“Physical training is good, but training for godliness is much better, promising benefits in this life and in the life to come.” 1 Timothy 4:8

Strengthening Our Core

Off to the gym we go, or some of us are disciplined enough to exercise at home. Some of us have exercise machines, but the aim is to keep our core strengthened so that we stay balanced and strong. We walk, run, swim and exercise to strengthen our body trunk muscles to provide power, flexibility, agility, and balance.

I have been giving some thought to strengthening our core. There’s a spiritual core within us that we need to constantly exercise to make stronger. If Jesus is our Savior and we have chosen to follow Him, we need to keep our core strongly centered on Him—otherwise we will become weak.

So what is our spiritual core? It is the center of our being, our soul, where Jesus abides. Using the wheel as an example, God would be the center, the “hub of the wheel,” and all the spokes of the wheel spread outward from God, the hub.  Spiritually then, all of our “busyness” and demands of life would radiate out from the center, which is God. Our relationship with God, our hub, flows outward through everything we do every day, and into our relationships with others.

How do we strengthen our spiritual core, and stretch those faith muscles?

  1. Start our day with time with God. Open His Word every morning without fail, even if it is only 15 minutes because it will begin to develop a habit. This time is very important to us and to God because Jesus wants to communicate with us.
  2. Stretch those faith muscles. Read scripture out loud. Faith comes through hearing, and hearing by the Word. Don’t forget to listen for His voice.
  3. Surrender your day to Jesus. “Lord, Your will be done, not mine.” Give your priorities to Jesus in exchange for His priorities. When we do this, we cannot be upset by interruptions in our “planned schedule” because it could be a divine interruption.
  4. Seek God, asking Him what He may be leading you to do today. Be ready to be obedient.

Is our faith in Jesus? Do we trust Him to handle our lives or do we have an “I’ve got this one, God” attitude? Sometimes we need to re-center and re-focus our core. If we are the center of our core, we will be in a wobble and out of balance. As we exercise our faith and daily seek to strengthen our relationship with Jesus, our core will become Rock-solid.

“Thank You, Lord, for helping us to strengthen our spiritual core as we diligently center our faith on You. Be the hub of our lives and may the spokes that radiate from You reach others as we serve You.”