Transcript & Slides: Pursuing Total Fitness

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Pursuing Total Fitness
By David Feddes

We've looked at various elements of total fitness, and now we want to think about pursuing it—really going for it.

Let's begin with some review. First of all, let's think about what total fitness involves. It involves being healthy. It involves flourishing on the path of wisdom. 

Flourishing in wisdom

In the book of Proverbs, we saw what's involved when you flourish in wisdom: length of days and years of life and peace (Proverbs 3:2); you live longer and better; favor and good success (Proverbs 3:4); healing and refreshment (Proverbs 3:8); filled with plenty (Proverbs 3:10); blessed, long life, riches and honor, pleasantness (Proverbs 3:16–17). It's a tree of life, like tasting again of the tree of life in the Garden of Eden—life for your soul, adornment. You're secure, not afraid. You have sweet sleep. No fear. The Lord will be your confidence (Proverbs 3:24–26).

When you look at that portrait of what it's like to flourish in wisdom, you may feel, "Wow, that's not my experience. I come quite a ways short of that." And you can get discouraged by that fact. But you can also say, "Well, there are some ways in which I'm advancing in health and in flourishing in the various elements of total fitness." So I'm going to take encouragement from that.

We also need to realize that in this life we're not going to experience all of that in its fullness. We are going to experience it in its total fullness when Christ comes again and makes everything new (Revelation 21:5). And we begin to taste at least some of it now as we live in Christ. We know that he already gives us at least a taste of the fullness of life that's going to come completely in the future (John 10:10; Romans 8:23).

So we seek to flourish in wisdom, realizing that in a broken world it's not going to be complete, realizing also that Jesus gives us foretastes and that we're someday going to fully flourish in his wisdom.

Overcoming

• Pornography
• Child abuse
• Partner abuse
• Addiction

As we think about flourishing and about total fitness, we've seen some areas where we need to become overcomers, where we have major problems that need to be defeated. We looked at pornography and the tremendous grip that it has on many people. And if it has a tremendous grip on you, that's an area where you need to overcome by the power of the Holy Spirit (Romans 8:13).

We've seen that child abuse is something that leaves deep wounds and scars. And if you were abused as a child, you need to be able to overcome that in order to flourish. Partner abuse has a dreadful effect on the person being abused but also terribly twists the soul of the person doing the abusing. And so if you're in an abusive relationship, that has to be overcome.

Addiction—whether to alcohol or to drugs or to something else that has an enslaving grip on your life—is another area that needs to be overcome in order to be free and to flourish in the wisdom that comes from the scriptures and through our Lord Jesus Christ (John 8:36).

But we haven't just looked at problems to overcome. We've looked at areas of life in which the Lord Jesus Christ and his wisdom can make us flourish. Total fitness involves spiritual, physical, financial, intellectual, emotional, relational, and vocational fitness.

Spiritual fitness
Close to God, resistant to evil

• Bible: read, memorize, meditate, listen, apply, write
• Prayer: Lord’s Prayer, ACTS, pray the Bible
• Break: rest, solitude, silence, fasting, submission, sacrifice

Let's review some of the things that we've looked at in spiritual fitness. The essence of it is to grow close to God and to become more resistant to evil. "Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Come near to God and he will come near to you," says the apostle James (James 4:7–8).

Bible intake is a huge part of spiritual fitness and of spiritual disciplines. You read the Bible daily to gain more and more of God's truth from the scriptures. You memorize—you commit to your mind and memory selected portions of the Bible so that they're always there. You meditate on God's Word. You take time to think about what's being taught or to think about the particular verse that you're memorizing. And more and more you see how it applies to your life—how God encourages you through it or directs you through what you're meditating upon.

You listen. You listen to the preaching of God's Word on Sundays. You listen, perhaps, to Bible teachers or podcasts or great books by authors who can help you. You listen to others as you study the Bible in group Bible studies, and you learn and listen to them. And as you're doing all that, you apply the Bible to your life. You don't want to be somebody who just hears the Word and does nothing about it (James 1:22). You think of various areas in which you can apply what the scripture says to your daily life. And part of it may be journaling—writing down what you're discovering, writing down areas that you have questions about, and then learning what God is teaching you through the scriptures.

Bible intake is vital for spiritual fitness. And so is prayer—and spontaneous prayer. Bringing God our praises, our requests as they just bubble up in the moment is a vital part of prayer. But so is having a patterned life of prayer.

One pattern for prayer that we've looked at is the Lord's Prayer (Matthew 6:9–13). And we learned that the Lord's Prayer is not just something to be recited but also something that can serve as an outline for prayer: where we address God as our Father in heaven and praise him and think about what a wonder it is to belong to him as his children; where we seek the honor of his name, and we want his name to be held holy, and we praise him for various reasons that he deserves to be praised; where we want his will to be done on earth as it is in heaven, and we want his kingdom to come, and we pray for various elements of the kingdom—various aspects of mission, things God has called us into, things God has called other people into.

