Do you ever take an inventory of your personal fitness level? If so what is it that you consider being fit? Maybe it is that you can no longer “pinch that inch”, or that you are no longer out of breath when you climb the stairs. Perhaps it something much greater than that. More than likely it has components of strength, flexibility, agility, and cardio.

These are things that we take into consideration when trying to judge our personal physical fitness. But when we begin to take stock of the Kingdom of God and our place in it, are we fit for it? How is it that we are to evaluate our spiritual level of conditioning? In Scripture we have the words of Jesus in the Beatitudes and the teaching of Paul on the fruits of the Spirit, as prime examples of the level of fitness that is expected of those who are a part of God’s Kingdom. To live and move with that quality of spiritual health and vitality requires us to submit ourselves to the wisdom, experience and expectations of Jesus. It is not something that we do alone. We are to do it with His guidance by the Holy Spirit, yielding ourselves totally to Him.  As with any fitness program we will need to begin with small steps. We also need to be aware that we will not always like or agree with the training methods imposed by our coach. But as we progress, our faith and trust in him and our ability to yield ourselves to the process will grow.

We are also in training with others. Not just those present with us, but those cloud of witnesses before us and those who come after us. Those who are across physical borders and cultural boundaries as well. Part of God’s training plan requires us to rub shoulders, get bruised and dirty with people who are just like us. People who are broken and limited and in need of God’s grace and mercy just like you and me.  We are to encourage, push and prod one another so that we can move beyond our personal limitations and live like Christ in His Kingdom.

There is a yielding on our part as we follow God’s plan for us. There is a faithfulness and responsibility that is required of us too. And yes there are some keys to this fitness that we need to maintain, because as humans our fitness levels can be in constant flux. We just need to trust the coach, we need to listen and follow after him.

What are some of the ways in which you Follow the coach? Do you always agree with the training plan? How is it that you are trying to be fit for the Kingdom?

Photo by: Method Fitness

     I have spent much of my life pursuing endurance in one athletic activity or another.  Developing and maintaining that kind of conditioning can be difficult and definitely takes time.  In the photo, you see a group of men who are developing endurance.  Though the caption reads Navy Seals, they really are a group of students who are undergoing the rigorous training that if completed, is a step towards becoming a Seal.  They all have come to the training with various levels of endurance and conditioning, and will be put through extremes to push them beyond where they are.  To make the desired gains in all aspects of endurance, they are led by Seal instructors who place extreme yet calculated demands on them.  They deal with their egos, the elements, and each other.  In the process they develop endurance as individuals and as a unit.

     As Christians, we are expected to have endurance.  The Holy Spirit is our instructor who uses the Word, life’s situations, and others, to help us build our endurance.  As we travel this path with God, there are times of long, slow, and deliberate actions that are used for our benefit.  There are also intervals of great intensity that we go through that develop the conditioning that we need.  There are times of dis- orientation that instill in us deep patterns of endurance.  It may feel at times that we are going thorough chaos, but those periods push us to levels, that the lower intensity cannot accomplish.  For us to make the gains that are needed for our journey, we need to by faith, let go and trust.  We need to breathe properly using our largest muscles to take in as much nourishment as possible to be able to go the distance.  And we as brothers and sisters, need to function as a unit.  This allows us to help those endure when they have met their limit and can’t continue and they in turn help us when we need it.

     As you press on in Christ, how is it that you have gained endurance?  As you travel with Jesus, what keeps you going?

Picture: Navy Seals, by tomsaint11

     There is rhythm to all of life set in motion by God.  In fact all of us as believers in Christ, are to dance to the beat of the same drummer.  In our experiences as humans in community with Jesus, we form a very large rhythm section under the guidance of the Spirit.  Each one of us also have a part to play in that rhythm, and at times can be out of sync with how God is at work in our lives.  We need rhythm in our life, it is a part of what sustains us. To follow God’s rhythm, we need also to pay attention and listen.

     In her book, Wisdom distilled from the Daily, Joan Chittister writing about Benedictine spirituality says,

Benedictine spirituality is about listening to four realities: the Gospels, the Rule, one another, and the world around us.  Most of us listen easily to one or two of these realities, but only with difficulty do we listen to all four.  We read the Scriptures faithfully but fail to apply them.  We listen to the needs of the poor but forget reading of the Gospel entirely.  We go to spiritual directors regularly but ignore or overlook the insights of the people with whom we live.  We prefer to hear ourselves than to listen to wiser hearts for fear they might call us beyond ourselves.  Benedictine Spirituality requires the medley.

