A champion’s workout regimen (Day 5)
In my final year of undergrad I visited this church with my friend and the speaker shared a message with us that spoke directly to my heart at that season of my life. A few things stood out to me, gosh I remember so much of the message even now, maybe because I made notes and reviewed it every now and then during that tumultuous year of my life. I remember him making a statement, he was a big guy, and it was not just size, it was muscles; clearly he was no stranger to the gym or a good workout plan. And he made this statement that made me squirm in my seat a bit, he said that in the gym there were two types of people; those who come looking for a trainer to tell them what to do and those who come with a program in mind looking for a spot.
At that time I was in my fitness phase and I had to admit that that was me, if there was no one at the gym to train me, the equipment 
looked like a foreign language to me and I would try but I would never get the same results because I never took the time to develop a training regimen for myself, or even to understand the training regimen that the trainer was working with, based on my goals. And guess what? Fitness goals aside, sometimes we can approach our spiritual life the same way.
We go to bible study expecting someone to feed us the finished product, we go to church expecting the worship ministers to stir us up and if we didn’t get that warm fuzzy feeling we blame it on them and we go to prayer meeting but let the elders do the heavy lifting, while we silently snore. A true champion at heart however, whether they have a trainer or not, learns and understands the regimen enough to do it themselves. They grow to value their cause enough to learn what it takes to stay fit. Eventually the trainer becomes more like support and encouragement and the trainee can now become a trainer themselves.
What does it take to stay fit as champion for Christ? There are core disciplines that every Christian should make a part of their lives, and constantly work towards developing. Some key disciplines are: Worship, Prayer (fasting included) and Bible Study (if you think more should be added tell me in the comments). Just like anyone starting to go to the gym for the first time you’re going to be clueless the first few times you enter, some of the equipment will look so foreign to you that you may not even venture to use it and if you do, you’ll probably use it the wrong way, you’ll be self-conscious, wondering how you look and possibly comparing yourself to others. Yea you know those long time members who seem to have it all figured out and the bodies to prove it. And if no one comes to your rescue with an introductory lesson, you’ll probably leave having done nothing substantial and never return because you’re discouraged or you may return but only to do the same thing all over again. My point is this, we need trainers but we also need to learn the regimen.
The disciples trained under Jesus for three years, He taught them the theory, demonstrated and gave a them opportunities to practice. He equipped them for the task and they allowed themselves to be equipped by holding fast to his teachings. So that when he was leaving them and he told them to go and teach others what he had taught them, they didn’t start scrambling for their notebooks, instead they trusted Jesus and waited for the empowerment of the Holy Spirit. Once the promised Holy Spirit came on the scene they were ready to work, ready to face all that was coming their way, ready to do what Jesus asked them to do.
This is what your training days are about, working with the Holy Spirit to develop your spiritual muscles, so that when the actual battle comes around you won’t crack under the pressure. The disciplines of worship, prayer and bible study is important because these are the keys to developing a closer relationship with God and building up a defense against the enemy.
“The Lord is near to all who call upon him, To all who call upon him in truth’ Ps 145:18 (NKJV)
“Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people. Eph 6:17-18
“For God is Spirit, so those who worship him must worship in spirit and in truth.” John 4:24
You may be waiting for your moment right now, or you may already be in the middle of your fight but never discount the worth of a good training regimen. Training is always going to be a part of the life of a champion, your victory depends on the work you put in when you aren’t facing your opponents. So which one are you? Are you looking for a spot or are you still clueless and feeling your way around, desperate for a trainer to show you how? It’s okay to be the latter, because developing a training regimen and keeping up with it, doesn’t come naturally to anyone. What matters though, is whether you are the kind of trainee who is willing and ready to learn.
Be a blessing,
KellyP
Remember that you can keep up to date with upcoming entries for the ‘Champions of Today’ devotional series, by simply subscribing, which will mean that you get emails directly to your inbox, or by liking the Royalty Press Facebook page. Entries are posted every other day. If this encouraged you in anyway then share so someone else can be encouraged too.
Kelly is the founder of Royalty Press United. Author of the Gemstone Royals fantasy series, Twist of Faith and Crossroads. Counseling psychologist, proud Grenadian and devoted follower of Christ.
This has been a source of great encouragmemt. Please continue
That was my hope! Thank you and I will.