3-Day Fitness Devotional (Includes Workouts)Sýnishorn

Day 3: Workout as Worship

When you think of worship, what is the first thing that comes to your mind?

If I had to guess, I'd bet music instantly came to mind, and you would not be entirely wrong. Songs can be a way to worship, but don't confuse "worship" with "music."

So what is worship?

To worship is to ascribe worth and value to something; it's the actions or expressions we take proportionate to the level of importance we place on that thing.

So when we worship God in a song, we turn our attention and focus on professing with our vocal cords adoration to God as a reflection of what is in our hearts. But worship goes far beyond just music. Many of the things we do daily are an act of worship to something or someone.

As an athlete growing up, if I'm honest, I looked to sport to fulfill me rather than to God. Even though I was a professing Christian, the sport defined who I was. It had become my identity, not in overt ways but subtle ways. Internally it was my ticket to popularity, to affirmation, acceptance, and the pursuit of fame and fortune in the NFL. I invested time and energy to pursue these things for my glory, not God's. In short, sport became an idol in my life, and I began to worship at the altar of sport.

This idolatry extended into my time in the gym as well. I was there to make myself a better athlete for selfish reasons, work on my guns and abs, ascribing worth and value to my body image and what would benefit me. Sound familiar in any way?

But then I was confronted with a "what if?" What if instead of worshipping fitness or sport, fitness and sport become the avenue in which I worship God?

Romans 12:1 says, "Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship."

This concept was game-changing for me! It completely revolutionized how I experienced God. I found myself released to worship God and be changed by Him in a whole new way.

Mark 12:30 took on a whole new meaning:

"Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength."

Workout transformed from a time of self-worship to a sacred time of worshiping and honoring God that began to extend into every area of my life. I came to understand, and more importantly, experience my workout time in a new way. Every rep and set became a way I glorified God. Each bead of sweat represented my gratefulness for the ability to move, and the benefits of working out became fuel for me to worship Him through my physical abilities.

Today is your opportunity to start exercising, and I don't just mean exercising your physical muscles but also the spiritual muscle of worship. Go hard, grind, leave it all out there, but do it in the name of worshiping something far greater than yourself. Let's pursue becoming FaithFit together!

Application

Get some reps! Experience turning your workout time into a time of God-glorifying worship and try the 30-minute FaithFit workout titled "Workout as Worship."

Visit FaithFit.tv for more devotional workouts.