Are We Fit For The Journey?

“Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies.”

1 Corinthians 6:19-20

When I started the LBOD Blog Community, I gave my “yes” to the Lord to share my testimony and all the tools He’s used to reach and heal me. Fitness has been one of those tools.

In Summer 2018 while I was studying for the Bar exam, I started taking walks to break up the long study days. Those walks started as just a way for me to take a mental break and get fresh air. They quickly transformed into what I have since called my “prayer walks.”

 Back then, I would talk to the Lord and ask (more like beg because lawddd the bar was ghetto) for help and strength to make it through another day of study. I would cry to the Lord as I fought through all the doubts and fear of failing the exam.

Those walks became a place of comfort and refreshment for my soul as I journeyed through one of the most difficult tasks I had ever willingly undertaken.

 Since that season, I’ve continued to take those hours long prayer walks. Today, those walks are a necessity.

There is something about being out in His creation and seeing His absolute power and authority that grounds me and makes me feel seen. Protected. Loved.

 His creation reminds me of how careful and intentional my King is.

Seeing all He’s done reminds me in the moments I am overwhelmed that our lives could never overwhelm the God who keeps the waters in their place. Our problems are not too big for the one who instructs the trees to produce oxygen.

During the pandemic, these walks gradually turned into a more disciplined, sustained workout practice.

 To my surprise, the Lord has used fitness to check me and reveal my heart posture about all kinds of things!

 I had no idea that my fitness journey would become a place where the Lord would shine a light on things like my tendency towards idolatry, pride, and need for approval.

What I thought was just a way to get physically healthy has become a place for the Lord to reveal my lack of discipline at times.

 But also, a space where He affirms the strength that I carry in Him, the wisdom available to me when I quiet my mind enough to hear it, His unexplainable peace despite chaos, and the beauty in my limitations that go well beyond the physical.

And the lessons keep unfolding.

 Scripture tells us that our bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit. See 1 Corinthians 6:19-20.  I’ve learned that one of the easiest ways to honor this precious temple is to move it!

I’m still in amazement at how much more clearly I’m able to commune with the Holy Spirit in this season simply because of how I’ve chosen to steward His temple. 

 I can’t even begin to tell you how many walks, runs, and gym sessions have turned into life changing healing sessions or how many revelatory downloads I’ve received through the literal blood, sweat, and tears of a workout.

So, Chain Breakers, what if the clarity and peace of mind we’ve been searching for our whole lives is found on the other side of our commitment to simply moving our bodies?

What if certain answers won’t come until we make healthier choices with our temples?

Are answers to some of the chaos we’re experiencing in the world locked inside your lack of discipline?

 I wonder how much would shift if we truly believed that our bodies belong to the Lord and deserve to be honored with movement?

I don’t think I need to remind you of the endurance needed to get up every day and live in this fallen, broken world that is only getting worse by the day. Despite it all, we know that His grace is sufficient and that we can endure well.

But, we must be fit for the journey.

 So, my challenge is this: move. Stretch, do a few jumping jacks, take a walk if it’s safe for you to do so. And just maybe, somewhere in that movement, you’ll find that the freedom we’re all fighting for is already here.

COMMENT below, how are you stewarding the Lord’s temple and ensuring that you’re fit for the journey?

Chain Breakers, I love y’all. I am praying for each of us and am so grateful for the gift of movement. If the Lord allows, I will catch y’all on the next one!

Freely,

Latiera