And then, when we've focused on God's glory and his mission in the world, we can think about our daily bread, about the needs that we have. We can think about the things that need forgiving in our life and admit them to God and confess them, or people who've wronged us that we need to forgive, and we can pray about that. We can pray about spiritual warfare and ask that God will not lead us into temptation but deliver us from evil, and think about the various elements where we're facing attacks or facing war right now.

So we know the Lord's Prayer—we can recite it and say it, and that's a great prayer. But to use it as an outline for a fuller and richer prayer is also helpful.

Another pattern for prayer is the ACTS pattern: Adoration, honoring and praising God; Confession, admitting your sins; Thanksgiving, remembering with gratitude all that God has done for you; and Supplication, asking God for things for yourself and for others—praying for them. Adoration, confession, thanksgiving, supplication. That can be a pattern that helps you to have a richer, fuller prayer life.

Another way to pattern your prayers is to pray the Bible. The Psalms are a tremendous pattern for prayer. Sometimes you've got to gripe to God. There are psalms of lament about struggle: “How long, Lord?” “Why, Lord?” “When are you going to do something about this, Lord?” (Psalm 13:1; Psalm 10:1). Sometimes there are prayers in the Psalms of thanksgiving, of praise, of wonderful expressions that God is our shepherd, that God is caring for us (Psalm 23). And so we can pray those psalms. There are psalms that are praising and looking forward to Jesus as Messiah, and we can exalt Jesus in those psalms (Psalm 2; Psalm 22; Psalm 110). The Psalms are full of prayers to God and ways that we express the whole variety of emotions—sometimes anger or sorrow, sometimes joy and ecstasy—but the Psalms can give a voice to what's going on inside of us and help us to be honest in our prayers.

Sometimes we can pray with the apostle Paul, where he's praying that we’ll know how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ and be filled with the fullness of God (Ephesians 3:18–19), where he's praying that we’ll be full of faith and hope and love (1 Corinthians 13:13). We can gain wonderful things from looking at what Paul prays for his readers and make those prayers for ourselves and prayers that we offer on behalf of other people.

Or you can look at the prayers of the book of Revelation—tremendous praises of God: “You are worthy to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things” (Revelation 4:11), or praising the Lamb who was slain (Revelation 5:12). Those wondrous prayers of Revelation help us to start singing and praying along with the hosts of heaven, with the saints who've gone before us, with the angels and archangels of glory—and it lifts our prayers right into the heavenly realms.

So prayer is a tremendous area of growth where we can learn patterns, where we can also learn to pray spontaneously in the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 6:18).

Another element of spiritual fitness is: simply take a break. Rest and take a break from busyness. Solitude gives you a break from other people. Silence gives you a break from noise. Fasting gives you a break from food and reminds you again that your physical well-being isn’t everything—that we don’t live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from God (Matthew 4:4).

Submission is a break from getting your own way. You go along with other people to the degree that it wouldn’t be sinful, and instead of insisting on your way, you submit to their way. Sacrifice is taking a break from always having enough and actually giving more than you think you can afford or doing something you don’t think you have time for and just doing that as a discipline—as taking a break from having to always look out for yourself.

So in all these ways, too, we saw that rest refreshes you again for work. That solitude refreshes you again to be with other people. That silence equips you to speak rightly and to control your tongue when it's time to talk (James 1:19). That fasting helps you to enjoy your feasting even more. That submission helps you to then be more assertive when that’s what’s called for. And that sacrifice helps you also to appreciate all the good things that God has given you—and the sacrifice that Jesus has done for you (Romans 12:1).

These are just some of the spiritual disciplines that we've thought about, and they are definitely important as ways to draw us closer to the Lord Jesus in our experience, to make us more like Jesus in our character, and to make us more like Jesus in the impact that we have for eternity.

Spiritual fitness is at the very core of all the elements of total fitness.

Physical fitness

• Nutrition
• Exercise
• Rest
• Caution
• Checkups
• Total Fitness

Physical fitness matters too. Nutrition matters. What do you eat and drink? One of the main areas that many people nowadays have trouble with is too much sugar. Sugar is in a lot of the things we eat. It’s even in many drinks and even many fruit drinks, and we get way overloaded on sugar, which stimulates our appetite and causes us to hunger even more—and sometimes gives us weight problems or other health problems.

But there are various elements of nutrition. We’re not going to go over all of them again, but it’s an important area of our life.

Another area for physical fitness is exercise. You might have a job that already involves a lot of activity, and so you’re getting exercise in the natural course of your day. Or you may have an office-type job where you don’t get much exercise, and so you may need to plan for it—for walking, jogging, swimming, other forms of exercise, or of weights or bodily exercise to keep your muscles from becoming weak, and also to keep your heart and your lungs strong.

