Fit Faith

            
I went to class one of a 12-week step aerobics class this week. The instructor had just had a boot camp session before our step class. When I peered in on the participants, I saw them dripping with sweat as the instructor “barked out” commands for them to march-crawl across the (concrete) ground outside. Minutes later, they were back inside, continuing cardio, but the instructor did not let up one bit. I prayed that this would not be our instructor for the step class. But, lo and behold, I checked the class schedule, and none other than Ms. Boot Camp herself was indeed the instructor. My next prayer was that she would cut us some slack in the step aerobics class. NOT!!! She wore our bee-hinds out!

We all like to relish in our former, younger days when we could do 50 jumping jacks without getting out of breath; run ten laps without breaking out in a profuse sweat; go 20 times “around the world” on a bench step; or lift 200 pounds of weight without a spotter or a break. If you can still do those things, GREAT! You have stayed in shape – God bless you!

For many of us, being able to do those things again requires some reconditioning. Some of us have never done those things, and have to start from scratch – learning what works best and what does not.

As most of us know, getting and staying in shape is a process. When I left the class, I said to myself, “I have to get in shape to get in shape!” I will be working out at home to help build my stamina, which was at about 35%, to prepare for the next class. Perhaps, in class two, my stamina level will increase at least ten percentage points! The good thing about working out is, the more that you do it, the better you feel and the easier it becomes to do.

Faith, like fitness, is a process. We can get rusty with our faith just like we get rusty with our fitness. Faith must be developed, exercised, and maintained in order to effectively work. Trying to use faith in big spurts, instead of continually on a regular or daily basis, is like trying to do a fitness boot camp after ten years of not working out while expecting to get instant results and not be worn out. (No, it hasn’t been quite that long since I last worked out.) Fortunately, as with fitness, if faith is exercised regularly, you feel better, it becomes easier to do, and you get better and consistent results.

Faith is to believe that the promises of God will materialize although you do not see evidence, and to act accordingly. Faith = believing + acting. Faith is an “action noun” that must be exercised. How do we exercise faith and stay spiritually fit? When we exercise our faith, we receive it, anchor it, execute it, develop it, and sustain it.

Receive. The first step to exercise your faith is to receive it. How is faith received? By hearing and reading God’s Word, the Bible. Romans 10:17 says, “Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. If you hear something enough times, you start to believe it. The more you hear it, the more you believe it. God’s Word is designed to plant faith in us. Receiving faith is not a one-time proposition, but it is done continually as we trust and believe God. The more that we hear and read the Word, the more faith we receive in certain areas.

Anchor. Faith combines assurance and anticipation, belief and expectation. This anticipation and expectation represent hope. Our hope anchors our faith. Hebrews 11:1 says, “Now faith is substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” Hope is the basis of our faith. If we don’t expect anything, we don’t get anything. Ultimately, our expectations should come from God, not man (Psalm 62:5). Man can be disappointing and unreliable, but God is faithful and true to His promises (Hebrews 10:23). Our hope is even in effect when an unanticipated blessing comes our way for which we did not explicitly pray. We are reminded of God’s faithfulness. We received the unanticipated blessing based on our expectation, as Believers, that God loves us and withholds no good thing from us (Psalm 84:11). When we exercise our faith, we anticipate God to act on our behalves.

Execute. To be authentic and true, faith must be executed. It must be seen in our actions. James 2:20 says, “Faith without works is dead.” The “works” in this passage are the corresponding actions that we pair with our trust and belief in God. When we have faith, it shows in what we do. We all have heard the saying, “If you expect rain, take an umbrella.” Adding corresponding action to our faith means that we prepare ourselves for the blessings for which we are standing in faith. We demonstrate our faith through our works by thinking the part, dressing the part, and acting the part before we actually get the part. We surround ourselves with likeminded people, those strong in their faith, who are believing and trusting God in areas like us. We consult others who have received in the areas in which we are standing in faith. When we execute our faith, we implement a plan that puts our faith in action.

Develop. God gives each of us a measure of faith that must be developed (Romans 12:3). I believe this portion of faith is what Jesus refers to in Luke 17:6 as “mustard seed” faith. What we know about seeds is that they start small, but once planted, watered, and nurtured, the seeds grow into large blossoms. Jesus references levels of faith in the Bible: no faith (Mark 4:40), little faith (Matthew 14:31), and great faith (Matthew 8:10). In Romans 14:1, Paul references “weak faith”. If we do not cultivate our faith, we can find ourselves in the “no faith” or weak faith” category. If we do cultivate and develop our faith, we can go from little, mustard seed faith to great faith. As we develop our faith, we trust God for bigger and better, greater and grander, in our relationships, on our jobs, in our finances, in our ministries, in our spiritual lives, in our circumstances, and with our health. Developing our faith means moving from small to sufficient to super faith.

Sustain. Our faith is aided and sustained by prayer. Faith cannot be obtained or sustained without God’s help. When we pray, we ask God to help us in areas where our faith needs to be strengthened (Mark 9:24). Prayer is an attitude and an action that releases and maintains faith in our lives. Our acts of prayer say to God that we trust in, rely on, and believe in Him, and that we are assured that His promises are true. The more we pray, the more we believe that with God all things are possible (Mark 10:27). Through prayer, we can make seemingly impossible requests to God that He can and will fulfill (Mark 11:23-24). Through prayer, we see the results of our faith. Our faith is strengthened when God answers our prayers. We then become examples to others of faith in action, which helps develop and sustain their faith.

When we do not exercise, we can experience muscle atrophy, which is the degeneration or weakening of our muscles. If we do not exercise our faith, we can experience spiritual atrophy, which weakens our faith. Make a commitment today to exercise your faith by receiving it through the Word, anchoring it with hope, executing it with corresponding actions, and sustaining it through prayer.


Jacinta M. Gray,
The Couch Coach