Welcome to Week Four of Commit to Live Fit! 40-Day Challenge.

This Week’s Lenten Focus: Care for your heart

What is Lent? Lent is a time when many Christians prepare for Easter by observing a period of fasting, repentance, moderation and spiritual discipline. The purpose is to set aside time for reflection on Jesus Christ – his suffering and his sacrifice, his life, death, burial and resurrection. [1]

Jesus invites you to love Him with all of your heart, soul, mind, and strength, and to love others as you love yourself.

Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it. –Proverbs 4:23

You’ll notice that the disciplines each week are easy to do, but just as easy to let go of. Lean in; engage with God as we take this journey. You carry the treasure of the Spirit of the Living God in you!  Ponder this week the power of God’s cleansing work in your life. He’s made you new! No spot or stain on you! Care for your physical and spiritual health in a way that honors God.

Last Week’s Disciplines:
Prioritize Nighttime Rest (7-9 hours)
Cultivate a Restful Heart

This Week’s Disciplines:
Work Your Heart
Guard Your Heart

Physical Discipline: Work Your Heart

Here’s a discipline that will change your life if you’ll make time for it! Give yourself permission to take doable steps. If you currently do no cardio exercise, pick two days this week to get out for a walk (if the weather isn’t cooperating, try going to the mall to walk). Plan it on your calendar the way you schedule lunch with a friend. Make a date and keep it! Be sure to wear good tennis shoes that have great arch support (no flats, flip flops, etc.).

Start out slow and gradually pick up your pace until you feel challenged but can still carry on a conversation. That will put you in the aerobic zone (where you’ll more easily burn fat, and more easily recover). Try to sustain this pace for 30-45 minutes. Think about it: giving yourself two hours this week to get your heart rate up and force your blood to circulate will do wonders for you. I’m telling you, eventually you won’t want to give it up (you may even get cranky if you miss your cardio workout).

Ideally, if you can do a good cardio workout 2-4 times a week, you’ll experience great health benefits. Give yourself permission to start small, but do start! That 2-4 hour investment will pay you back in huge dividends.

Benefits of Cardio:

  • Strengthens the Heart Muscle
  • Burns Calories
  • Relieves Stress
  • Improves Circulation
  • Renews Perspective
  • Maintains Overall Health

Spiritual Discipline: Guard Your Heart

Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life. -Proverbs 4:23 

As important as it is to work your heart doing cardio exercise, it’s even more important that you guard your heart from influences that could derail your faith or diminish your impact. Picture a father on high alert who grabs a weapon to protect his home and family. He’ll keep danger away from his family even if it costs him his own life. Now this may sound dramatic but that’s how this verse translates.

God wants us to cherish our heart and the course of our lives with such care that we protect ourselves from toxic attitudes, unhealthy associations, and besetting sins. We need to treasure our life, our purpose, and our influence enough to carefully discern what strengthens us and what weakens us.

Spend some time this week searching your heart and dare to ask yourself the following questions:

  • Am I holding on to grudges and judgments against others?
  • Do I willingly expose myself to influences that I know are bad for me?
  • Have I allowed jealousy, selfish ambition, or envy to cloud my view?
  • Have I stopped being thankful?

If you can say yes to any of these questions, first of all, know that you are not alone! We all deal with these things and will continue to (in increasing measure) unless we guard our hearts. Spend some time with the Lord, and be specific in your prayers. Name the people you’ve judged and refused to forgive. Offer them up to the Lord. Ask His forgiveness for your un-forgiveness. Ask Him to help you release the offense and embrace His promises instead. One by one, walk through these questions and answer them honestly before the Lord. Let Him take you by the hand and lead you to a place of refreshment and renewal. I promise you, He will.

Now it’s time to change your ways! Turn to face God so he can wipe away your sins, pour out showers of blessing to refresh you, and send you the Messiah he prepared for you, namely, Jesus. -Acts 3:19 MSG

I’ll be praying for you as you add these two important disciplines to your life.

Let’s do this!

May you flourish in health, both physically and spiritually!  Blessings to you this week.

May the Lord establish in you a healthy, divine rhythm of life. May He inspire you to make choices that are good and life giving for you. May He strengthen you in mind, body, and spirit. Where you’re broken, may He restore, where you’re weary, may He refresh, where you’re fearful, may He revive faith. May your coming days be far more blessed than your former days. Fully embrace this day! There’ll be new mercies waiting for you in the morning.

Have you found some disciplines easier than others? 

Do you have any tips to share on how you’ve activated some of the disciplines into your normal routine? Leave a comment below, I’d love to hear from you.