As we get caught up in the whirlwind of our hectic schedules, it’s easy to forget that we are to do all we do to the praise and glory of God. But as we keep our goals with God’s glory in mind, we stay connected to His supernatural power.

Examine where you might have “settled” in your daily routine. How can you determine to access more of God’s power in your eating and exercise habits? Be eternally minded and think of developing more self-control, faithfulness and endurance as you take your health and fitness goals to the next level. Most assuredly, as you get healthier, it brings God more glory.

Jesus said in John 14:31, “But [Satan is coming and] I do as the Father has commanded Me, so that the world would know (be convinced) that I love the Father and that I do only what the Lord has instructed me to do.” To be most effective, even Jesus had to draw some boundaries. Let’s stay focused on our goals, while not letting the busyness of life steal our time, and make sure that we stay headed in the right direction—doing only what the Father has instructed us to do. We do not want to waste one minute pursuing things that would take us in the wrong direction – leading us away from God’s purpose.

Make a list of all your activities and ask yourself if they are in line with God’s call on your life. Are you really called to be involved, or are some activities pulling you away from God—away from Love? Think about how healthy boundaries would alleviate much of your stress. Think about how when we operate our lives within the borders of God’s instructions, we will experience more and more success in the areas that are truly important. Think about how living in this busy day and age with healthy boundaries will help us experience a more peaceful life.

As we get closer to Christmas, let’s commit to know God better in “all things,” and to acknowledge Him in “all our ways,” and we can rest assured that He will lead us where we need to go, and what we need to be doing.

Morning, noon and night, continue to acknowledge the Way of the Word—God’s ways. It is through knowing Him and what He says that our paths lead us to victory.  Are you flexible enough to change course if needed? Are you patient enough to continue down a long path?

And speaking of flexibility, take 10 minutes in the evening to sit and stretch your hamstrings, neck, back and shoulders. Use this time of relaxation to acknowledge God’s love and wisdom, and thank Him that He is directing your paths!

I was in such bondage to weight for so long and I hated it -I was miserable. But I got into God’s Word and I continued in it, and I found the truth and that truth made me free.

And He wants you to be free – He wants you to know the truth. Vine’s Dictionary defines truth as the reality lying at the basis of an appearance. I like that. The reality lying at the basis of an appearance. Jesus is the truth. Jesus is the reality lying at the basis of an appearance. The Word of God is truth. The Word is the reality lying at the basis of an appearance. How do things appear? How do things look? Suppose you have a lot of weight to lose and you have failed at diet after diet. It may look hopeless – but the truth is, you can do all things through Christ, through the Anointed One and His Anointing, who strengthens you.

You may think – there is no way I can get out there and walk and be faithful to it, but the truth is – Jesus is the way. Are you getting this? Knowing the truth will make free.  Knowing in your heart that the Word of God is true and acting on it, is what activates the power of God. When you get in the Word and you see that God is on your side, that you are praying according to His will and that He desires you to succeed, nothing can stop you from accomplishing your goals. Our confidence comes from knowing that our goals are in agreement with God’s. What He calls us to do He anoints us to do. The reality is, the truth is, that Jesus paid the price for your freedom – and hell itself can’t stand in the way of you walking in freedom from overeating today and everyday for the rest of your life – but, it takes faith, it takes commitment.  The more revelation knowledge you get, the more you’ll see that an active lifestyle and healthy eating are truly good.

Hebrews 5:13-14 (NKJV) 
For everyone who partakes only of milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, for he is a babe.  But solid food belongs to those who are of full age, that is, those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil. 

This scripture shows me that by practice, by habit, by doing what’s good again and again, you’ll begin to train your mind and your 5 physical senses to discern what’s good. This is how you change your desires. This is how you prove for yourself that God’s will for you is good and that it works.

Remember to work at your own fitness level and your own faith level. If you’re presently too overweight to start walking, simply pray the prayer I included in my last post (part 2) and do what you can and sow it to the Spirit. Remember  Galatians 6:7-9. “Be not deceived God is not mocked for whatsoever a man soweth that shall he also reap. For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting. And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not”.  

