Introduction:

I think everyone at some point in time thinks about their physical appearance and puts in some time and effort into improving their physical health. But oftentimes, that’s not true for our spiritual fitness.  The improvements or growth we see in our spiritual lives may not be intentional, or when it is intentional, it’s not consistent.  This devotional series just speaks to ways that we can improve our spiritual health and make ourselves “Fit for the Kingdom.”  We will focus on some of the core pieces of our spiritual wellbeing such as prayer, worship, and faith and how to work out our core and strengthen our spiritual bodies.

Scripture:  

I John 2:6:  Whoever says he abides in him ought to walk in the same way in which he walked

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There are many times where you might find it necessary to visit a doctor for a checkup; such as when you notice something is wrong, as a preventative measure, or possibly due to job requirements.  When these exams are completed and you are given your results, it’s always within the context of how your results compare to others who fit your patient category.  The average values for your identified demographic become the benchmark for your physical health.  This concept applies to your spiritual wellbeing as well except that in this case, your benchmark is Jesus.  Ephesians 5:1 even tells us to “..be imitators of God, as beloved children.”  It’s easy to get so caught up in your daily routine that you don’t realize that you’ve become stagnant spiritually; you’re going through the motions while your actions are really having no effect. 

These are moments where you have to pause and perform a “spiritual checkup” just to make sure you’re good.  God has given us principles, direct commandments and examples to follow in the Bible so that we know what a healthy spiritual life looks like.  Using Christ as your benchmark is the best way to measure your spiritual health; His behavior and characteristics should be emulated in our daily lives.  There are a number of areas we can take examples from but for the purposes of this spiritual wellbeing check-up, some questions you can ask yourself are:  

• How strong is my faith? Am I able to release my burdens to God and let Him take over?  

• How’s my prayer life? Am I able to speak with God freely or is something blocking me from communicating effectively with Him?  

• How is my worship? Am I worshiping God enough or at all?  

• Am I living a life of love? Am I showing God’s love to others regularly?

As you think about these questions, remember that they are meant for you to identify your areas of strength and weakness and not bring condemnation. Now that you know where you are in your spiritual wellness journey, you can develop a “workout plan” to improve your spiritual fitness. Break the mold that your life is set in now and rebuild yourself in a way that allows you to be more like Christ every day.   

Prayer:  

Father God, help me to be my best self, which reflects You in my actions, words and heart. I thank You for Your grace that allows me to start each day with fresh mercies. I choose to make You the number one priority in my life and as I do so, allow my pursuit of You to make me a child fit for Your Kingdom.

Scripture:  

Isaiah 46:10:  Declaring the end from the beginning and from ancient times things not yet done, saying, ‘My counsel shall stand, and I will accomplish all my purpose,’

It’s often said that slow and steady wins the race and that’s also true when it comes to your spiritual wellbeing. Obtaining that near perfect state or level of spiritual fitness is a journey and not an easy one at that. It takes God’s grace and the establishment of good habits and routines to keep on track with your spiritual fitness goals. Identifying those spiritual goals (your end point) is the first step in getting fit for the Kingdom.  Now that you know where you’re headed, the next step is to establish a routine that you can consistently follow to help build up your spiritual core in the areas of prayer, faith, and worship.  I’ve been told and have seen for myself that one of the best ways to ensure success is setting goals that are small and achievable that then build up to the larger goals.  As you achieve the smaller goals, you’re racking up a win record that motivates you to press on to achieve the next milestone with the ultimate goal in mind of being like Christ.

Let’s look at some quick tips to help you get started on your spiritual fitness journey.  Let’s start with the Core of Prayer. To help you pray more consistently, you will need to be intentional and show God He’s special to you. Wake up a few minutes earlier in the morning than you normally would, so that you can pray and start your day with God, giving Him the first fruits of your time, even ahead of Tiktok, IG or whatever else might be a morning distraction for you. Honestly, you can’t start your day off any better than starting it with God.  

Secondly, let’s look at the Core of Faith; I’m going to get straight to the point, you have to read God’s Word and know God for yourself.  You can try using a Bible app, reading daily devotionals or even listening to audio versions of the Bible.  The goal is to make it easier to jump right into His Word so you can stay consistent with reading it.  And even if you don’t feel like you don’t know much about the Bible, you can always start with those Sunday school lessons about Adam & Eve, Noah and the flood, Moses and the Israelites or many others.  Try to go beyond the parts of the stories that you know and you’ll be surprised what you discover.  

Lastly, let’s look at the Core of Worship.  Sometimes it’s as simple as finding the right song that speaks to you and helps you tap into the worship mindset. You can build off that one song, find online playlists from Youtube or iTunes.  You can also stream albums and individual songs from apps like Pandora or Spotify. Access to music should never be the blocker. Also, your worship may not begin from the music, it can also be inspired by any of the other Cores previously mentioned. As you invest time into these Core areas, you’ll begin to see improvements in your spiritual health and the impact it will have on the rest of your life. 

Prayer:

Father God, I pray that Your Grace and mercy cover me in the areas that I am lacking when it comes to living like Christ. I want to pray as You prayed, believe like You believed and have a heart of worship like You did.  Help me to decrease so that You can increase in my life and guide me as I follow in Your footsteps. 

Scripture: 

Luke 17: 5-6: The apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith!” He replied, “If you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it will obey you.”

