I sat there scrolling through my ever-growing list of voice memos. The list of titles are as fractured and disjointed as my thoughts can be. I listen to a short one where I’m just testing Apple’s transcription feature. That one should be deleted. I really need to organize these things with real names. Then I see one that is 7 minutes long. I wonder what I was rambling about here? I push play.
I listened to that voice memo, and it was all related to my grand thoughts and plans for fitness after I finish my hernia recovery period. That was recorded in May of 2025, and I had another couple weeks before I was “off restrictions,” so I was thinking about my road back to a physical fitness. I finished the memo, thought, “Well, never got to doing much with that,” and moved on.
The Holy Spirit, however, had different plans (1Co 6:19-20). Later that day, the familiar, still, small voice crept in and said, “Physical fitness—what about spiritual fitness?” The floodgates opened, and the thoughts poured out like rushing water. That memo was my plan for physical rehabilitation and fitness, but what about my spiritual fitness?
I read the Bible nearly every day. I pray often, but I never feel like it’s enough. I have spent hundreds of dollars and countless hours over the course of my adult life trying to dial in the best physical fitness program for me. What about my spiritual fitness?
- How much time have I actually spent doing this same thing for my spiritual health?
- Have I ever had a well-rounded spiritual routine like my fitness routines in the past?
- Which is more important? Shouldn’t the spiritual get at least as much time as the physical?
These questions, and more, got me thinking. The whole reason I started this Substack was to track and share my thoughts—yes—but consider the title, A Life Rebooted. The main premise behind the branding was rebooting and elevating mind, body, and spirit. So, how have I been doing in the spiritual department?
As I mentioned, I read the Bible and pray sometimes, but not as much as I should. I watch spiritual documentaries and read spiritual books. However, I have given no real structure to my spiritual routine, with the exception of the morning Bible reading. If I were to apply the same principles and planning to my spiritual routine as I do my fitness routine, what would that even look like?
While I have not fully developed a plan yet, I have come up with some core principles for building my new spiritual fitness routine. I derived these from the way I build my fitness routines. It occurs to me that we can structure a spiritual routine like any fitness or health routine using these main principles:
- There should be a daily morning component. Something you do first thing that is short but effective in waking the spirit and centering you for the day—like reading a Psalm or Proverb.
- There should be a daily exercise component. Think of this as your daily walking or running. It should be a sustained amount of time where you focus on something that gets you breathing a little heavy but not enough to wear you out—think daily Bible reading or a devotional.
- There should be a strength and conditioning component. This is where you schedule time to build your spiritual muscles and really grow strong in your knowledge and faith. This could be an intense, structured study of a single book of the Bible.
These are pretty rough concepts right now, but I will be developing them over the coming weeks. The idea of putting real thought and structure to my spiritual well-being, like my physical well-being, gets me excited! As I work through these concepts, rest assured I will share what I come up with.
Let me ask you a question… How is your spiritual fitness? Do you have a spiritual routine, or do you just wing it? If you have a spiritual routine, I would love to hear what it is.
If, like me, your spiritual routine is a bit… lacking… What is one thing you can do to add some real power to it? Take 30 minutes this week and think about your spiritual fitness. Write down 3 ways you could improve your spiritual health. Pick one and do it!
Lord, stir our hearts to chase You like we chase reps—amen.
Feel free to comment and let me know what you are doing or decided to do.
—Daniel