Don’t be deceived. God is not mocked, as you sow this time of activity (any time of activity) to God’s Holy Spirit, and as you do it unto God to sow self control, faithfulness and endurance, you’ll reap whatever you sow. And the more you sow, the more you’ll reap.

Now, can you see the power in all this?  We take all the health benefits of exercising and we’ve added godliness.  When you do your work out, you’re praying and meditating on the Word of God.  What does that mean?  Besides strengthening your physical body, you are feeding your spirit, you’re renewing your mind, you’re exercising your faith, you’re presenting your body a living sacrifice, you’re sowing to the spirit, your developing the fruit of the Spirit, you’re worshiping and honoring God, you’re glorifying God in your body.  With all that, you are destined to be victorious!

1. Exercise increases your stamina and endurance.

2. Exercise reduces stress.

3. Exercise reduces your risk for heart disease and stroke.

 4. Exercise strengthens your immune system.

5. Exercise strengthens your bones and joints.

6. Exercise decreases your appetite.

7. Exercise will increase the number of calories you burn

8. Exercise will strengthen your heart and lungs so that they will work more efficiently.

9. Exercise decreases a woman’s risk for breast cancer.

10. Exercise decreases your blood pressure and blood cholesterol.

I believe we can all agree exercise is obviously good for us, and when we focus on all the benefits, that can help encourage us to get up and do it!  I’m telling you it is a blessing – it has great benefits to us. God designed our bodies so wonderfully, so magnificently that when we use them like we’re supposed to, they get stronger.

Now you take all those benefits of exercise and you add godliness.

Years ago, the Lord showed me how to pray His Word over my time of exercise.  I wrote the following prayer on a card and had it in front of my treadmill – and I prayed it every time I would exercise.   This prayer is so powerful because it is based on the truth of God’s Word.  The scriptures listed are all included in the prayer.

Father God,

I present my body to You as a living sacrifice.  I offer this time of exercise to You as a time of worship – to glorify You in my body.  I purpose in my heart to sow self control, endurance and faithfulness, and I believe I receive a hundred fold return.  I earnestly expect to become more and more like Jesus;  therefore, I press on toward that goal for the prize of my high calling.  I decree that with every step I take, I am increasing in health, strength and discipline.  Thank you for anointing me to succeed as I prove Your good and perfect will in my life.  In Jesus’ name, Amen

Romans 12:1

Galatians 6:7-9

Romans 8:29

I Corinthians 6:20

Galatians 5:22-23

Philippians 3:14

I John 2:27

2 Corinthians 9:7

Matthew 13:23

Romans 12:2

This prayer is intended to give you a starting point to build and exercise your faith. It will help you renew your mind to what the Word says about your body. Pray this prayer and mix your faith with it. As you look up the 10 scripture references that this prayer is based on, study them and read them out loud, your faith will grow. Ask God to reveal to you what you need to know. It’s important that you understand what God’s desire is just for you.

I want you to know how to use exercise to not only benefit the health of your body, but also to train and discipline your senses. As you use physical activity such as aerobic exercise, weight training or walking to exercise your faith and develop the fruit of the Spirit in your life, it will open the door for the anointing of God to help you. It will change exercise from something that may not seem all that valuable into a time of worship and fellowship with God.

As you learn to take physical exercise and turn it into an exercise of your faith, you release the power of God, the anointing of God, to help you work out. That’s what makes the difference. It’s the anointing of God that removes your burdens and destroys your yokes. It’s the anointing of God that will set you free and keep you free.

I’m not sharing this good news simply as a personal trainer, but as a witness of someone who God has supernaturally delivered from the bondage of overeating. It’s good news that Jesus is the Christ – the Anointed One. And as a member of the body of Christ – that same anointing is available to you today. It is God’s will for you to walk in His anointing in every area of your life. It is time for us as Christians to step into the anointing of God in the area of the health of our bodies.

