The corporate wellness coach who visits my place of employment recently gave us a sheet of exercises to “strengthen our core.” The body’s core, the area around the trunk and pelvis, is where the body’s center of gravity is located and where all movement of the body originates. A good, strong core necessitates the muscles there working together in harmony. Such a core offers increased protection for less-fortified body parts, enables better control of movement, gives more stable balance, and provides support for almost all activities. It makes one less susceptible to the pain or injuries that are common when there is insufficient strength.
How well this applies to the inner self! We have inside us a “core” that largely determines how we handle the stuff of life. The components of this core may be called many things: coping strategies, self-management, emotional competency, social intelligence, relational skills, belief system, world-view, paradigm. I think none are more important than faith: Faith in God, faith in myself as a child of God, faith in the reliable working of all things eventually for my good. (Note: Some restrictions apply! “We know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him [margin reading, or works together with those who love him to bring about what is good], who have been called according to his purpose.” Romans 8:28 NIV, emphasis mine)
What strengthens that inner core of faith? The same thing that strengthens the core physically. Exercise! Regular, proper exercise. Practice asking God for His help and guidance, and then practice believing that He will provide those very things. Listen for His voice in the written Word and in the whisperings of the Holy Spirit. Respond to God’s love and attention with your love and attention. Approach your responsibilities with strength and your problems with courage for He has said, “Be strong and courageous! . . . Do not be afraid or discouraged, for the Lord will personally go ahead of you. He will be with you; he will neither fail you nor abandon you.” (Deuteronomy 31:6, 8 NLT)
If that inner core of faith is strong, we have increased protection for the areas where we are vulnerable to temptation. We have more self-control, and can attain better balance in our living. We have inner reinforcement for all our activities, and thus are less likely to be overwhelmed by the natural “wear and tear” of daily life.
What an amazing thing God did when He created us!
MaryMartha
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Scripture quotation marked NIV taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®. NIV®. Copyright©1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved. Scripture quotations marked NLT are taken from The Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. United States of America. All rights reserved.
Email: mrymrtha@gmail.com
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