Rest is an important part of physical fitness—getting enough sleep each night, taking vacations, and having some fun and relaxing times from time to time, having that weekly day of rest (Exodus 20:8–10). These are all vital for the well-being of your body.

Exercise and caution: you wear a seat belt when you drive. You drive wisely and don’t drive way too fast or too recklessly. You don’t smoke or do things that are very high risk to your health and your well-being. And you use caution to protect the good of your body.

Sometimes you do checkups—you go to a doctor from time to time to make sure everything’s okay. And you practice total fitness because every element of fitness affects your body—and how your body is doing affects the other areas of fitness.

Financial fitness

• Honor God with money
• Making good money
• Money and marriage
• Dealing with debt
• Financial planning
• Rich and poor

Financial fitness is a very important area. It begins by honoring God with our money. In the Old Testament, the way to honor God was to give the firstfruits—the tithe, the first 10% from everything that you had (Leviticus 27:30; Proverbs 3:9). In the New Testament, the tithe is not necessarily a requirement, but often it's an excellent starting point. And if God blesses you richly, you can go beyond the tithe to be even more generous (2 Corinthians 9:6–8). But all of that is to honor God and remind yourself it's not just 10% that's God's or 20% that's God's—100% of it is God's money, and everything I do with my money is to be done to honor the Lord (Psalm 24:1; 1 Corinthians 10:31).

We thought about making good money. When you work hard, when you do something worthwhile, when you start up a business, when you employ other people—that's an honorable thing (Proverbs 14:23). Sometimes you can live in a society that makes people who have prospered feel guilty. If they prosper through crookedness, of course, they should feel guilty. But if you've worked hard, if you've established a good business that profits other people, that employs others, then you can feel good about that and seek ways to make honest, good money (Proverbs 13:11).

We thought about money and marriage. Working together on financial matters in a marriage partnership can be a wonderful and unifying thing. But fighting over money or making huge mistakes about money can be a cause of division in marriage. So we want to get smart about the way we handle our money and the way we relate to our spouse so that money can be a plus in our relationship instead of a big drag.

For many people, debt is a problem. "The borrower is servant to the lender" (Proverbs 22:7), and you can feel kind of like a slave when you're deep in debt. We saw some ways to control your spending, to learn to save up, to deal with things so that you don't have to borrow every time you need something, but so that you build up funds and are able to do that.

Part of that is related to financial planning. You have goals. You save for an emergency fund so that you can deal with expenses that come up suddenly. Or you save ahead so that when you buy a car, you don’t have to borrow to do it—you’ve already saved enough. Or you save ahead for your children's education, or for your own retirement, or for other financial objectives (Proverbs 21:5).

We also looked at the rich and poor. Sometimes those who are wealthy think that people are poor just because they’re lazy or stupid or don’t plan well. That’s not always so. Sometimes society’s structures don’t give some people very much opportunity, or people have health issues or other things, and their poverty is not their own fault. They aren’t to be blamed for it. And the rich need to learn to be generous with them and to open up more doors of opportunity for them (Proverbs 14:31; 1 John 3:17).

On the other hand, sometimes the poor want to blame society or the rich for all of their problems. And sometimes you're poor because you were too lazy or because you made foolish choices (Proverbs 6:9–11). So you need to be realistic with yourself about that and seek greater wisdom. There's a balance in the Bible, and we need to have that same balance of wisdom in our own lives as we think about financial fitness.

Intellectual fitness
We have the mind of Christ. 

• Intellect: thoughts, knowledge, wisdom
• Identity: position, stance, convictions
• Worldview: mindset, viewpoint, focus
• Attitude: outlook, feelings, interests
• Awareness: sense, insight, recognition
• Evaluation: discernment, test, sifting

Intellectual fitness is so important because Jesus tells us: "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind" (Matthew 22:37). God gave the mind as one of his great gifts to us. So keep it sharp, keep it informed. Be somebody who wants to learn more—to always be thinking and discovering and being curious.

One of the things we saw, maybe the supreme thing about intellectual fitness, is the reality that if you're a believer in the Lord, you actually have the mind of Christ (1 Corinthians 2:16). The Holy Spirit who lives in you is the one who reads God's mind and puts thoughts into your mind that come from Christ.

It is a tremendous thing to have the mind of Christ. That involves your intellect—your thoughts, your knowledge, the things that you know—and your wisdom—the exercise of good judgment (James 1:5). It involves your identity, because your mind involves taking a position. Sometimes you say, “I've made up my mind.” You have a stance. You have deep convictions. Those convictions aren't just thoughts that flutter around—they are the truths and the commitments that your life is built on.

When you have an identity in Christ, you say, “I'm his. He's mine. He lives in me” (Galatians 2:20).

It involves not just yourself but your worldview, your mindset, your way of looking at the world. You see things from Jesus’ perspective. You have his viewpoint. You focus on things that are above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God, and not just on earthly things (Colossians 3:1–2). And when you do look at earthly things, you look at them in the light of eternity and in the light of God’s truth and the mind of Jesus.