There is an anointing available to help us eat right. There is an anointing available to help us exercise. There is an anointing available to help us live life the way God created us to live it. We are not exercising our bodies just to look good. We are exercising our bodies to be healthy and fulfill the call of God on our lives. We are presenting our bodies a living sacrifice. We are recognizing the fact that our bodies are not our own; they are bought with a price. We are temples of God’s Holy Spirit, and we are called to glorify God in our bodies. We are called to be a witness of God’s nature. We’re supposed to be walking in the fruit of the Spirit. Walking in love, walking in joy, walking in peace, endurance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, walking in self-control. Walking in that wonderful nature of God that was born into us when we were born again. It’s that nature of God that gives us the ability to walk in victory in every area of our lives. That’s why our spiritual development has to be our first priority.

Paul said in I Timothy 4:8, “For bodily exercise profiteth little, but godliness is profitable unto all things, having promise of the life that now is, and of that which is to come.” We can see that while it is profitable to exercise our bodies,  it profits little, or doesn’t last long. But Paul says it’s more profitable to develop godliness, to exercise our faith.

Can you see why maturing in the nature of God and developing the fruit of the Spirit is so crucial to your victory? Physical exercise affects your body, but godliness affects your spirit, soul and body. It affects every area of your life. Now suppose I told you, “if you want to lose weight, all you have to do is burn more calories than you eat, eat healthy food and exercise for 30 minutes, 3 times a week.” What good would that do you? You probably already know that, and you having that knowledge alone is not the answer. It doesn’t free you from the bondage of overeating.

People are failing at losing weight and keeping it off because it takes the power of God, it takes training and disciplining our senses and developing the fruit of the Spirit in our lives to make permanent changes. You simply can’t get around the fact that it takes self-control to control what you eat and how much you eat, and it takes faithfulness and endurance to keep on eating right and to maintain a healthy lifestyle. It takes all of the fruit of the Spirit working together to live a victorious Christian life, including the area of our health and fitness.

Next time, I’ll share more about God’s anointing  to set you free.

Checkpoint #10 – The power of agreement

What happens when we agree with God’s Word? As I began to recognize good eating and exercise habits as agreeing with God’s will for my life, I began to see results. I was no longer putting faith in fad diets or exercise gimmicks, but in God’s promises. I realized that He had already promised me self-control, faithfulness, and endurance, and it was these spiritual strengths that would get me to my goals. I experienced firsthand how agreeing with and believing in His promises activated His power concerning weight loss, health, and fitness in my life.

There is evidently another aspect to this power of agreement. Just as parents like it when their kids agree, so does God. There appears to be a multiplication of power, not just a doubling of power, when two or more people agree together in prayer. We see the principle of multiplication in Deuteronomy 32:30, where one can chase a thousand, and two can put ten thousand to flight. In Matthew 18:19-20 Jesus says, “That if two of you shall agree on earth as touching anything that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father which is in heaven. For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them” (KJV).

It is really sad that I must take the time to explain that people who are pretending to be gathered together in the name of Christianity, yet are behaving contrary to God’s law of love, are most assuredly not gathered in the name of Jesus. The name of Jesus represents the truth of God’s Word from the book of Genesis to the book of Revelation and the principles of integrity that those scriptures uphold. For example, we are explicitly called to support our nation in prayer and in doing all that we can to support our military in defending the freedom and Godly rights that this country was founded on. We are not, however, called to “throw stones” or picket our next-door neighbors simply because they disagree with us. Christians are not even called to argue personal opinions, but simply to live a life of integrity, honor, and love. Our witness to others is not our “preach,” but the integrity and faithfulness with which we live our lives.

It is with this understanding of the power of agreement and the integrity in the name of Jesus that I offer you my faith in agreement with yours.

