BATTLE READY GYM BLOG!
LINKING FAITH TO FITNESS & ANSWERS TO YOUR GYM RELATED QUESTIONS
March 11th, 2024
Connecting your Faith and Fitness:
7 Biblical Healthy Habits
BY: Rob Hamilton
1. GET SLEEP
Matthew 11:28 says “Come to me all you who are weary and burdened and I will give you rest.” God designed our bodies, and He knows what they need, which is plenty of rest.
Our culture says we can rest when we die, but God tells us to rest which is an act of faith and trust in his provision. When we rest from our work, it’s declaring to God that we trust he will sustain us with everything we need. Rest after work is doing our part, and then relying on God to do his.
Psalm 127:2 tells us “In vain you rise early and stay up late, toiling for food to eat—for he grants sleep to those he loves.” This is personally convicting for me as I tend to operate in cycles of overwork, and subsequent burnout.
We need to ask ourselves, are we getting 7-8 hours of sleep at night? If not, what can we change to make that a priority? You and I both know it’s harder to display the fruits of the spirit to those in our lives when we’re running and 6 hours of sleep and caffeine.
Another important question to ask ourselves about incorporating our faith and fitness is, are we taking a break from our normal work once a week for a Sabbath rest? Are we doing things on that Sabbath that recharge our bodies and souls, like going to church, reading a good book, gardening, or having a meal with family or friends? What can we do to make sure our bodies and souls are resting in God?
2. DRINK WATER
Faith and fitness are about more than just “Christian workouts,” but addressing all the factors that affect our health and maybe making us feel bad. Drinking water is one of those crucial habits and believe it or not the Bible has a lot to say about drinking water.
In the story of the Samaritan woman at the well in John chapter 4, Jesus teaches us the importance of drinking water both spiritually and physically. John 4:13-14 says “Jesus answered, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”
Are we remembering to replenish ourselves daily with Jesus and water? I recommend you drink half your body weight in ounces of water each day. Even mild dehydration can cause emotional and mental changes making it hard to function as God has called us to each day. Use this trick—each time you drink water, think of Jesus sustaining you as the spiritual well that never runs dry.
3. FOOD JOURNALING
Proverbs 7:1-4 teaches us the power of writing down what’s important. “My son, keep my words and store up my commands within you. Keep my commands and you will live; guard my teachings as the apple of your eye. Bind them on your fingers; write them on the tablet of your heart. Say to wisdom, “You are my sister,” and to insight, “You are my relative.” The Bible teaches us that when something is important and worth doing, writing it down will help us live it out. If we would like to live out healthy eating habits, then food journaling is the best way to make it stick.
There are numerous free apps you can download to help you track your eating habits. We use / recommend MacroStax and offer special pricing!! Visit our Nutrition Programs Page for more info.
4. PHYSICAL FITNESS
The Proverbs 31 woman was a fit lady. She needed those strong arms to run her business and the family farm. She used her strength to love her family and give to the poor. She was extremely active, and her fitness fit the purpose of God in her life.
The world gives us a backward pattern of physical fitness that’s all about making ourselves feel better by looking better. This me-centered approach to fitness only leaves us empty and perpetuates the cycle of yo-yo dieting and shame. A gospel-centered approach to faith and fitness is motivated by finding our value in what Christ did for us on the cross and giving our bodies back to him by the way we live.
These are two vastly different motivations. One leads to emptiness and burnout, and the other leads to life.
If you’re not working out, I encourage you to start with a simple 30-minute walk outside each day, and bodyweight exercises like push-ups, sit-ups, and planks. And when you work out, remember Romans 12:1 as your motivation: “Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer you bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship.”
5. WORK FOR THE LORD (SERVE)
We can all fall into the trap of thinking we need to add a bunch of extra work onto what we’re already doing to bring God glory or be enough. The simple truth is God doesn’t want our sacrifices but rather our mercy. He can use the work we already do to bring glory to himself—it is enough.
1 Corinthians 15:58 tells us of this fact, “Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.” This is such a comforting thought for us. If we do the work God has already put in front of us, we are guaranteed it’s not in vain. God can and will use anything dedicated to him, for His glory and our good.
6. WORSHIP
The next biblical healthy habit is worship. Worship is the most natural way we can connect our faith and fitness. When we exercise, if we do it to take care of the bodies he’s given us so we can serve him, that is worship. Worship is crucial to our long-term success because worship makes all things holy and set apart. We can eat, drink, rest, walk, work, and read as an act of worship.
1 Corinthians 10:31 tells us “So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.” Paul writes this to address heresies in the church that had developed from those who thought Christians shouldn’t indulge in the world in any way. They thought the more separation there was between the physical body and spiritual life, the more holy they would be. But this is not what Jesus taught. He is God who came in a physical body. When he met his disciples on the shore after his resurrection, the first thing he did was cook them fish to eat.
God cares about and has blessed everything we do in this body when done for his glory.
He is more concerned with the position of our hearts than the deeds we do because everything starts with our thoughts. Thoughts of self-hatred or comparison will motivate us to binge diet to the point of burnout, and then binge eat to the point of making ourselves sick. Neither extreme is healthy.
Thoughts of gratitude to God for our bodies, and a strong desire to serve him both with our faith and fitness, are a motivation we can stand on. Worship is the motivation that will make these habits stick for the long term.
7. BIBLE STUDY
In the same way that taking care of our physical bodies can impact us spiritually, the reverse is also true. The very best thing we can do for our faith and fitness is to be daily in God’s word. It can be as simple as having the verse of the day sent to your phone and taking five minutes to pause and reflect on it.
Matthew 6:33 tells us “But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” If we have a strong desire to be healthy and physically fit, the Bible tells us the best place to start is by seeking him. When we have our priorities in order, the Holy Spirit can empower us to do things we could never accomplish on our own and orchestrate circumstances in the heavenly realms we couldn’t even dream up. It always pays off physically, to begin with, the spiritual.
OTHER NOTES:
Food is a gift from God. We use it to celebrate, to mourn, to entertain, to fuel, to love, to show hospitality, and to care for people in tangible ways. There are absolutely dangers to overeating (just as there are to undereating), but we need food on a daily basis.
1 Corinthians 6:19-20
Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own? For you have been bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body.
So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God. – 1 Corinthians 10:31
When you bring God into your healthy eating, it changes everything. Striving to honor Him in your food and drink choices will bring not only a heart change, but it will also change your choices.
“I have the right to do anything,” you say—but not everything is beneficial. “I have the right to do anything”—but I will not be mastered by anything. – 1 Corinthians 6:12
No foods are off limits to you, but it is up to you to put reasonable limits on food. It’s not good to eat an entire chocolate cake or pizza in one sitting. You have the right to choose to do just that if you’d like, but it’s sure not going to be beneficial! It’s not good for your physical health or your emotional health, for that matter.
No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation, he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it. – 1 Corinthians 10:13
Romans 12:1 “Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship.”
Isaiah 40:31 “but they who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.”
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