One of the fundamental aspects of your life as a Christian is faith. Faith is very crucial to your spiritual health because it is the basis of your strength.  Like when you perform physical workouts, there are a lot of exercises and techniques to choose from that all have different effects so the challenge can be selecting the right exercises to build your strength and not just develop “showroom” muscles.  In order to build your spiritual strength, you must increase your faith and to do that, you have to dive into God’s Word daily. Romans 10:17 tells us that “Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God.” Reading the Bible has to become a part of your regular routine and I know, it’s easier said than done but rest assured, it's worth the effort. You can start off with reading the Bible just a few minutes a day and gradually build up your reading time. You can even use an audio Bible if that makes it easier to consistently soak in God’s Word. As you read the Bible you will learn about God’s promises and in essence get a glimpse at God’s resume and all the wonderful things He’s done throughout history.

It's also very important to not fall into the trap of relying solely on what you hear during Sunday services and think that will sustain you; it just isn’t enough. Your faith core will not grow without the necessary spiritual nourishment it needs.  Don’t allow yourself to become dependent on what I like to call “faith transfusions” from other people. You must read and study the Bible for yourself so that you can truly know and understand God more.  And as you read the Bible, the knowledge you gain will also be feeding your spirit.  Matthew 4:4 makes it clear that we’re not meant to just take care of our physical bodies but our spirits as well when it says, “man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes out of the mouth of God.”  When you do that, you’ll start to build up your confidence in God and His ability to not only answer prayers but also His ability to act on our behalf at the right time.  

Prayer:

Help me to put my trust in You and have faith like that of a mustard seed. As I draw closer to You, teach me Your ways so that I can boldly operate in Your authority. Pull me out of the shadow of doubts and allow me to live a life that is faithful to You. 

Scripture: 

Luke 17: 5-6: The apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith!” He replied, “If you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it will obey you.”

One of the fundamental aspects of your life as a Christian is faith. Faith is very crucial to your spiritual health because it is the basis of your strength.  Like when you perform physical workouts, there are a lot of exercises and techniques to choose from that all have different effects so the challenge can be selecting the right exercises to build your strength and not just develop “showroom” muscles.  In order to build your spiritual strength, you must increase your faith and to do that, you have to dive into God’s Word daily. Romans 10:17 tells us that “Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God.” Reading the Bible has to become a part of your regular routine and I know, it’s easier said than done but rest assured, it's worth the effort. You can start off with reading the Bible just a few minutes a day and gradually build up your reading time. You can even use an audio Bible if that makes it easier to consistently soak in God’s Word. As you read the Bible you will learn about God’s promises and in essence get a glimpse at God’s resume and all the wonderful things He’s done throughout history.

It's also very important to not fall into the trap of relying solely on what you hear during Sunday services and think that will sustain you; it just isn’t enough. Your faith core will not grow without the necessary spiritual nourishment it needs.  Don’t allow yourself to become dependent on what I like to call “faith transfusions” from other people. You must read and study the Bible for yourself so that you can truly know and understand God more.  And as you read the Bible, the knowledge you gain will also be feeding your spirit.  Matthew 4:4 makes it clear that we’re not meant to just take care of our physical bodies but our spirits as well when it says, “man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes out of the mouth of God.”  When you do that, you’ll start to build up your confidence in God and His ability to not only answer prayers but also His ability to act on our behalf at the right time.  

Prayer:

Help me to put my trust in You and have faith like that of a mustard seed. As I draw closer to You, teach me Your ways so that I can boldly operate in Your authority. Pull me out of the shadow of doubts and allow me to live a life that is faithful to You. 

Psalm 100:2-4:   Worship the Lord with gladness; come before him with joyful songs. Know that the Lord is God. It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, the sheep of his pasture. Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name.

Worship is very important to God and is one of your core spiritual muscles. Exodus 34:14, states, “For you shall worship no other god, for the Lord, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God.”  God is serious about His worship, keep those other gods names out your mouth..lol! Seriously though, worship is described as “the feeling or expression of reverence and adoration for a deity.” When thinking about this definition of worship, I equate worship to being an expression of my belief and deep conviction in who He is, which is the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords, our one true God. Now that we see the definition of worship, it’s clear why God wants it all to himself.  There’s no one else in heaven or earth besides God who deserves it. And God doesn’t want half-hearted, forced worship; He wants sincere worship that is freely given.  That kind of worship is like a beautiful fragrance to God; its scent is lifted up to Heaven and fills God’s throne room. 

As you worship God on a regular basis and offer up our praises to Him, you’ll find out that it’s much easier for you to commune with God and hear Him speak to you and move through you. Your worship has power and is another way for you to draw closer to God. It's expressed in many ways but probably most frequently through song or other verbal declarations, but you can worship Him through dance, poetry, art, or other ways. In the case of music and singing specifically, it doesn’t matter if you think you can sing or not, you’re not competing on The Voice or signing up to join the choir; worship is a one-on-one act between you and God.  So please, sing it loudly, offer it freely, and most of all, mean it!  God deserves nothing less.

Prayer:  

Father God, as I offer my praise and worship to You, may it be acceptable in Your sight. Help me to draw closer to You Lord so that I can commune with You daily in my time of worship. I pour out my heart to You and pour out all that I have and ask that You fill me up Lord to the point of overflowing.