“Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.” Proverbs 4:23 (NIV)
The heart is essential not only to life, but also to every form of exercise. And exercise is an important factor in caring for the heart. Clearly, cardiovascular exercise benefits the heart by making the heart muscle stronger, helping it to pump more blood per beat. But do you realize the role of the heart in all forms of exercise? The heart pumps blood throughout our bodies, bringing oxygen and other nutrients to our working muscles. This oxygen is necessary for the body to produce the sustained energy necessary for most forms exercise. The pumped blood also carries away waste products that could otherwise be harmful to our working systems. Said differently, the heart is designed to fuel & facilitate fruitful behavior while is also purifies & protects from the bad. But we must take care of it.
Similarly, the heart is the center of our spiritual life too. God begs us to guard our heart and to watch over it, because out if it flows everything we do. David pleads for God to create in him a clean heart so that he can please God in all he says & does (Psalm 51:10-13). Again, our heart is central to everything we do, but we must take care of it. It marvels me how God makes the role of our physical heart so similar to that of our spiritual heart!
As you exercise, capture the time. Use it to care for your heart in two ways. Use the time you spend strengthening your physical heart to also cleanse & grow your spiritual heart. Consider how God might want you to be as proactive about your spiritual heart as you are about your physical heart. It’s an investment well worth it! For from it flow the springs of life!
ShemaFit 