Is It Too Late to Start Exercising Now?

By Laurette Willis 

Perhaps you haven't exercised in a l-o-n-g time.  Maybe your schedule at work or home demands too much of your time or you simply fell out of the routine.  I have good news for you!  If you haven't exercised in months, a year or ever—it's never too late to begin making fitness a part of your life.

I know.  For most of my life I hated exercise and did not follow a sane food plan.  I fought excess weight and overeating since I was a child.  As a teenager, I tried lots of kooky diets.  I even went on a water fast for 10 days (and believe me, there was nothing spiritual about it; I just wanted to be skinny.).  I became skinny all right.  I also developed pneumonia and looked horrible.  The weight piled back on shortly thereafter, with an extra 10 pounds on top of it!

After I came to Christ in my late 20s, the Lord delivered me from alcoholism, helped me quit smoking, redeemed my life from the deception of the New Age movement (metaphysics, mysticism and yoga), and brought a loving husband into my life.  But overeating and lack of discipline continued to plague me.

“Father,” I prayed, “you have removed so many negative things from my life.  Please help me overcome this, too.”

Victory in this area did not come as quickly for me as it did for the other addictions which had held me captive.  In fact, the fruit of self-discipline is something I must be conscious of walking in every single day in order to experience the freedom the Lord promises us.

“Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage.”  (Galatians 5:1)

For me, freedom from “couch potato-ism” and overeating is a choice I have to determine to “stand fast” in daily.  Thankfully, the more I exercise self-discipline, asking for God to help me, the more I find myself actually wanting to be more active, eating more healthful food and saner portions.

So, why don’t we “Just Do It”?

I could tell you all the things the world tells us to do to motivate ourselves—all of which boil down to a Nike-inspired, "Just Do It!”  It's not that easy though, is it?  That’s probably why research from John Hopkins is predicting that there could be a 75% obesity rate in America by the year 2015.  But we don’t have to be part of that statistic.  As Christians, we can lead the charge to change.  We can be “fit witnesses” for the Lord, leading others to health in spirit, soul, and body through a relationship with Jesus Christ.

Here's an idea:

1. PLAN:  Tomorrow—or today—plan to take a brisk walk for 20 minutes.  Or do a quick workout.  (At my website www.PraiseMoves.com, there are    several quick exercises and workouts with accompanying scriptures,      which you can do at home or the office.)
2. TIME: Choose a time you will get some activity in.
3. ASK: Speak to the Lord and ask Him to help you keep your commitment     to honor Him by taking good care of your body (the "temple of the       Holy Spirit") by doing some physical activity for 20 minutes.
4. DECIDE: Make the decision now so that when the time comes to fit the    activity in, you will NOT yield to any excuses, but yield to the        Lord.
5. YIELD: When the time comes, dedicate the time to the Lord, and go       for that walk, Christian fitness workout, or whatever you've            purposed to do.
6. PRAISE: Praise the Lord for His faithfulness to you as you have just    begun a new habit.  Go through the steps again for the next day, and     the day after that.

With time and practice, you'll find yourself actually looking forward to moving your body and praising the Lord!  By giving your time and yourself to the Lord in this way, you’ll find His grace sustains, maintains, contains, and retrains us to be all He’s called us to be. 

Laurette Willis, Christian Fitness Expert and author, is the Director of PraiseMoves® Fitness Ministry, offering fitness programs, DVDs, books and instructor training for those interested in a Christian ALTERNATIVE to yoga.  She would like to invite you to get her free "Fit Favorites Devotional" and PraiseMoves FitNews at http://praisemoves.com.  © 2009