Slideshow image

Adding a Daily Workout
1 Timothy 4:8

How are you feeling right now? Overwhelmed? Stressed? Anxious? Maybe you’re feeling great! You’ve had your cup of coffee today or already got that workout recorded on the fitness app. As I write this, I am sitting in a local coffee shop, staring at a sign that reads, “How do I take my coffee? Seriously, very seriously.” And if we’re not careful, we can rely on things such as these for energy, strength, hope, and mental health. They make our lives better. But God’s Word tells us that these things are temporary and really only benefit a little. 1 Timothy 4:8 tells us, “For bodily exercise profits a little, but godliness is profitable for ALL THINGS, having promise of the life that now is and of that which is to come.” David Guzik says this about godliness in this verse: “The word godliness comes from the old English word Godlikeness; it means to have the character and attitude of God.” When asked how we take our godliness, is the response “Seriously, very seriously?”

I have gotten into running in the last couple of years. To be honest, I highly dislike exercising. But I make myself do it because I love the feeling it brings afterward. While running, I feel focused. It has been some of my most focused prayer time. Afterwards, I feel more relaxed. It clears my head and relieves the built-up tension from the day. Running, for me and many others, is a mental and physical reset. But yet, Paul tells us here that these benefits of physical training are just the tip of the iceberg of what we could be experiencing. Training to be godly benefits EVERY area of my life. Talk about benefits! And just like training for physical benefits, training for godly benefits is going to require some work. Though Christ has won the victory and I am trusting in His sacrifice for my daily strength, I am still called to put in some work. Verse 7 says, “Exercise thyself rather unto godliness.” Do not be deceived. Living a godly life is going to take work. Living a godly life is going to take daily dedication. Living a godly life is going to take self-control. An avid runner will have a routine that they fulfill even if they aren’t feeling it that day. They carve out the time and make it happen. They will also be careful about what they allow into their body. They know that keeping the wrong things out and putting the right things in will maximize their effort. In the same way, exercising to godliness is going to take a routine with carved-out time and an awareness of what I am allowing into my life. It can be strenuous work, but the benefits are beyond what Satan wants you to think are possible.

Once I start seeing the benefit of a routine in my life, I have a craving to do it again. 1 Timothy 4:8 states the benefits of putting in the work to achieve godliness: “But godliness is profitable unto ALL THINGS, having promise of the life that now is, and of that which is to come.” The benefits are the best life possible on this earth and the best life possible in eternity. This exercise brings hope for the future, but also hope for today and tomorrow. It didn’t say it would bring the easiest life or the most popular life. But this exercise will bring about the life that God, your Creator, has in mind for you. “For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.” (Jeremiah 29:11). So, how are you feeling today? How are you exercising to be Godlike? Carve out the time and watch the health benefits pile up!

Marcus Bailey
Assistant Pastor / Shady Grove Church

Guzik, David. 2018. Study Guide for 1 Timothy 4. https://www.blueletterbible.org/comm/guzik_david/study-guide/1-timothy/1-timothy-4.cfm?a=1123001