “not yet.” We can remember that every investment in our spiritual health is promised to reap benefits not only for “this life and in the life to come.”
Eternal dividends? Sign me up for those.