     We require a medley as well.   Even if we don’t follow St. Benedict’s Rule, we need to have some pattern or routine as we move and grow in Christ.  It needs to be something that we follow daily that can be easily maintained with our often very full lives.  I encourage taking small steps and getting into a rhythm, and building from there.  Maybe it’s adding a prayer habit or an in depth study of scripture.  Just as long as you can keep it regular and it moves you forward in God.

     So what kind of spiritual rhythm, do you follow?  How does it inform and transform you,bringing you closer to Christ?

Picture: Awesome Rhythm Section, by Old Sarge

     Most of us are familiar with the various aspects of physical fitness, and we routinely try to maintain some level of conditioning.  But we also need to pursue and make gains spiritually as well.  The Apostle Paul, uses metaphor and imagery of an athlete to describe our faith journeys, and to “run the race, or “fight the good fight”, we need spiritual fitness.  Here are 7 aspects of spiritual fitness to consider.

     1. Diet :  A regular diet of the Word of God is an important factor of spiritual fitness.  Daily bible  reading, meditation, Lectio Divina, and scripture memorization are ways to maintain a balanced diet.  This diet will give us the nutrients we need as we “run the race”.

     2. Cardio:  Without a healthy heart, our fitness level will not reach its peak.  Our hearts need to be supple and responsive to what is going on within us, to our relationship with the father, and our relationship with others.  It needs to be open to the needs of others around us.  Time spent in solitude, prayer, and with the proper diet and exercise by serving others will keep it in great shape.

     3.  Strength:  Strength is one of the indicators of fitness. Our strength is found in the Lord and gained in our weakness and reliance upon him.  Hours spent in the gym of life, being open and honest with him, and depending upon him for all our needs will develop this component of fitness.

     4.  Endurance:  A key factor to our fitness is endurance.  The bible would encourage us to be patient and steadfast, being anxious for nothing.

     5.  Flexibility:  Being available, adaptable, and ready to put our personal agendas aside is part of spiritual fitness.  God stretches us daily, don’t resist, relax, and become more mobile and agile in your faith.

     6.  Balance:  A verse of a hymn tells us that “on Christ the solid rock we stand all other ground is sinking sand.”  To maintain balance we must be grounded and connected to him.  Not easily swayed when the storms of life come.

     7.  Coordination:  To move freely, we need to be in sync and coordinated with the person and work of the Holy spirit.  We need to be on board with Gods mission and play our role in bringing in the reign of God.  We need to be  in community, actively worshiping and serving as one Church, the Body fitted, fully coordinated and working as one.

     How fit are you?  What areas of fitness would you add to the list?

Picture: Military Fitness, by MacJewell

       I don’t know about you, but I crave silence.  I want to get away from the noise and the din.  I find myself searching for it at times during the day.  In an article I found in UTNE, Kathleen Dean Moore writes, silence creates an opening, an absence of self, which allows the larger world to enter into our awareness.  It brings us into contact with what is beyond us, its beauty and mystery.  Silence is not the absence of sound, but a way of living– an intentional awareness, an expression of gratitude, to make of ones own ears, ones own body, a sounding board that resonates with the vibrations of the world. 

     Perhaps what I am craving in the silence is to make space for what is beyond me.  To hear the still small voice that Elijah heard in spite of the wind, storm, and earthquake.  Maybe it is to listen to the sound and voice of all creation calling out praise to God and to allow myself and the Spirit within me to join in the chorus.  Whatever the reason, I seek it.

     All of us are inundated with noise, both externally and internally.  Even our attempts at silent prayer can be filled at least initially, with chatter that comes out of us into the space of silence.  I have as a regular practice taken time for silent or centering prayer.  It is one way that I have found to be able to answer this need for silence.

     It takes consistency and patience and for me it began in small increments of time.  Ever so slowly my time of silence would increase.  Yes the chatter within me came at the beginning and even now it can briefly chime in.  It requires of me a letting go of self and an intention to pay attention to what God might bring.

What are the ways that you get above the din?  How do you find silence?