The Routine

I used to go to the gym about six times a week. I don’t intend to share this as a brag, but as an example of a season of personal discipline in my routine. I would go every weekday evening besides Wednesday and two times on Saturday. At the end of 2019, I just kind of drifted out of that habit. It did not take long to go from six times a week to a grand total of zero times a week. When the pandemic hit, I had an easy excuse, but when lockdowns lifted, I still did not resume the old schedule. I simply stopped going.

Looking back at that rigorous lifting schedule did not do anything for my physical condition in the present. I was no longer maintaining my discipline, nor was I keeping myself healthy. My diet was no longer shaped by the need to push through hard workouts, and I was no longer ready for strenuous activity. I was allowing myself to age prematurely simply through my own lack of action.

Our past spiritual victories operate the exact same way. They are past. You cannot point to spiritual disciplines you used to practice years ago and count them for your life today, any more than you can point to an old gym membership to stay fit now. You must actively apply yourself to an ongoing routine of faith and fitness today if you expect to experience strength and readiness tomorrow. Your daily, routine disciplines directly shape the real capabilities you possess right now.

I now keep weights on the edge of my office desk. I don’t keep them there as a reminder but as a call to action because strength is not a permanent status you achieve once and keep forever; it is a daily pursuit. Every time I take a break during the workday, I pick them up and do a few sets in my exercise routine. If you abandon your daily reps in prayer, Scripture memory, and personal worship, your spiritual muscles will atrophy just as quickly as physical ones. You cannot fight today’s battles with yesterday’s stamina. Keeping your spiritual tools within arm’s reach and using them consistently is the only way to ensure that when life demands real endurance, strength, and decisive action, you are ready to execute.