He Has You

In the natural realm, to get strong and to keep strong, we must exercise. As we work out our body, we keep it conditioned and perhaps make it so we can do even more. We will be able to do more in our life the more that we take care of our body that we will live in.

Keep your temple clean. “You should know that your body is a temple for the Holy Spirit who is in you. You have received the Holy Spirit from God. So you do not belong to yourselves, because you were bought by God for a price. So honor God with your bodies” (1 Corinthians 6:19-20 NCV).

In the spiritual realm, we also need to exercise so that we can get strong spiritually and keep strong in our spiritual living. The more intense our spiritual workouts, the greater we will grow in our spiritual strength. The more spiritually strong you are, the more you can accomplish in your spiritual life.

Spiritual growth never occurs by the power of man. “For it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure” (Philippians 2:13 NKJV).

In the natural realm, we will grow stronger based on how much we put into it. In the spiritual realm, we will grow stronger based on how much we let the Lord put into us. Natural strength depends on our ability, whereas spiritual strength depends on our willingness to rely upon God.

Spiritual strength is not fueled by natural nutrition. “And when He [Jesus] had come into the house, His disciples asked Him privately, ‘Why could we not cast it out?’ So He said to them, ‘This kind can come out by nothing but prayer and fasting’” (Mark 9:28-29 NKJV).

In the natural, it is our striving that matters, whereas in the spiritual, it is our yielding that will allow us to be changed. Often, the naturally strong are the most spiritually weak because they only depend upon themselves. Pride may help you in the natural, but it will ruin you in the spiritual.

Pray for the strength to be weak before God. “But he said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness’” (2 Corinthians 12:9 NIV).

One spiritual workout is trusting that the Lord will lead you on what to do. There will be a situation in your life where you need to trust Him to show you what to do. When you commit in your heart not to move one inch until He leads you, it will be there that the spiritual workout will begin.

The leading of the Lord is reserved for those who are willing to follow. “For all who are allowing themselves to be led by the Spirit of God are sons of God” (Romans 8:14 AMP).

Another spiritual workout is in praying. Not in how long we pray or what specifically we are praying about, but are we taking our prayer to the Lord, believing that He hears us and can help us with whatever we praying about? The more you work out in prayer, the more you will believe in all that He can do.

You will have a stronger faith when you exercise your faith. Jesus taught, “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you” (Matthew 7:7 NKJV).

A most blessed spiritual workout is the time you spend in the Word. Where you are drawn to the Father’s love letter to you and are expecting to hear in His Word what He is longing to tell you. The more you work out in the Word, the more the Word will work out in you.

It is by the commentary of the Holy Spirit that we can understand the Word of God. “These things we also speak, not in words which man’s wisdom teaches but which the Holy Spirit teaches, comparing spiritual things with spiritual. But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned” (1 Corinthians 2:13-14 NKJV).

A powerful spiritual workout is when you deny a natural longing that you have. Fasting from food is a common way and a powerful workout as it subdues the natural such that the spiritual will gain power. But food is not the only thing we can deny, so seek to workout with other things.

Sometimes, it’s the least noticed person at church who is the most pleasing to God. “Anna, a prophetess, was there at the Temple. …Anna was always at the Temple; she never left. She worshiped God by fasting and praying day and night” (Luke 2:36-37 ERV).

One of the spiritual workouts is to trust the Lord with a fear or a frustration and leave it at His feet. When you can let go of things in the natural, you will then take hold of the things in the spiritual that can be gained in no other way.

The thing you fear the most, you need to trust Him with the most. “But when I am afraid, I will put my trust in you. I praise God for what he has promised. I trust in God, so why should I be afraid? What can mere mortals do to me?” (Psalm 56:3-4 NLT).

Don’t be discouraged with however you have failed, but be encouraged, knowing the Lord is there to help you. The saints who become the most spiritually strong are the ones who have given up trying on their own and have thrown themselves down before the Lord Jesus.

Don’t be discouraged with where you are at but be encouraged by where God is taking you. “This is my command—be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid or discouraged. For the Lord your God is with you wherever you go” (Joshua 1:9 NLT).

Blessings to you,

Paul Balius