Train yourself to be godly. For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come.
What are you training for? This may be a question that you believe doesn't pertain to you in the slightest bit. You may not be a runner or much of an athlete. You may not have any type of rigorous work out or schedule that you are sticking to in order to achieve a set goal. Before you write this blog post off I want you to stop and think past your physical abilities and interests. 1 Timothy tells us to train ourselves to be godly, so wether you are in the gym every day sweating it out or have never stepped foot in a gym, you my friend are in training, and the stakes and rewards are great.
Now you will NEVER hear me say that physical activity is not needed. In fact, I believe we should all find something we enjoy and stay active, eat well and take care of the temple the Lord has given us while here on earth. With that said, physical fitness is no where near as important as our Soul Fitness. This is part of the reason I decided to start my company Soul Fitness. I found that there was such a need and such a lacking for the pursuit of a godly lifestyle and a "fit" soul. We spend billions of dollars each year to reach and train for our physical goals and yet the thing that cost nothing to us (aside from our pursuit of the Lord and acceptance of His son as Savior) is the one thing that is neglected. You see that which we should be training for, our salvation and relationship with the Lord are so important that they cannot be neglected. There is a battle going on and the hurdles we have to overcome are those of great proportions. This wont be a walk in the park, but the reward is great for those who chose to train and stay with it.
Through the years I have met many people who don't train both physically or spiritually because they don't know where to start. I do not believe there is or should be a "one-size-fits-all" plan for each person. The Lord works in different ways in each believer's life. Each circumstance, each trial, each event in a person's life is orchestrated by God as part of the "training" to become more like Christ. However, the one starting place that must be the same for each "trainee" is IN THE WORD. You must be prepared to face that which is waiting for you along the journey or "race". Daily in the word, memorizing, meditating and saturating yourself in the LIVING word of God is necessary in training to be godly. The huge difference in our spiritual training and physical training is the end goal, the finish line. In physical training there is an end goal, something that will be achieved and then will become just a memory. With our spiritual training the end goal, the finish line is eternity. We are here but just for a split second compared to eternity with Christ. Now that is a prize and a goal I look forward to racing towards and training for.
So my friend, no matter where you are, no matter what training you have done up to this point, it does not matter. Start where you are, with what you have, with a Savior along side you and train. Train to be more godly. Pursue, live, dive into, saturate yourself in the Living Word of God that will prepare you both for this life and the life to come.
My fellow trainees I can't wait to train along side you as we all strive for a finish line and prize that is nothing we can imagine here on earth.
 About the Author: Lauren Barksdale is the founder of Soul Fitness. She has a BA and Masters in Kinesiology from Dallas Baptist University . She coached volleyball at Birdville High School in North Richland Hills for the last 5 years. In college she played volleyball for Baylor's club team and at Dallas Baptist University. She has been married to Ben Barksdale for 5 years and has two children; Evie Grace who is 3 and Hudson who is 10 months old. Lauren has a passion for health and fitness and incorporating that into everyday life as a Christ follower |
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