Get Exercising Part 1

"Do not sorrow, for the joy of the Lord is you strength."                Nehemiah 8:10     NKJV

When we want to get fit we may go to the gym and start exercising. The fitness doesn't happen overnight, it takes time and practise. We have to undergo a program of regular exercise and discipline our bodies in order to achieve the results we are aiming for. The exercise can be difficult and hard going as we strive to overcome the pain and reject the words in our head that are saying, 'give up, it's useless to believe that you can do this.'

It's the same with most things. In order to succeed, we have to press on, work hard and grit our teeth. Nothing comes easily. When we go to Uni, we don't receive a diploma or degree without doing anything. We have to be committed and work hard to gain the prize.

In the above verse, we see that the joy of the Lord is our strength and this is very true. But we can't just quote this verse and then expect to receive this joy immediately. Again, it takes practise. Joy is a mighty weapon to have and it's essential that we grab hold of it. However, it only comes and remains in us with diligence and commitment to God's Word. It takes practise.  It only comes to us and remains with us when we exercise His Word, and condition ourselves to receive this. It will then become a part of us - our daily routine. 

Exercising God's joy comes by praising Him and living our lives in such a way that we receive the victory. The opposite of joy is despair. This includes misery, depression, anger, moaning and groaning, criticism, judging and aggression, to name just a few. All of these equate to weakness, failure and spiritual decay.

As with joy, love also needs to be exercised. We need to train ourselves to walk in love. It doesn't just happen. It needs time to develop. Love and joy are Spiritual weapons that we can use to oppose spiritual attack from our enemy, the devil. We need to train ourselves in these areas by reading our bible, studying it, spending time with Our Father and putting God's (or Love's 1 John 4:8) Word into action.

Tomorrow, we will look at these and other areas that will help our walk with Jesus.

Copyright 2019 Grahame Howard

dailylifewithjesus@protonmail.com