“Father, I ask in the name of Jesus that You will give this person wisdom in their commitment to change the quality of their life. I pray that if they have not yet experienced the unconditional love that You have for them, that they would take that step of faith to receive You as their Lord and Savior. Jesus, come into their heart and fill them to overflowing with Your love and mercy. Show them continually what, when, and how much to eat, and give them wisdom concerning their exercise program. I ask You to help them find time to do all they need to do to attain their fitness goals. Father, we agree that as they spend time in Your Word, You will speak to their heart and show them what to do. I release my faith now and agree with them that You will help them live a healthier, happier, and more prosperous life, in Jesus’ name, Amen.”

I believe with all my heart that this prayer is heard and that the power and blessings of God are released on your behalf. I want you to know that I will continue to believe with you and thank God for your progress. It has been an honor to share these truths with you. As always, remember that God is good, and it is His will for you to have a strong, healthy body!

Checkpoint #9 – Nutritional decisions

No matter how committed you are in the gym, it is imperative that you watch what you eat, especially when weight loss is your goal. It truly takes a commitment to better nutrition to help your body burn excess fat. I don’t believe you should give up your favorite foods, but I do believe you should decrease the number of times you have them. Moderation is the key both to weight loss and weight maintenance.

Some say calories count; some say they don’t. While you are deciding which “theory” to believe, your body is counting calories. Just as our heartbeat is an involuntary action, so is our body’s ability to calculate calorie expenditure versus calorie intake. As tired as we get of hearing it, we must use more energy than we eat to burn stored fat. No, I am not recommending that you count every calorie. I am simply encouraging you to stay aware that your body does.

I so want you to achieve your goals and not experience the frustration that a hidden roadblock can cause. I have seen so many people who worked out hard in the gym, yet because of their refusal to temporarily give up certain foods, they thwarted their own progress. I have struggled long and hard with this myself. Suffice it to say that a combined effort of good nutrition and smart exercise is invaluable to our progress.

While a few extra pounds may not cheat us from many of the health benefits of exercise, if we have a past dealing with low self-esteem or poor body image, an extra 10 or 15 pounds can play havoc with our emotions. If we remain emotionally frustrated over a long enough period of time, it can be devastating to our goals and detrimental to our health. It is at this very point that we must decide to either change our strategy or to quit. I used to quit, take a break, and start the weight-loss cycle all over again. My idea of changing strategies was to find a new diet. Sometimes I would reach my goal weight and sometimes I wouldn’t. When I did, it was “but for a moment,” and then I would revert to my old habits and gain the weight again. I finally discovered the spiritual, mental, and physical balance required to defeat this issue once and for all.

As I focused on spiritual growth and thinking about what God’s Word says about me, I became so empowered spiritually and emotionally that I gained control over my eating and exercise habits. I was then equipped to successfully achieve my goals. I soon realized that an important part of enjoying a healthy lifestyle includes feeling good about who you are—spirit, soul, and body.

 Next week I’ll finish with the final check point #10, The Power of Agreement.

Checkpoint #8 – How much is enough?

While 3 workouts a week is both a great place to start and great for maintaining an intermediate to advanced fitness level, there seems to be something powerful about each additional workout for losing weight and changing your body. Getting an unfit body fit quite honestly requires some hard work. My personal advice to people desiring to lose weight or reshape their body is to work out aerobically a minimum of 4 days a week including weight training on at least 2 of those days. For some, I go on to recommend that they just go ahead and work out aerobically 5 times, Monday through Friday, for even faster results.

Really, I have found that for many people, forming the habit of working out during the workweek on consecutive days is easier than breaking on Wednesday and starting back on Thursday. This also allows taking the weekend off. It seems easier to take on the mind-set of doing it every day, achieving your fitness goals faster, and then cutting back to a 3-day maintenance program. Now, I am trusting you to use common sense on what defines a workout. If you are playing one-on-one basketball every Saturday morning with your teenager, then you can obviously count that as one of your workouts.

