Pliability

Ready:

"Don’t you realize that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and was given to you by God? You do not belong to yourself, for God bought you with a high price. So you must honor God with your body.” 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 NLT

Set:

Consider the 2021 NFL Super Bowl. Tom Brady is famous for his unconventional training methods. He is meticulous about what he puts into his body, how much he rests and what kind of exercises he does. He even has his own fitness program called TB12. I would be lying to you if I said I have not been exploring his methods myself.

One of the more unconventional training methods Brady uses is a strategy called pliability. He uses a lot of fitness bands and foam rollers to elongate his muscles. If you are used to standard weightlifting and running, this training type can feel extremely uncomfortable and strange!

The Bible makes it clear that, even though it can feel uncomfortable or strange, we need to set time aside to care for our physical bodies as well as our souls. We were created by God with both a soul and a body and those things cannot be separated. As a result of this, what we do spiritually affects our bodies physically and vice versa. 

If we were to eat a bad diet and not exercise over a long period of time, we would see how it affects our bodies. The same is true if we feed our spirit a bad diet through what we watch, participate in and who we follow. Or, if we don’t have any spiritual practices to grow, like praying, reading God’s Word and gathering in fellowship with other believers, we begin to feel spiritually out-of-shape.

God didn’t purchase the believer's life off of the clearance rack; He purchased every person at the cost of His Son, Jesus’ life. He has redeemed you with a great price because He believes you are worth a great price. Let us honor that cost by giving every aspect of our life back to Him. 

Go:

• What does the cost that Christ paid for you do to your self-worth? Explain.
• Share some ways you can honor God more with your life and your body.
• Is there someone in your life that can hold you accountable or coach you in this?

Weekly Challenges:

• Ask God to help you develop some goals for your health and rest.
• Find someone you think has their health in great order and ask them how they do it.

Reading Plan: 

Day 50 - Mark 12-13

Day 51 - Mark 14-16

Day 52 - 1 Corinthians 1-4

Day 53 - 1 Corinthians 5-7 

Day 54 - 1 Corinthians 8-11

Day 55 - 1 Corinthians 12-14

Day 56 - 1 Corinthians 15-16