Part of having the mind of Christ is having an attitude like his—an outlook where you share his feelings, you share his concern, you share his interests for others. You look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others (Philippians 2:4). “Have this mind in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who… made himself nothing… and became obedient to death—even death on a cross” (Philippians 2:5–8). That same attitude of self-giving, of concern, is part of the mind of Christ and of intellectual fitness.

Intellectual fitness with the mind of Christ has an awareness, a sense, an insight, a recognition—the ability to see God’s hand at work, to sense where God’s at work, and also to sense where other powers are at work. That gives you the ability also to evaluate, to discern, to test, to sift (1 John 4:1).

We saw the example of Peter, who one moment had insight from God the Father and said of Jesus, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God” (Matthew 16:16–17), but only a few moments later was telling Jesus not to go to the cross. And Jesus said, “Get behind me, Satan” (Matthew 16:23). Peter could have a thought from God the Father and then a thought that was really having its source in Satan.

We need to be able to discern when thoughts are coming from the Lord and when they’re coming from a different source—whether from our own folly, or a strange dream, or even from evil powers trying to deceive us.

So when we have the mind of Christ, we learn to evaluate—to recognize more and more the voice of Jesus, the kind of thoughts that come from Jesus, and the kind of thoughts that are not in tune with Jesus.

Intellectual fitness, then, is keeping your mind sharp and keeping it in tune with Christ—knowing that you already have the Spirit of Christ in you and seeking always to listen to him.

Emotional fitness

• In tune with reality, others, and God.
• Displayed appropriately.
• Sense true and deep realities.
• Hints of your heart and of God’s heart.
• Limited pain, unlimited pleasure.

Emotional fitness involves having your emotions in tune with reality. When things are bad, it’s appropriate that your emotions are sad. When things are wrong and way out of whack from what they ought to be, it’s appropriate for the emotion to be anger (Ecclesiastes 3:4, 8). When things are according to God’s will and blessed, it’s appropriate to have the emotion of joy and the emotion of peace (Galatians 5:22–23). When people come into your life and God gives you the opportunity to love them, then the emotion of love is appropriate. So you’re in tune with reality—and then you’re emotionally fit.

You're in tune with others. You rejoice with those who rejoice. You mourn with those who mourn (Romans 12:15). You have empathy with other people. That’s part of having emotions that are properly in tune. And your emotions are in tune with God. You learn to feel along with God—to rejoice in the things that bring him joy, to be angry about the things that make him angry (John 11:33–35; Zephaniah 3:17; Romans 1:18). That’s all involved in emotional fitness.

Part of emotional fitness is how you show your emotions. You don’t always have to show how you’re feeling. Sometimes you may be very angry—and maybe even rightly angry—but you do not have to show it or erupt right away (Proverbs 29:11). Sometimes you can control it and reveal it only in the appropriate manner and at the appropriate time. Or maybe sometimes you’re way excited, but you realize that your excitement isn’t quite appropriate for the occasion because there are other people who are struggling. So you learn to display your emotions appropriately.

Emotions are things that lead you into reality and into truth. You can sense true and deep realities with your emotion that sometimes carry you deeper into truth than just your intellect would. I’m not saying intellect is bad—we’ve seen the importance of the mind—but emotion, too, is an element that puts you in touch with deep, true things. And sometimes your conscious thought may not reflect as well as your emotions do.

So emotional fitness is taking your emotions seriously—realizing that your emotions are giving you hints of what’s in your heart (Luke 6:45), and sometimes hints of what’s in God’s own heart. Emotional fitness, too, means that when you do have painful emotions, you realize that they are limited. And when they don’t remain limited—when they just go on and on and on and seem overwhelmingly terrible—then you realize something’s amiss. You seek help. You seek help from others. You seek help from God. You may seek help from someone whose specialty it is to be a therapist to help people with emotional struggles, or to seek physical help because sometimes the emotions are being affected unduly by a problem with the body.

So you realize that the pain, while real and putting you in touch with painful realities, should be limited. It doesn’t last forever, and it shouldn’t be completely overwhelming, because you have the joy of the Lord to be your strength (Nehemiah 8:10), and you have the promise of unlimited pleasure in the future (Psalm 16:11). An element of emotional fitness is being in tune with painful emotions and yet realizing that pleasant emotions—the ones like love, joy, and peace that come from God—are the ones that predominate and that must last forever (John 15:11).

