"God's Workout Regimen for You"

Scripture: "This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh."
-Galatians 5:16

One of the biggest problems we have in the United States today is obesity or being overweight. There was a time and a season where being healthy was the way of life. It was not taboo for your meal to include a meat, two vegetables, and a bread to fulfill the food groups. Within this time and juncture of our lives, we have seen the "Fast Food Boom" takeover. Because of this "Fast Food Boom", many of us have went up the scale in weight and up in clothes sizes. In order to combat the extra weight, we now want to incorporate into our lives exercise and a workout regimen. Some of us like to lift weights, run/jog/walk on the treadmill, do the elliptical trainer, aerobics, run/walk/jog around the track, and other things. However, some of us lack the consistency of working out regularly, thus lowering the weight that's on us. If truth were told, we can lose a lot of spiritual weight if we had a steady diet of God's Word. We could lose weight with a steady diet of doing what's right in the eyesight of God. Today's text gives us the perfect workout regimen to help us lose weight spiritually as well as physically.

Today, our Father has shifted today's devotional thoughts to the book of Galatians. Almost half of the books in the New Testament were written by the Apostle Paul and Galatians was one of them. This book was written to the church at Galatia. Scholars state that this letter dealt with the controversy surrounding Gentile Christians and the Mosaic Law within Early Christianity. Within this particular chapter of Galatians, we find Paul discussing the fruit of the Spirit and works of the flesh. Also, he provided today's main scripture to further obtain clarity on God's workout regimen for you and me.

Paul begins the text with the answer by saying, "This I say then, Walk in the Spirit". Wow! What a short and yet profound statement! In order for us to lose the spiritual, mental, emotional, and any other kind of weight, you must walk in the Spirit. Does it mean physically walk in the Spirit? No, it means live your life where your directives and orders are Spirit-driven. In other words, if you have this weight of low self esteem, begin to walk boldly in the Spirit and say, "I am who God says I am and I am more than a conqueror" and watch you begin to shed that weight. If you have this weight of depression, begin to walk boldly in the Spirit and say, "Thank God for another day, every day is a day of thanksgiving, and I will magnify the Lord today for He is good" and watch you begin to shed that weight. If you have this weight of loneliness, walk in the Spirit and say, "God, You told me that You would never leave me nor forsake me and I'm going to take You at Your Word" and watch you begin to shed that weight. If you have a weight of being a shopaholic, begin to walk in the Spirit and say, "Do I really need X today or do I want it?" If the answer is you want it and you do not buy it, then, you are shedding that weight. God wants you to lose weight and it's simple but not simple: Just walk in the Spirit!

When we walk in the Spirit, then we will be able to do like the final portion of the text says, "and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh." If truth were told, our flesh has brought us SO much trouble within our lifetime. Our flesh has allowed us to hurt so many people's feelings. Our flesh has allowed us to destroy the healthiest of friendships. Our flesh has allowed us to lose the best of jobs. When you are walking in the Spirit, you are giving utterance to the Spirit and telling the flesh to bow down and sit down! If truth were told, we all have our issues we need to say bow down because we're walking in the Spirit. What things need to bow down? Backbiting, tattling, lying, killing one another, gluttony, jealousy, and a list of other things. I am encouraged to know that we can do anything we choose to if we set our minds to it. That's why Paul told the Romans "but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind". It's critical because TV will have you believing one thing, but God wants you to know the truth! The truth is the flesh is NO good to you, but it's your Spirit man that needs to be fed and needs to lead you!

In closing, many of us are emotionally obese and physically obese. We can easily shed this weight if we allow the Spirit of God to be our guide and we walk in His Spirit and put down the desires of your flesh. I encourage you to get on this workout regimen and when you begin to shed weight, I would love to hear about it!