Bible Verses About Exercise

What Does The Bible Say About Exercise?

As Christian mothers, many of us long to balance motherhood effectively and to follow God in each and every area of our lives. In our busy modern world; there can often feel so very much to balance. From time spent reading with our children and preparing healthy nutritious meals for our families to prioritizing date night with our husband and keeping physically fit. It can sometimes feel downright overwhelming.

Yet, what if God doesn’t want us to feel in over our heads? What if He desires us to know fulfilment, peace and connection with Him and our families in motherhood? So, just how important is exercise for women in Christian motherhood. How can it bring more peace to our households? Through this blog, I hope to highlight to you Bible verses about fitness which can bring you motivation to prioritize exercise whilst enlightening you about the freedom and joy which God has planned for you as a mother. So, let’s get started with some Bible verses about fitness. 

Your Body Has Significance In Your Life As A Mom 

A key theme within the Bible verses about fitness, is that they speak of us worshipping God with the whole of ourselves. For example, Mark 12 verse 30 tells us “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength”. Gods wants all of us. For when we worship Him with our mind, body and soul; we are placing Him as the rightful King of every area of our lives. 

We can worship God in song, through how we care for our children, within the love of our marriages and by keeping ourselves physically fit and able to serve Him well. In this way; all of our lives are an act of worship to God. The Bible verses about fitness reflect this idea. For example, 1 Corinthians 6 verse 19 tells us “Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own”. Our bodies matter because we cannot serve God fully when we are physically unfit.

Yes, this verse explains that we must live in a way free from sexual sin. It also highlights to us that our bodies are significant. Indeed, the Bible verses about fitness resonate with the scientific research on the importance of exercise. The research tells us that keeping physically fit will benefit us in so many ways; from reducing the likelihood of a stroke to increasing our memory skills and our emotional regulation ability. 

Here in this blog, I will focus on why the research and the Bible are wonderfully in-line when it comes to how exercise benefits our mental health as well as why fitness is so important for our sleep.

• Exercise for women reduces the likelihood of suffering from mental health issues such as anxiety and depression [1]. As women, we have a higher risk level for struggling with anxiety and depression [2]. This is one reason as to why exercise for women is so significant. Keeping physically fit enables us to be the best mothers that we can be; without being negatively impacted by the difficulties of many mental health problems. In this way, exercise for women enables us to be more patient mothers and to know more peace in motherhood. This is proclaimed throughout the Bible verses about fitness which explain that our bodies matter and that we would do well to look after them. God cares about physical fitness because He loves you like a father. We want our children to be healthy emotionally and physically; our Father God wants the same for us. 

• Keeping physically fit is important for our sleep [3]. Sleep underpins all of our wellbeing. We need sleep in order to be physically and mentally healthy. In this way, sleep can help us to be the patient, loving and creative mothers we hope to be. Yes, I know that sleep can be so challenging when you have small children! Yet what I feel is important here is that we acknowledge the importance of sleep. God wants us to rest well so that we can be the precious mothers he created us to be. “In peace I will lie down and sleep, for you alone, Lord, make me dwell in safety” (Psalm 4 verse 8). The research is clear that keeping physically active leads to better quality sleep. The Bible is clear that God made us to need rest and to value sleep. Can you see how the Bible verses about fitness and the research on physical wellbeing are interlinked? They both encourage us to lead healthy, active lives which can glorify God. 

The Links Between Spiritual Fitness and Physical Fitness

The Bible verses about fitness speak of the significance of our bodies and our connection with our bodies. We are called to think about how each of us can function as a different part of the body; and together we make God’s Church – His bride – working for more of His Kingdom to come.

Romans 12 verses 4-5 tells us that “For just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others”. Here Paul explains that we are to give our everyday, ordinary lives as a living sacrifice to God. All of the different functions of our body (from head to toe) must serve God and he uses this as an analogy for how we must serve each other as Christians and so fulfil God’s purposes together. This analogy would not have been effective if Paul did not understand that it was important to keep the different parts of our body physically fit in order for the whole of ourselves to function well. 

Indeed, many of these precious Bible verses about fitness, speak to us about both physical fitness and spiritual fitness. Frequently, the body is used as an example. If we want to live our lives to serve God fully; we need to worship Him with all of ourselves; mind, soul and body. We cannot follow in full the plans God has for us in motherhood if we do not understand the significance of physical fitness as well as spiritual fitness. 

In The Message, 1 Corinthians 9 verses 26-27 is paraphrased in this statement “I don’t know about you, but I’m running hard for the finish line. I’m giving it everything I’ve got. No lazy living for me! I’m staying alert and in top condition”. Praise God! The Bible verses about fitness speak of the importance of an active lifestyle. We need to live with vitality, passion and enthusiasm. Keeping physically fit enables us to do all of these better. Exercise helps us to be physically and mentally healthy; this influences our spiritual health for good. Of course, God can meet anyone and in any situation. Yet, this does not mean that we should not aim to worship Him with all of ourselves; mentally, spiritually and physically. Indeed, the Bible verses about fitness show that there is no separation between the secular and the spiritual. It is all God’s and all for God. 

If we want to worship God with our whole lives; then this includes our physical fitness and wellbeing. 

God has beautiful, prosperous plans for each and every part of our lives. 

What an act of worship it is to dedicate it all to our God; from the mundane, to the spiritual, the physical to the emotional. 

We can serve Him best when we praise Him in every aspect of our lives; and let Him have control of it all. 

May you hear God’s Voice as you spend time in His Word; and may it challenge, encourage and inspire you. 

References

[1] Holland CJ, Cole M, Owens J, Exercise and mental health: a vital connection, British Journal of Sports Medicine 2024;58:691-692.

[2] Why is depression more prevalent in women?, Paul R. Albert, J Psychiatry Neurosci July 01, 2015 40 (4) 219-221; DOI: https://doi.org/10.1503/jpn.150205

[3] Alycia N. Sullivan Bisson, Stephanie A. Robinson, Margie E. Lachman, Walk to a better night of sleep: testing the relationship between physical activity and sleep, Sleep Health, Volume 5, Issue 5, 2019, Pages 487-494, ISSN 2352-7218, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sleh.2019.06.003.