Relational fitness

• Real: honest, sincere, communicative
• Caring: love, empathy, interest
• Stable: steady, faithful, reliable
• Respectful: honor and serve others
• Spiritual: sharing inner Christ-life
• Helpful: connect, affirm, expose
• Militant: battling evil together
• Gracious: apologize, forgive, restore

Relational fitness, the ability to interact with other people in a positive and healthy way, is a vital part of total fitness. And it begins with being real—with being honest, not being a fake, not wearing a mask. Because people can’t love the real you if they don’t know the real you. If you’re always hiding behind a mask, you're not truly known or loved. You're honest. You’re sincere. You’re communicative—letting people know what you’re thinking. You’re caring. You love others. You empathize with them and feel with them (1 Peter 1:22).

You’re interested. You’re genuinely interested in what’s going on in their lives and not just in your own life (Philippians 2:4). An underestimated element of relational fitness is being stable, being steady, being the same person tomorrow as you were yesterday. You may be growing in grace, but people can basically count on you—that you’re not flitting from here to there, that you’re not changing every other moment, that you’re faithful. You keep your promises. You’re reliable. People can count on you (Proverbs 20:6).

You’re respectful. You honor others. You serve others. You recognize their dignity, and you lift it up (Romans 12:10; Mark 10:45).

Relational fitness involves being spiritual. You have the inner Christ life, and you want to share that Christ life. Part of relating with others when you're a believer is that the river of living water that’s in you—the Holy Spirit, the Christ life—is to flow over to others (John 7:38–39). Part of being helpful is connecting with others so that they can benefit from what’s in you, and if they’re a believer, so that you can benefit from the Christ life in them. You connect together to encourage Christ in one another, to affirm what is of Christ, and to expose in each other what isn’t—so that you can help correct each other and get rid of those things (Hebrews 3:13; Galatians 6:1).

As Larry Crabb put it, nurturing this Christ life in others is kind of like digging for gold in a dirty cave. The gold is there. There’s some dirt there too. And when we’re relating to each other, we’re going to be dealing with some of the dirt. But we always recognize: there’s gold there if Christ is there.

So we connect, affirm, and expose.

Relational fitness involves being in the same army, standing shoulder to shoulder, battling evil together so that we don’t have to face Satan and his demons and the attacks of evil on our own. We band together and stand together so that we can resist evil (Ephesians 6:10–13; Philippians 1:27–28).

There is no relational fitness without being gracious—without the power of God’s grace and mercy and forgiveness. Because all of us humans are sinners, and we need to be forgiven, and we need to forgive (Ephesians 4:32; Colossians 3:13).

So relational fitness means that we’ll be quick to apologize when we’re wrong. That we’ll be quick to forgive when others repent and apologize to us. That we’ll always be eager to restore relationships and get rid of the things that divide us from each other (Matthew 5:23–24; Romans 12:18).

Vocational fitness

• Embrace work as glorious
• Deal with sin’s impact on work
• Work for Jesus and bless others
• Apply talents to God-given domain
• Traits: punctual, presentable, diligent, reliable, skilled, proactive, positive, cooperative, teachable, healthy

Vocational fitness is vital. As we've seen, work is a glorious calling from God. We can embrace work as glorious. The Creator put us in the garden, and ever since, He's charged humanity to take care of His creation and to work hard to do that (Genesis 2:15). We need to deal with sin’s impact on work and realize that sometimes work gets boring, unpleasant, nasty, or painful (Genesis 3:17–19). We need to be realistic about those things and deal with them.

As we do that, we realize that we’re working for the Lord Jesus, and that the Lord Jesus is working through us. "Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men" (Colossians 3:23). As we work, we’re doing it for the honor of God and to bless other people.

We have talents from God—abilities that were meant to be used. God gives us opportunities. He gives us various domains—whether in our family, employment, hobbies, or areas of volunteering. We can use our talents and our personality to accomplish things in the areas of responsibility, the domains, that God gives us. That’s a source of great joy and satisfaction and fulfillment when you can really be using who you are to serve God’s purposes (1 Peter 4:10).

We thought about the ten traits of great workers—ten traits:

1. Punctual and timely
2. Presentable—not sleazy or sloppy
3. Diligent—hardworking, organized, productive
4. Reliable—you can be counted on and trusted
5. Skilled—you’re very good at what you do, and you keep trying to get better at it through training and experience and discovery (Proverbs 22:29)
6. Proactive—you’re a go-getter, a self-starter, not someone who needs constant supervision (Proverbs 6:6–8)
7. Positive—cheerful, encouraging, building others up
8. Cooperative, a team player, working well with others
9. Teachable—open to advice, and communicative, quick to learn, quick to be corrected, happy when people tell you how to improve rather than being defensive and angry.
10. Healthy,  health in all areas of life. That makes you more effective in your career, work life, and in the various opportunities and callings you have.

Total Fitness

• Spiritual
• Physical
• Financial
• Intellectual
• Emotional
• Relational
• Vocational

So total fitness involves the spiritual, physical, financial, intellectual, emotional, relational, and vocational. All of these together are very important because Jesus Christ changes all of life, claims all of life, and makes an impact on all of life. 

