Spiritual Training When the (Gym) Church Is Closed
Before COVID-19, I exercised regularly at the gym. At my YMCA they have great equipment to help me get stronger, like a pull-up bar that will take some of the weight off and enable me to do pull-ups with some assistance. Or machines that make lifting weights safer and more manageable. There are exercise balls, a track to run and walk on, a swimming pool, free weights, treadmills, and ellipticals. Plus, before social distancing we could have workout partners who hold us accountable to putting in the work and classes with trained instructors. But the gym is closed now, and we have to stay home, so I’ve got to figure out how to exercise and get stronger on my own using the equipment that I’ve got. Pushups and sit-ups, chair dips, long walks, running outside, and bodyweight exercises that don’t require gym equipment – these are my new training tools.
I was thinking today that in terms of spiritual fitness, the “gym” is closed for many Christians, because we cannot gather at church. Many Believers have relied on the assistance of programs and group studies and going to the church building to develop spiritual fitness. But what do you do when you are more limited in your guided growth options? How do you follow Paul’s admonition to continue to “train yourselves in godliness” (1 Timothy 4:7-8) when the tools you might have relied on are not readily available?
As followers of Christ, it’s time for us to get back to the basics and put into practice the everyday spiritual exercises that Christians have been using for centuries. In this day and time where everything seems out of whack, putting together a spiritual training plan might be one of the most important things you do to grow as a disciple and as a disciplemaker.
What might this spiritual fitness plan look like? Click the links below for some of my thoughts, but please know that this is not a new set of rules, or a way for us to measure ourselves against others or to earn God’s approval. These are disciplines to put into place so that we might grow in grace as Christ’s beloved disciples. Remember, Paul said that he strenuously worked for maturity in Christ, but he did that work relying on Christ’s powerful energy in him (Colossians 1:29).