My fitness schedule after the birth of my son included the need for much fat burning, muscle building, and all-around body shaping. I started out walking 3 days a week. As soon as possible I moved to 4 days a week and began some light weight training on Tuesdays and Thursdays. I progressed to 5 days a week, which was my goal. Many times the demands of my schedule would not allow me to work out 5 times a week. Rather than consistently getting frustrated about not reaching my goals, I simply changed my goal to 4 times a week with a 5th workout as a bonus. In other words, I did everything I could to get a minimum of 4 workouts in per week. This included aerobics for at least 40 minutes twice a week and 20-30 minutes twice a week.

On my weight-training days, I started with the shorter aerobic sessions, then moved to weights. Working out 4-5 days a week eventually got me to my goals. Now, here is a very important key. My workouts were always progressive. Each week that I worked out, I worked out a little harder. As I mentioned earlier in the book, I started walking for 10 minutes. I progressed until I could walk 30-40 minutes 4 times a week. Then, I started walking 5 minutes, jogging 1 minute, walking 5 minutes, jogging 1 minute and so on. I gradually increased my jogging time. In several months, I was running a mile, walking a few minutes, running a mile, walking a few minutes, running a mile, and walking a few more minutes. I did this 2-3 days a week. I eventually worked my way up to running 3 miles straight on occasional workout days.

For my aerobics on my weight-training days, I used a machine called an elliptical cross-trainer. By cross-training with non-impact exercise, I was giving my knees and legs a break from jogging. I would do this for 20 minutes and then do my weight training workout. After a few months progressing at one program, I would vary my workouts a little to keep my body changing. As my fitness level increased, my body got leaner and stronger. Some weeks I would do 3 days of weight training, and shorter, higher-intensity running. I would walk or jog at an easy speed for 60 seconds, then I would increase my speed for 60 seconds. I would repeat this pattern from 20-25 minutes. Did you ever have to run wind sprints in school? Well, this is very similar. Even though these workouts were shorter than my 45-minute aerobic workouts, because of the higher intensity, I was burning more calories in a shorter amount of time. I could also tell a tremendous metabolism boost was taking place. I am normally very cold natured, but I would stay warm for hours after high-intensity training.

It took my body several months to progress from overweight and out of shape back to an advanced fitness level. Losing weight is very hard work, but the payoffs are worth it.  One of my personal favorite benefits to being in really good shape is just feeling so healthy and strong. Because of so many years of struggling with losing weight, more than anything else, I think that I appreciate the freedom of not thinking so much about how I look.

Checkpoint # 7 – When should you exercise?

Many people have asked me, “When is the best time to exercise?” My answer is, “Whenever you can.” Research shows that there are many benefits to exercising in the morning. Exercise revs up your metabolism and can help keep you burning more calories for hours. I know for me that exercising in the morning works best for many reasons. First, it ensures that the demands of my day won’t cause me to cancel it. Second, it has a tremendous effect on how I feel. Not only do I feel more energetic, but I also have a sense of accomplishment that positively affects my mood. I experience better concentration and focus throughout the day, and can even tell a difference in my appetite. Not only do I experience a decreased desire for certain foods, but I am more motivated to make better food choices because I am more aware of not sabotaging my own fitness efforts.

Being able to accomplish all of these benefits makes morning workouts a worthwhile goal. An added benefit of regular exercise is that the quality of our sleep improves, and we sleep sounder. This means that getting up an hour earlier to exercise does not necessarily mean that we have to go to bed an hour earlier, because as the quality of our sleep improves, we may require less sleep. But really, what would it hurt to sacrifice a little late-night TV for a stronger, healthier, and more rested body?

Now, I am going to turn right around and tell you that if you just can’t work out in the morning, fine, then don’t. I know people who work out for 30 minutes every day during their lunch hour at work. I know people who worked out during their baby’s afternoon nap time. I know people who work out in the evenings. One of my good friends works out whenever she can, be it mornings or evenings. Her goal is simply to get in 4 workouts per week. She is disciplined enough not to need a schedule. Remember, when you work out is not nearly as important as if you work out.