Spiritual Fitness & Living With Chronic Pain

When living with chronic pain, spiritual fitness can absolutely transform your life
and fully empower you about weight loss motivation…

Gordon Selley's Blog - April, 2010

April 30th, 2010

Spiritual Fitness – Faith Contrasts the World

Faith radically contrasts the worldly lifestyle. This is one sobering reason why it’s so difficult to remain consistent when undergoing healthy change.


As you’re trying to overcome painful wounds or morbid obesity, the battle over your well-being is simultaneously occurring.


The voice of the world boldly gives sensible advice, such as what to do medically, psychologically or alternatively, regarding how to address the obvious problems. The idea of which is to heal, to restore and to bring you back to some form of normalcy. The merits of which are extremely beneficial.


Yet, faith plays an even larger role about transformation. In fact, its integrative qualities provide total healing and optimized health for your entire being.


Faith doesn’t arbitrarily reject sound logic nor does it compete against higher intellect. It simply contends against any thinking or behaviors which oppose God.


In your quest for wholeness, you basically have two options to consider. First, you can simply rely on the entirety of what this world has to offer for the fulfillment of your life.


Or second, you can place your hope in the truth of Jesus Christ, who will open the eyes of your soul to “see” and to “experience” the completeness of life beyond death.


Keep me on your favorites about spiritual fitness. You can begin this exciting journey of transformation regardless if you’re living with chronic pain or if you’re up against horrendous obstacles.


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April 22nd, 2010

Spiritual Fitness – Self-Sufficiency versus Faith

One of the hardest things to do is to fully trust God. When it boils down to life and death, I think most of us are willing to surrender to the idea that it’s better to trust God about matters of the afterlife as opposed to the alternative. Yet, when it involves trusting God daily for everything else we need to live, then why do we get so easily side-tracked into our own sense of self-sufficiency?

For most of us, it’s easier to relate to what self-sufficiency means in terms of identity, security and purpose. And when we fully participate at our highest levels of performance, then we also see the value behind self-sufficiency through the lens of our own human effort, especially in comparison to others and the world around us.

On the other hand, faith is less tangible to our senses. It’s not fueled by self-empowerment nor is it inspired by human accomplishment nor does it subject itself to worldly acceptance. Simply stated, self-sufficiency opposes the power of faith. No wonder one of the hardest things to do is to fully trust God. It requires everything against our human compulsions for self-approval. In summary, taking our eyes off ourselves and looking onto God fully empowers faith to become real as our way for living.

Keep me on your favorites about spiritual fitness. You can begin this exciting journey of transformation regardless if you’re living with chronic pain or if you’re up against horrendous obstacles.

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April 16th, 2010

Spiritual Fitness – The Power Struggle

I had never imagined getting to the place where I resisted the idea of change. Once upon a time when I was younger and healthier, I thrived on the challenges of spontaneity. Nothing seemed outside the realm of possibility. That was then. The story of my life has taken a much different turn than I anticipated. Perhaps you can relate to what I’m saying, when your life unsuspectingly ends up dealing with painful things much bigger than who you are?


When too many days are lost to personal suffering, your confidence becomes shattered and without even realizing it, your ability to cope with change slowly but noticeably diminishes because of long-term pain and brokenness.


So when you decide to make that fresh new start, you probably do so from the starting point of being wounded. Without overstating the obvious, this is much more difficult to do than when you’re healthy. And remarkably, being wounded doesn’t mean that you can recognize the extent of your damage – which is now part of who you’ve become. As a result, your first step in the right direction might be somewhat wobbly and your gait seemingly unfitting to stay on the road to recovery.


But as I’ve discussed before, what’s really being tested? Is it the enormity of your wounds or is it your beliefs? Change is always harder when your beliefs are powerless. When trying to get rid of your old behaviors for the new and improved, inevitably your beliefs are being tested.


Sure painful experiences help to create your conscious memories, but this does not necessarily mean that they have to primarily comprise your beliefs. I know that if I had held permanently onto the hopelessness found in brokenness, then I would have never participated in the redeemed lifestyle. Instead, I probably would have remained limp on the couch, discouraged about the changing world around me and immobilized from lack of exercise while eating myself to death. You don’t have to allow your painful memories to keep you hostage in the miry clay.


Simply, change becomes palatable when your mind is renewed. And when referring to renewal, I’m not talking about compiling more thoughts about personal change on top of your latent wounds. This tendency leads to double-minded unsteadiness in your search for wholeness.


Change is not easy, but it is rewarding. Wisdom does not eliminate your trials nor does it make change any easier to bear. I know this sounds unpopular among those who are searching for quick fixes or who are traveling the path of least resistance. However, the true wisdom of God provides you with the ability to endure whatever you have to face.


As wisdom has formed the backbone of my beliefs, it also has fortified my resolve to move forward more powerfully, as it will for you. Your wobbly first step can be transformed into deliberate, brisk walking against the voice of doubtful and hurtful memories.


Keep me on your favorites about spiritual fitness. You can begin this exciting journey of transformation regardless if you’re living with chronic pain or if you’re up against horrendous obstacles.


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