I've
got this thing about exercise. Aerobic exercise (like walking or
jogging) is hard for me because of my leg problems, but I really
enjoy working with hand weights. I can also spend hours outside
gardening, pruning, digging and trimming. (Maybe that's because
I lift weights?) And I dislike anything that prevents me from
keeping up with my exercise schedule. Unfortunately, there are many
such interruptions. For me it's the inconveniences of sickness,
injury or surgery.
In the past year I've had two surgeries that interrupted my routine for at least a month. It's especially frustrating to me because such interruptions set me back in my progress towards heavier weights or more repetitions. At times like these I must fall back on the advice the Apostle Paul. Maybe his young, beloved traveling companion had some trouble with interruptions, too, because he wrote him this advice in 1 Timothy 4:7b-8;
...train
yourself for godliness; for while bodily training is of some value,
godliness is of value in every way, as it holds promise for the
present life and also for the life to come.
It's
pretty exciting that godliness has value in every way, both now and
in my future life beyond the grave. What kind of exercise can I do
to train myself for this valuable commodity? In his letter to Titus
verse 1, Paul is endorsed as...
“...a
servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ for the faith of God's
elect and the knowledge of the truth that leads to godliness...”
So
knowledge of God's Truth will lead me on to godliness. No weights,
no setbacks (except of my own making) and no fear of injuring myself.
After all, if a little of God's Truth is good for me, even more will
be even better! That's the daily routine I must be sure to continue
– and I can do it while I'm recuperating from whatever. Although
my exercise is of some benefit to my physical well being, there's no
doubt that my body continues to deteriorate as I age. Paul relates
in Romans 7:24, that he is well aware these physical bodies are
destined to die and decay;
“What
a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death?”
To
what was just a rhetorical question, Paul answers in triumph in the
very next verse,
“Thanks
be to God – through Jesus Christ our LORD!”
I
suppose the best exercise I could do is lifting God's Word down from
the shelf and digging right in!
Love
as always, Elaine (lifting those heavy things!)