Fitness facts

• Total fitness involves the total person. Each area of life affects other areas.
• Total fitness is not something you can just name and claim. Each area of fitness grows through wisdom and discipline.
• Much remains beyond our control. But wisdom shows the best available path.

Each of these areas is closely related to the others. Total fitness involves the total person. Each area of life affects the others. So you can’t neglect an area entirely and think that it won’t matter for the other aspects of total fitness.

Another thing we’ve seen again and again is that total fitness is not something that you can just name and claim—“I claim physical health for myself,” “I claim financial prosperity.” No. Each area of fitness grows through wisdom and discipline, not just through expecting it to happen and declaring that it’s going to happen (Proverbs 12:11; Hebrews 12:11).

Another fact: much remains beyond our control. You can do a lot of things right, but life happens. Other things and other people are involved in your life, and you don’t control it all. But wisdom shows you the best available path. You don’t necessarily have problems because you’ve made foolish choices. You may have problems because you’re doing God’s work and someone is opposing it (1 Peter 4:12–14). Or you may have problems simply because you’re living in a broken world, and your health went downhill—not because you were eating wrong or not exercising, but because some things are out of your control.

Still, wisdom shows you the best path so you can do what’s within your power, with God’s help (Proverbs 3:5–6). And then if other things happen, so be it.

As the apostle Peter put it: "If you suffer for doing wrong, what credit is that to you? But if you suffer for doing good and endure it, this is commendable before God… the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you" (1 Peter 2:20; 1 Peter 4:14).

Having reviewed what's involved in pursuing total fitness, we come to four questions:

• What’s your pattern?
• What’s your priority?
• What’s your plan?
• What’s your progress?

What’s your pattern?

Proverbs says, “Ponder the path of your feet; then all your ways will be sure” (Proverbs 4:26). Think about the patterns of your life. Realize this: “All a man’s ways seem right to him, but the Lord weighs the heart” (Proverbs 21:2). You may think your pattern is okay, but only God sees it truly. The Bible warns: “As a dog returns to its vomit, so a fool repeats his folly” (Proverbs 26:11). You might have a pattern that’s destructive—and yet you keep repeating it. You puke it up, and then you slurp it back down. That’s gross, but sometimes Scripture uses grossness to show the insanity of repeating the same folly over and over.

So when you ask, “What’s my pattern?” you should think about your healthy habits. Maybe you have the healthy habit of eating right, but an unhealthy habit of not exercising. Maybe you’re careful with money, but you don’t pursue excellence in your job. Ask: What are my healthy habits? What are my unhealthy habits?

How do you recognize your habits, whether they’re healthy or unhealthy? One way is not just to look in a mirror—because as we’ve seen, “All a man’s ways seem right to him, but the Lord weighs the heart” (Proverbs 21:2). So don’t rely only on your own view. Ask other people what they think and what they see in you.

If you’re married, ask your spouse. Sometimes they know you very well and can give you excellent, candid advice—if you’re willing to listen. Ask godly, trustworthy friends. They can help you see: “Okay, here’s a habit that’s just off—it’s got to change.”

So, how do you know if a habit is healthy or unhealthy? Ask other people—but ultimately, the measuring stick is the Word of God and the wisdom of God (Psalm 119:105; James 1:5).

So think about your pattern. Think about: What am I doing that’s in line with total fitness? And what patterns aren’t in line with total fitness?

What’s your priority?

• What area of fitness is most urgent for you to change?
• What will be most disastrous if it doesn’t change?
• What will have the most positive impact if it does change?

We’ve looked at a lot of things—we’ve looked at seven areas of total fitness, and under each of those areas, a lot of different dimensions of what’s involved in being fit in that area. And that’s too much to just say, “Okay, now I’m going to work on all of it.” You need to prioritize. You need to say, “Here’s what’s at the top of my list.”

What area is most important and urgent for you to change? One way to measure that is to ask: What will be most disastrous if it doesn’t change? What will have the most positive impact if it does change?

For some of you, it may be that you’re addicted. Nothing else is going to get much better if you’re an alcoholic or addicted to some other drug. Most other areas of life will just keep going downhill unless you get free of that. So that’ll be most disastrous if it doesn’t change.

For others, it may be a pornography habit—and it’s just got to change.

For others, it may be your spending. You’re getting further and further into debt, and you know it’s wrecking a lot of other elements of your life. It’s got to be dealt with.

The point is: don’t say all areas are equally important and try to work on all of them at once. It’s true that all the areas are important, but for you individually, what is most urgent right now? What needs to change? You need to prioritize.

And once you’ve prioritized, you need a plan. 

What’s your plan?

Scripture says, “Plans fail for lack of counsel, but with many advisers they succeed” (Proverbs 15:22). So as you plan, seek the input and advice of others.

“Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and your plans will succeed” (Proverbs 16:3). “The plans of the diligent lead to profit as surely as haste leads to poverty” (Proverbs 21:5).

