“Don’t Quit!”
I really
enjoy exercising. I like all kinds of
sports, and I enjoy the physical activity of playing sports. Basketball, hockey, ultimate Frisbee,
running, biking, volleyball, etc. is all fun to me. I like being a bit out of breath during an
activity. I like mildly sore or “tight”
muscles the next day. I like the
positive energy in my body that exercise creates. Since I’ve only had a few sports injuries in
my whole life, exercise has a huge “up-side” for my body and overall
health. I’ve been thinking about this so
much as I anxiously await the arrival of warm weather to start exercising
regularly again. The truth is though, I
have just used the weather as an excuse since winter started. My exercise pattern has been very sporadic
since then, and I’ve gotten started a few times without continuing. Why? I
could give a list of reasons (starting with the schedule of my three kids), but
in the end, I wouldn’t be giving you reasons,
I’d be giving you excuses. There is a difference between the two. Ask your child to clean their room tonight
and listen to their response. Do they
give you reasons or excuses for why they can’t do it tonight???
My
spiritual life can be just like my exercise life – sporadic. The habit of daily prayer, weekly worship,
regular reading of my Bible, and time spent talking to God are all things with
a huge “up-side” without any “down-side” at all. I just have to remember to discipline myself
to not give up once I start. Like
exercising, when I quit the healthy patterns of my daily walk with God, I lose
out. I want to encourage you to start if
you haven’t yet or continue if you’ve already started – exercising and spending
daily time with God. Either way, don’t
quit!
Paul wrote to the early church: “Do you not know that in a race all the
runners run, but only one gets the prize?
Run in such a way as to get the prize.”
I Corinthians 9:24
Family
Discussion Points!
Is it
hard for you to start exercising or keep exercising or both?
What is
the long-term benefit of exercise to the body?
What is
the long-term benefit of exercise in daily walking with God?
What is the
consequence for quitting and why is it easy to quit?
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