But let him ask in faith without doubting. For the doubter is like the surging sea, driven and tossed by the wind.
James 1:6 HCSB

We all hear ad nauseum about the importance of getting enough exercise. We are bombarded by commercials of these new fangled home gyms that come in the form of apps for a bike or a mirror on your wall or whatever they are pushing at any given time.

We all have our excuses for why we don’t get enough exercise. They range from, “I don’t have time” to “I simply don’t want to.” One of my personal favorites is, “I don’t like to sweat.” But, whatever the excuse we simply can’t deny that it is good for us to get exercise. It helps control things like weight and stress, helps us to sleep better, improves our mood and the list goes on and on.

For those that do exercise, we can’t deny that it’s a good thing. But, I can’t tell you how many times I have sat on a machine at the gym wishing that I could hire someone to do this for me. Unfortunately, it doesn’t work that way. Neither does our faith.

But, our faith does need to be exercised regularly. It’s every bit as important that we exercise our faith as well as our bodies. We use the term, “exercising faith”, but faith has to be grown. It gets tested. It must be exercised regularly in order to be strong.

How does one exercise their faith? Well, I’m glad you asked. We exercise our faith by walking in faith. In other words, we make faith a regular daily routine. Every time we feel powerless over any given situation, we give it over to God. We trust God to do what is best for us. When I find myself thinking that I am facing a difficult situation which is impossible for me to handle I like to quote Scripture. Proverbs 3:5-6 is one of my favorites. It tells us to trust in the Lord with all our heart and not rely on our own understanding. When we see things as impossible, we simply need to trust in God who sees nothing as impossible. In Luke 1:37, the angel Gabriel, is explaining to a young virgin named Mary that she will give birth. When she asks him how this is possible since she’s a virgin, he replies, “For nothing is impossible with God.”

Our Faith is like cardio training in that it builds endurance. The more we exercise our faith the more it can endure. It’s also like resistance training in that we push or fight against fear with our faith. The more we use faith to fight against our fear the stronger our faith becomes.

Faith like the body must be exercised continually. We are told in 2 Corinthians 5:7 that we walk by faith, not by sight. Being able to walk by faith is a process. The more we trust in God, the better able we are to walk in faith. The more we respond to situations in faith and not in fear, the stronger our faith becomes.

We know that by going to the gym and doing cardio exercises like walking, swimming, or jogging we can exercise our heart. We know that by weight lifting we can exercise our bones and our muscles. We know that by trusting in God, we can exercise our faith. When we are confronted with a situation that causes fear, we must fight that with faith. Our fear should be a trigger for us to exercise our faith. We should respond to fear with faith.

There are a number of ways we can do this. I suggest having a Bible verse ready. When Jesus was tempted by the devil in the desert, he quoted scripture to him. We can do the same when the devil tries to scare us and destroy our faith. When I was new to exercising my faith, one of my go-to verses was Philippians 4:13, I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. Now I tend to quote Proverbs 3:5-6 when I need to combat fear.

I also have a phrase, “God’s got this!”. I use this one when I feel fear creeping in. I say it to remind me that although I may be facing a tough situation, nothing is impossible for God. I also remember Romans 8:28 which tells us that all things work for the good of those who love the Lord and are called according to His purpose.

I hope that you are getting exercise for your body and your mind. I hope you are exercising your faith, which is good for your soul. Don’t forget to exercise your faith continually. It keeps the heart, mind and soul healthy.

Have a great day!