So in collaboration with other people and in dependence on the Lord, make a plan.

You may have areas in your life—after reflecting on total fitness—where you say, “I wish that were different. I’d like that to change.” But wishing and liking doesn’t get it done. A wish without a plan is just a dream. A wish without a plan is just a fantasy.

So—what’s your plan?

You say, “I’d like to lose 30 pounds.” Well, so what? Liking or wanting to won’t make it happen unless you have an actual plan.

You say, “I want to grow deep in the knowledge of the Scriptures. I want to know the Bible a lot better two years from now than I do right now.” Well, I’m glad you want to do that. What’s your plan? Do you plan to read the Bible every day? Do you have ways that Scripture input is going to be a regular part of your life? Because if you have a plan and you stick with it, then you will grow (Psalm 1:2–3).

You say, “I’d like to be out of debt and in a better financial position.” That’s a good wish—but a wish without a plan is a dream. If you want your finances to change, you need a plan, which is also called a budget, and you need to stick with it.

• Is your plan written so you have a guide and a measuring stick?
• What steps are you taking to reach the priorities you’ve chosen?
• Who advises you, encourages you, and holds you accountable?
• Do you ask God to guide your plans and help you accomplish them?

I’ve found it very helpful in my own life, when there were areas I was seeking to change, to write down what my goals were and what my plan was for carrying them out.

What steps are you taking to reach the priorities you’ve chosen? We’ve said it’s important to prioritize. But now—what steps are you going to take to reach those priorities? Let’s say you said, “I want to be free from alcoholism.” Then what? Are you going to start going to AA groups? Are you going to go to Overcomers Anonymous or a 12-step group that can help you with that? Are you going to practice the 12 steps? Or are you just going to say, “Boy, I’d like to drink less”? If that’s all you do, nothing will change.

Who’s helping you? It’s not just about having a written plan, but also about who advises you, who encourages you, and who holds you accountable. Let’s say you’re struggling with pornography. Who’s your accountability partner? Who’s going to encourage you when you slip? Who’s going to give you advice? Who’s going to control the password to your internet filter? Have somebody who can help you (Ecclesiastes 4:9–10; James 5:16). Or if you’ve got health issues, who’s the physician you consult? If you’re struggling with emotional unfitness, is there a good therapist you could talk to—or a counselor, or a pastor, or a close friend who really is knowledgeable in these areas? Who’s going to be your advisor and accountability partner? 

And of course, as we’ve already seen, God must be involved in our plans. Do you ask God to guide your plans? Do you pray about it as you’re mapping out your strategy and your tactics and ask for his help to accomplish them? As the Bible says, “There is no wisdom, no insight, no plan that can succeed against the Lord” (Proverbs 21:30). But “Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and your plans will succeed” (Proverbs 16:3).

So, what’s your plan? If you’re really serious about pursuing total fitness, and you’ve prioritized some items that you really need to work on and seek God’s help to change—now what is your plan for carrying that out?

What’s your progress?

Even Jesus made progress. Jesus was never sinful, but He grew: “Jesus grew in wisdom [intellectual fitness] and stature [physical fitness] and in favor with God [spiritual fitness] and with men [relational fitness]" (Luke 2:52). Jesus Himself is the pattern for us—to keep on growing.

“We will in all things grow up into Him who is the head, that is, Christ” (Ephesians 4:15). That’s the goal of total fitness—to grow up into Christ in every dimension of our lives.

“Grow up in your salvation” (1 Peter 2:2).
“Grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” (2 Peter 3:18).

Progress matters. Growth matters.

So, what’s your progress? Ask that question honestly: Have you changed in any way while studying total fitness?

If you haven’t, the study was a waste of time. You might be able to pass some quizzes. You might know more. But have you changed? Is there any progress?

And if you’ve already made some progress, do you want more? Do you want future changes?

And how will you track it? How will you track advances or setbacks in the future?

One way is having a written plan and writing down what’s going on every now and then.

Another way is to keep checking in with somebody who is your advisor or your partner in your growth. They can help you along in your progress.

And then a final question: How teachable are you?

If you go through a whole course and conclude there’s nothing at all that you need to change, you’re not very teachable. “Do not be wise in your own eyes” (Proverbs 3:7). We need to examine our own hearts and not be the kind of people who keep returning to our vomit again and again (Proverbs 26:11), but instead be people who want to be taught by the Lord, who find new patterns, who make real progress, and who grow up into the Lord Jesus Christ.

It can be discouraging to look at so much and say, “There’s just so much—I can’t tackle any of it.” But here’s the thing: if you’re making any progress at all, that’s a win. If you’re making progress in any area, that’s a win.

So be encouraged. Be glad that you’ve made some change. And now there are more changes that can be made—with the help of God and with continuing wisdom and discipline.

So as you pursue total fitness, ask:

• What’s your pattern?
• What’s your priority? What’s at the top of your list? What are the top three or four things you’re going to really seek change in?
• What’s your plan in those areas? 
• What’s your progress?

