The Intersection of Faith and Fitness

In 2013 I embarked on a journey to lose the baby weight and get healthy.  Through eating right and moving more I was able to lose 50 pounds. However, in reality I gained SO much more! The process of losing weight is challenging. It requires discipline and commitment. It requires looking at yourself and being brutally honest with yourself. It was in all of my honesty that I found the Intersection of Faith and Fitness. Because of this discovery I have embarked on helping others to find the intersection of faith and fitness in their own lives in what I hashtag as the #FitFaithMovement.

You may be thinking, THIS is what I need in my life right now! If it is, I would like you to consider a few things about faith that you can also apply to fitness.

First, Faith is more than feelings.  There is a big difference between being a professor of faith and a possessor of faith. It is important to profess your faith but you must take the actions to possess the things that you believe. Talk is cheap because faith is more than something you say.

James 2:14 AMP says,  ^“What is the benefit, my fellow believers, if someone claims to have faith but has no [good] works [as evidence]? Can that [kind of] faith save him? [No, a mere claim of faith is not sufficient—genuine faith produces good works.]”

Matthew 7:21 AMP says, “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven.

So real faith is an action word. Similarly, fitness is only possessed by those who take action. We could also say that Talk is cheap because fitness is more than something you say you are going to do.  The only muscle that is built up by talking is your mouth.

Second, Faith is something you do. And so is fitness.

There is often a gap between behavior and belief.  Sometimes what we say we believe we don’t always back up with our lifestyle. Faith will show up in the way you behave.  When God comes in your life, he will change you as he stretches your faith.  When Christ comes in your life, everything starts taking on new meaning, new purpose, new significance and new value.   You have to ask yourself, “How am I different?”

James 2:18 AMP says, But someone may say, “You [claim to] have faith and I have [good] works; show me your [alleged] faith without the works [if you can], and I will show you my faith by my works [that is, by what I do].”

Something I discovered as I worked to lose weight was that I had to find that something on the inside of me that kept me on track. The thing that made me eat right when I didn’t want to and go to the gym when I would rather be watching tv. That thing was my faith. I had faith that if I continued to do what I was doing that I was going to get the results that I desired. This thought leads us to our third point.

Third, Faith (and Fitness) requires commitment.

Believing is not enough. Some people believe in their head but they don’t have it in their heart. They have head knowledge. I can believe a lot of things but until I accept it in my heart, I will never receive the thing that I believe. As it is with fitness, I can know all of the exercises to do, I can know all of the right things to eat but unless I am committed to doing it I will not see it happen for me.

James says, “let me see it in your life”! Jesus calls us to a relationship that makes faith more than something you believe.  James 2:19 says,  You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe—and shudder!  Are you just talking about your faith or are you living it? Are you talking about getting fit or are you living it as lifestyle?

As you start or continue your faith and fitness journey, remember these three things: Faith is more than feelings, Faith is something you do, Faith requires commitment and so does Fitness! I want to challenge you to make a commitment to optimize your faith and fitness for the next thirty days. Join us in our Private Facebook Group to share how your faith and fitness commitment is going.