Sneak Peak #1 - From The Introduction Of "Faithful Fitness"

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As an Exercise Scientist and Faith-Based Health Coach, I’ve spent the last 20 years helping thousands of men and women grow stronger physically, mentally, and spiritually. But the why behind countless hours of nutrition coaching, stretching, lifting, and the like always brings me back to a foundational question.

What does care for your body have to do with following Jesus?

This is a deep question. In fact, it’s the central question of this entire devotional. The answer is simple, but the implications are difficult.

Your physical condition affects your spiritual mission[1].

What does this mean?

Take a small piece of my journey as an example. I am the father of two rambunctious boys. They have an amazing amount of energy. At this stage of life, they love to wrestle, ride bikes, catch snakes at the creek, and join me in the gym while we jam out to music that motivates us. 

The bible encourages fathers to be involved with their children[2], to teach them the truths of God’s goodness[3], to train them up[4], and to encourage them[5]. Though I did not get to grow up with my father in the home, the bible teaches me that being an active and involved father is an important part of my spiritual mission. 

It also means that in this season of life, I get to claim wrestling, creek shenanigans, and garage workouts with my boys as “spiritual work”. I love being a dad!

However, I have a problem.

I have a genetic disorder called “Ehlers Danlos”. I’ve struggled with it my whole life. In short, the disease changes the way that my body synthesizes an important protein called collagen that makes up a significant part of many different types of tissues in the body. It affects my tendons and ligaments, skin, digestive tract and more. I live with a fair bit of pain and fatigue on a regular basis. It’s also not unusual for me to wrestle with injuries and immune system complications related to the disorder. If things are bad enough, I can get irritable, depressed, and generally not fun to be around. There is no known cure for Ehlers Danlos and due to the rarity of the disease, good treatment options are largely nonexistent. 

As a child growing up, I have many memories of suffering through unexplained injuries. As an adolescent athlete it was horribly painful. As a young man it was endlessly frustrating and distracting. But as a father it is downright debilitating. 

If I am not diligent with my physical condition, I will allow this disease to keep me from executing the fatherhood part of my spiritual mission well. If I want to have the energy, digestive fortitude, functional ability, and desire to show up as the father I know I was made to be, I’m going to have to train my body for that. 

This reality isn’t unique to me, though. I have witnessed this truth in every client I’ve ever trained. 

Your physical condition affects your spiritual mission. 

Whether part of your spiritual mission is showing up well for your family and friends, being a caretaker for a loved one, volunteering in your local church, competing as a Christ-centered athlete, or even showing up with joy, energy, and love in your workplace for your customers and coworkers every day, your physical body is an incredibly important part of your spiritual mission.

While it’s true that a core belief we hold as Christians is that we can have eternal life in heaven with God through faith in Jesus Christ, this does not mean that our physical bodies do not matter. 

In fact, they matter so deeply that the apostle Paul calls our bodies temples of the Holy Spirit [6], and urging us to offer them as living sacrifices[7]. As you’ll see throughout the coming 40 days, scripture is full of reminders that our embodiment is not a barrier to God but a means of serving Him.

So if our bodies are temples, and the physical condition of our body can impact our spiritual mission so profoundly, why do so many believers live like their physical health doesn’t matter?

At first glance, working out, eating well, and building better habits around fasting, recovery, and sleep can seem like just another worldly pursuit. Isn’t it, as Ecclesiastes says, “vanity”?

Well, yes and no.

When fitness is driven by pride or appearance, and informed by the world, it is vain. 

But when it’s rooted in stewardship, in service, and in surrender to God’s purposes, it becomes holy.

Unfortunately, the health and fitness industry has long marketed our insecurities, appetites, and egos. You’ve likely already experienced your fair share of these things in your own journey. 

But the call of the Christian is different. Our aim is not to perfect our bodies. It is to present them.

To live in such a way that our bodies help, not hinder, our ability to love God and love others.

Let me put it as plainly as I can: Your body is not separate from your walk with God—it is part of what He has entrusted to you. 

When neglected, it becomes a burden. When stewarded well, it becomes a blessing to others and an instrument for the Kingdom.

Paul describes part of this tension, naming the battle between “the desires of the flesh” and “the desires of the Spirit.”[8] And in Romans, he laments the gap between his intention and action:

“I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do... Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death?”[9]

This struggle is real for all of us.

So what does Paul’s conflict and the fitness industry’s marketing have to do with running a 5K, losing 30lbs, managing chronic disease, or improving your sleep?

Everything.

Because any goal worth pursuing in your physical health should bring your body into alignment with your God-given purpose. Not just to feel better, look better, or do better. But to be better. 

To live as the man or woman God made you to be.

Let me ask you three things:

• Has there been a time you didn’t do something you knew you knew God      wanted you to because you didn’t have the energy or the motivation?
• Have your cravings, fatigue, or pain made you act in a way that you knew did      not reflect Christ?
• Has your physical condition or mental state ever kept you from serving someone      you love or walking in a calling you care about?

If you’re honest with yourself, you might answer yes to all three. You’re not alone. I’ve been there, too.

There was a time when my sleep, diet, and exercise habits were sabotaging how I showed up at work, in traffic, and, most painfully, as a husband and father.

If I didn’t change something physically, my most important spiritual missions were going to suffer.

Maybe your physical situation isn’t as dramatic as the bourbon, brownies, and burnout of a sleep-deprived new father. Maybe your health struggles aren’t as serious as a rare genetic disorder.

Or maybe your reality feels even worse right now.

Whether you struggle with the pride of athleticism, the pain of arthritis, the shame of obesity, the exhaustion of burnout, the discouragement of aging, the frustration of injury, the confusion of chronic illness, the bondage of food obsession, or the numbness of disconnection—

Wherever you are, I want you to hear this clearly: your body is not a problem to solve or a prison to escape. 

It’s a gift to steward.

If your physical health is out of alignment, it doesn’t just affect you. It affects your family, your witness, and your obedience. It’s hard to “go and make disciples”[10] when you’re exhausted, self-absorbed, irritable, distracted, and chronically unwell. 

And yet, on the flip side, there’s also a danger in letting your physical body become an idol. A false god that consumes your thoughts, time, and energy, distracting you from the true God who calls you to love, serve, and surrender.

That’s why this journey matters.

Not because we’re chasing perfection. But because we’re called to present our bodies as living sacrifices holy and pleasing to God. Not to earn His love. But to live in it, fully and faithfully.[11]

 [1]Some may call this spiritual mission your “calling” or your “purpose”.

[2]Malachi 4:6

[3]Deuteronomy 11:19

[4]Proverbs 22:6

[5]Ephesians 6:4

[6] 1 Corinthians 6:19

[7]Romans 12:1

[8]Galatians 5:17

[9]Romans 7:15-24 NIV

[10]The charge of the “Great Commission” in Matthew 28:18-20

[11]Often in this devotional, I speak of the tension between our “physical” and “spiritual” selves. Some may wonder: doesn’t Scripture teach we are whole, embodied beings—created by God, body and soul, as part of His good design? Yes. I fully affirm this. I reject any notion, like ancient Gnosticism, that treats the body as evil or separate from the soul. Still, many of us experience a lived disconnect between our spiritual identity and physical habits. This devotional speaks into that gap. It’s about stewarding the body, not worshiping or ignoring it, and becoming disciples who offer every part of ourselves to God.