Again, a wish without a plan is a fantasy. It’s just a dream. But when you have a strong desire and a high priority, and then a plan for accomplishing it—in God’s wisdom, by God’s power, and with the help of people God puts in your life—then your plan can result in progress.

So keep evaluating your progress. In your prayer life, pray about it. In your prayer journal, thank God for answers to prayer, for signs of progress.

And as you keep pursuing total fitness, keep growing in the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ. Keep growing in the totality of what it is to be a wise and healthy person under His blessing.

Then more and more, you will experience wisdom as a tree of life, as flourishing, as a tremendous blessing and a flowering of the life of Christ that lives within you (Proverbs 3:18).

Pursuing Total Fitness
By David Feddes
Slide Contents

Flourishing in wisdom

Length of days and years of life and peace… favor and good success… healing… refreshment… filled with plenty… blessed… long life… riches and honor... pleasantness… tree of life… life for your soul… adornment… secure… not afraid… sweet sleep… no fear… the Lord will be your confidence. (Proverbs 3)

Overcoming

• Pornography
• Child abuse
• Partner abuse
• Addiction

Total Fitness

• Spiritual
• Physical
• Financial
• Intellectual
• Emotional
• Relational
• Vocational

Spiritual fitness
Close to God, resistant to evil

• Bible: read, memorize, meditate, listen, apply, write
• Prayer: Lord’s Prayer, ACTS, pray the Bible
• Break: rest, solitude, silence, fasting, submission, sacrifice

Physical fitness

• Nutrition
• Exercise
• Rest
• Caution
• Checkups
• Total Fitness
  

Financial fitness

• Honor God with money
• Making good money
• Money and marriage
• Dealing with debt
• Financial planning
• Rich and poor

Intellectual fitness
We have the mind of Christ. 

• Intellect: thoughts, knowledge, wisdom
• Identity: position, stance, convictions
• Worldview: mindset, viewpoint, focus
• Attitude: outlook, feelings, interests
• Awareness: sense, insight, recognition
• Evaluation: discernment, test, sifting

Emotional fitness

• In tune with reality, others, and God.
• Displayed appropriately.
• Sense true and deep realities.
• Hints of your heart and of God’s heart.
• Limited pain, unlimited pleasure.

Relational fitness

• Real: honest, sincere, communicative
• Caring: love, empathy, interest
• Stable: steady, faithful, reliable
• Respectful: honor and serve others
• Spiritual: sharing inner Christ-life
• Helpful: connect, affirm, expose
• Militant: battling evil together
• Gracious: apologize, forgive, restore

Vocational fitness

• Embrace work as glorious
• Deal with sin’s impact on work
• Work for Jesus and bless others
• Apply talents to God-given domain
• Traits: punctual, presentable, diligent, reliable, skilled, proactive, positive, cooperative, teachable, healthy

Total Fitness

• Spiritual
• Physical
• Financial
• Intellectual
• Emotional
• Relational
• Vocational

Fitness facts

• Total fitness involves the total person. Each area of life affects other areas.
• Total fitness is not something you can just name and claim. Each area of fitness grows through wisdom and discipline.
• Much remains beyond our control. But wisdom shows the best available path.

Pursuing total fitness

• What’s your pattern?
• What’s your priority?
• What’s your plan?
• What’s your progress?

What’s your pattern?

Ponder the path of your feet; then all your ways will be sure. (4:26)

All a man’s ways seem right to him, 
but the LORD weighs the heart. (21:2)

Like a dog that returns to his vomit is a fool who repeats his folly. (26:11)

• What are your healthy habits?
• What are your unhealthy habits?
• How do you recognize your habits?
• How do you know if a habit is healthy or unhealthy?

What’s your priority?

• What area of fitness is most urgent for you to change?
• What will be most disastrous if it doesn’t change?
• What will have the most positive impact if it does change?

What’s your plan?

Plans fail for lack of counsel, but with many advisers they succeed. (15:22)

Make plans by seeking advice. (20:18)

The plans of the diligent lead to profit as surely as haste leads to poverty. (21:5)

Commit to the LORD whatever you do, and your plans will succeed. (16:3)

• Is your plan written so you have a guide and a measuring stick?
• What steps are you taking to reach the priorities you’ve chosen?
• Who advises you, encourages you, and holds you accountable?
• Do you ask God to guide your plans and help you accomplish them?

What’s your progress?

Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men. (Luke 2:52)

We will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ. (Eph 4:15)

Grow up in your salvation. (1 Peter 2:2)

Grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. (2 Peter 3:1)

• Have you changed in any way in learning about Total Fitness?
• Do you want future changes?
• How will you track future advances or setbacks?
• How teachable are you?

Pursuing total fitness

• What’s your pattern?
• What’s your priority?
• What’s your plan?
• What’s your progress?