Purpose

Day off. Glory!!! What am I doing? NOTHING!! Until I open my Bible and read:

1Corinthians 9:26-27 “Therefore I run thus: not with uncertainty. Thus I fight: not as one who beats the air. But I discipline my body and bring it into subjection, lest, when I have preached to others, I myself should become disqualified.”

I can’t ever let a verse go without better knowing what it means. So, I start to look up the words. Uncertainty means uncertainty. Cool.

The phrase ‘not as one who beats the air’ is basically what it says. Matthew Henry’s commentary knows more than I do. “Those who fought with one another in these exercises prepared themselves by beating the air, as the apostle calls it, or by throwing out their arms, and thereby inuring themselves, beforehand, to deal about their blows in close combat, or brandish them by way of flourish. There is no room for any such exercise in the Christian warfare.” Basically, we don’t do anything for no reason. We don’t do things that would hinder us in our walk.

Look at what Strong’s says about ‘discipline’: to beat black and blue, to smite so as to cause bruises and livid spots; like a boxer buffets his body, handles it roughly, discipline by hardships.

So basically, we keep our bodies under subjection so that it does not hold us back from our purpose in the Lord. Think about it. Why don’t we like to fast? It hurts. We don’t like to be hungry and feel weak. But think of the spiritual benefits. I’ve never had such a clear mind and spirit as when I fast.

Why don’t we pray? We are tired. It feels better to sleep in.

So we discipline our bodies, put our bodies under subjection. Our bodies, our flesh can’t dictate how we live, or we can’t be effective for the Lord.

So, what am I doing on my day off? I’m starting with a work out and going from there. I want to be all that I can be. I don’t want to get in the way of what God would do through me.

 

Reference: www.blueletterbible.org – all commentaries and Strong’s references