So, I went to the gym. As my culture trained me, I am very self-conscious about being too close to the opposite sex, making them uncomfortable, being offensive. I’ve not really used the gym a lot, so I am wandering around, trying to find the right machines to go with my workout. I just felt..nervous. About everything. Being judged by the guys in shape, being laughed at by the girls. With some difficulty, I finished my workout as best I could, only realizing later that for some exercises you don’t need a machine, just a mat or other equipment without weights.
So, I go get some help from one of the employees, asking him some very basic questions about muscle groups. He shows me some features on the app (but no actual examples on how to do the exercises).
I read my workout plan again. Oh, man, time to hit the treadmill. So I do, trying to space myself out and avoid as many people as possible. And it’s like whatever I’m fighting is working its very best. So I begin to speak God’s Truth over myself, whispering.
“I am salt. I am light. I am a child of God. I am a saint. I am a holy person,” Just over and over, and I can kind of feel this spiritual pressure building. It’s building, and building, and then suddenly it releases. And the nervousness is gone. My walk goes great, and I leave. Whatever I was wrestling with has given up for now.
Why would Satan keep us out of a gym or make us feel bad? He wants us to feel bad so we don’t realize who we are in Christ. And I’m not sure why a gym. But if Satan opposes me in doing something, I know I’m a threat to his plans. And I don’t know what those plans are. I’m not talking “spiritual warfare” We are in a war, and we have to ask God to teach us how to fight back.
But do you notice something? Does Satan attack you when you’re watching t.v.? When you’re playing computer games? When you’re surfing facebook? He doesn’t me. So maybe that time is better spent for the Kingdom of God and God’s will. I’m not saying don’t do those things. I am saying you are not threatening his territory or his purposes when you do those things.
But try to make it to church after you’ve missed a few weeks? Go to bible study or prayer meeting? Worship at home. Read God’s Word? He will come after you. Now, as Christians, we know Satan is defeated, but He hasn’t given up. He will still try to thwart God’s purposes, plans, will, desires. And we are his primary targets, because if Jesus came to destroy the devli’s work, then that is what we do, too, in a sense.
I’m actually to the point where I want to go to the gym. It’s not always fun or easy. But think about this:
Would you rather live in a dilapidated, run down house? Or a well-kept house with a nice yard. “If our bodies are the Temple of the Holy Spirit,” “if we are not our own, we were bought with a price, then we honor God with our bodies.”
I’m not saying look like a Greek statue. But I am saying take care of your body. Drink water, eat as healthy as you can, and get some physical activity in your life. Because when you get old, you will be dealing with a lot of health problems that may be exacerbated by patterns of choices you made when you were younger. heart disease, cancer, lung problems, kidney problems. And a lot of that is preventable, or at least mediated by better choices.
Hope that helps.