“For bodily exercise profits a little, but Godliness is profitable for all things…”
1 Timothy 4:8 NKJV
Our world is into “shaping.” Many jog, swim, lift weights, or take aerobic exercises in an effort to shape themselves more perfectly. We try to build strong relationships and set high financial and educational goals. We rigorously schedule our time, hoping to fashion a brighter future for ourselves and our families. Something vital, however, is missing in this emphasis on mastering all those external necessities of life, for we know that dreams and plans have a way of slipping through our fingers. We want to be better, but relationships fail; frustrations and fear block our path; depression fogs the view; temptations lure in the wrong direction; accidents, sickness, or suffering eclipse our hope for a happy, fulfilled life. What are we to do if these things befall us?
I have learnt, in my years as a Christian believer and through personal experience, that we can allow the hard times to steal all of life’s rich meaning, or we can enter into a ‘remaining’ process that will reshape us from the inside out. This is not a naive statement. It is based on my slow but steady discovery that “The steadfast love of God never ceases…” – Lamentations 3:22-23 (NIV). At no time was that love more evident than when He sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to walk this path and take our place on the cross.
In my senior years, I am still learning to walk in His path and have made some discoveries. One is that a large portion of our uneasiness and anxiety has its origin in fear of the unknown. Jesus, however, has come to show a better way through faith to take away fear.
Like the Israelites who followed a cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night (Exodus 13:21), we find to our great joy that God does not set us to walk through the wilderness alone, but He goes before us. Our Faithful Guide also shares the highs and lows of our emotional lives. God, in His love and faithfulness, will grant a new start to ALL who are truly renewed and reshaped at heart.
Prayer
Lord, gym membership, morning jogs, and physical workouts have become a fashion statement, but help me to keep the proper perspective of fitness because I have a responsibility for the upkeep of my body, soul, and spirit loaned to me by You. Keep me blameless until the coming of Your Son, Jesus Christ, Amen.
Read: Romans 15:13-14; 1 Thessalonians 5:23Bible Reading Guide: Psalm 22:1-11; Mark 1:1-28; Exodus 17; Exodus 18
