This week, Kori shares 5 steps grow healthy so we can serve God more fully in this week’s Monday Minute.
5 Steps to Help You to Grow Healthy
by Kori Yates
The first time I couldn’t keep up changed my perspective on health and fitness forever. I was a recent graduate headed out on a sports mission trip across the ocean. We were a basketball team spending about six weeks in Madagascar. I was super excited! Being in my early twenties, I was still of the mind-frame of living in the moment. Don’t get me wrong, I had planned ahead by raising money for my trip, but I had prepared very little in any other way.
Our second day in country, we took a bus ride to a remote part of the island. This was not any bus ride, it was a nineteen-hour ride with our whole team, plus the local missionary and the driver. It was an adventure to say the least as our vehicle overheated and everybody on our team got sick. Not car sick, but eat-the-wrong-food-only-been-in-country-two-days kind of sick. Everybody on our team except me.
When the Team Needs You
Arriving at our destination, we had just hours before we played our first game. Nobody was cured by game time. Being the only one not sick, I ended up playing the entire game while everyone else traded out frequently. By fourth quarter, we had to call timeouts so I could breathe. It was a fast-paced hour-long game which I was not physically ready to play. I know you may be thinking it is totally understandable to not be able to sprint for that long, but this one game taught me a significant lesson I have held on to ever since. God spoke to my heart that day in a very real way. He said, “Kori, you say you want to serve me and yet you don’t take the time or make it a priority to prepare yourself to do so.”
It hit home, for sure. I was very excited about the trip, had raised money to go, even spent time reading my Bible in preparation, but he made a point that day to make sure I knew that keeping myself healthy and my body strong was important. How was I going to serve him to the best of my ability if I wasn’t physically prepared?
“You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.”
Deuteronomy 6:5 ESV
Physical Health Becomes a Matter of Worship
Truthfully, this physical health isn’t about running a marathon. It certainly isn’t a matter of comparison; it is a matter of worship. Since that moment years ago I remind myself regularly that if I am not physically healthy I will not be ready when he asks me to do the next thing.
Physical health looks different for all of us as our bodies are all different. You may be a marathoner, or a water aerobics advocate. Maybe your thing is group fitness classes. What about a morning walk or a ride on a stationary bike? One of those may be just what you’re looking for. There are any number of ways to keep us active and healthy. It is simply a matter of finding what works for you and doing it regularly.
Some of us have reasons we can’t do certain things, whether through physical limitations, illnesses, etc. It isn’t a contest. It is an act of worship – taking what the Lord has given us and doing our very best with it. If I am going to serve the Lord with all of my might or strength, I want to give the very best in worship to him.
What is my “very best?”
How do I grow in this area? As life changes over the years, I have found this area adjusts as well. Marriage, kids, jobs, etc all have an effect on this area. What does the Lord want it to look like for this season? He surely has a plan for it.
5 Steps to Help You to Grow Healthy
- Make it a habit – This is vital to my success. If I don’t put it on the schedule and make it part of my routine, it won’t ever happen.
- Add variety – Doing the same thing every day can make us and our bodies bored. Try different things in your routine to add some flavor.
- Bring friends or meet new Friends – Exercising with friends or a group can make all the difference. When I know someone is waiting for me, I tend to show up a lot more regularly. It certainly helps me with accountability!
- Consume wisely – Being healthy, as you know, is not just about what exercise you’re doing. It also includes what you take into your body. Not too sure? Make a food journal! Keeping track of what you take in may surprise you!
- Be You – This is your reminder that we are not all created the same. God’s heart is that we use what he has given us to the best of our ability. This is not a comparison game.
God has given me this one life. My goal is to make it count – to be as ready as possible when he asks me to do something. How are you staying ready? In what ways do you need to grow more healthy so you can fully flourish as you serve God?
Prayer to Grow Healthy
Lord, remind me that all I have is yours. I pray for the courage and commitment to use it all for your glory. This is my act of worship. Amen.
Verses to Ponder
Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body (1 Corinthians 6:19-20 ESV).
So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God (1 Corinthians 10:31 ESV).
I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship (Romans 12:1 ESV).
Additional Resources:
Wholy Fit: https://www.wholyfit.com/
Run for God: http://www.runforgod.com/
Faithful Workouts: https://www.faithfulworkouts.com/
Made to Crave: https://madetocrave.org/