October 19, 2023 • 26 mins
What if the key to achieving your fitness goals isn’t more time at the gym but less stress in your life? Welcome to our enlightening conversation about the surprising effects of stress on our fitness journeys. We challenge you to rethink the role of stress in your life and its effect on your emotions, physical health, and behaviors. Join us as we delve into how transforming our minds, instead of simply following worldly patterns, can lead to a healthier, happier existence.
Imagine a world where your workouts are not a source of additional stress but a path to overall peace. It may sound counterintuitive, but we’re here to challenge the norm. We shed light on the downsides of stress-induced workouts and the destructive pursuit of material things. We draw on the wisdom of Matthew 6:21-34, encouraging a shift in focus from worldly concerns to God’s guidance. This spiritual perspective offers a refreshing take on fitness, inviting you to invest in the treasures of God rather than the fleeting rewards of physical achievement.
Now, let’s demystify the strategies to de-stress and find peace. Drawing inspiration from the Mayo Clinic’s advice, we explore prayer, gratitude, and the pursuit of a higher purpose. We’ll unpack the story of Martha and Mary from Luke 10, emphasizing the importance of spending time with God over being consumed by worldly tasks. We provide practical steps to replace stress patterns with healthier ones and to seek divine healing. Tune in to redefine your fitness journey and discover a path to peace beyond the gym.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Aaron O'Connell (00:03):
When you're trying to do everything right
but you're constantly stressingto do so.
It's the same as like you'retrying to eat in a sandstorm.
No matter how well you'reeating, no matter how nutritious
that food is, if you're eatingit in the middle of a sandstorm,
you're going to be digestingsand, it's going to be dirty and
(00:23):
, no matter what you do, you'regoing to have this buildup of
sand that's going to be weighingyou down.
It's going to be clogging youup.
Welcome to the Y2 FitnessPodcast.
I'm your host, aaron O'Connell,and today we're going to be
exploring why you're notreaching your goals, even though
you may be doing everythingright.
(00:45):
I've been doing this fitnessthing for a really long time and
a lot of people come up to measking for advice.
Unfortunately, the advice thatI give them is usually not what
they want to hear.
In the past, I would give themthe advice that they wanted to
hear, but now that I've foundGod and really found the secret
(01:06):
of living and understanding howour body works, I give different
advice.
But that's because 1Corinthians 1.27 says God chose
the thing that world considersfoolish in order to shame those
who think they are wise, and hechose the things that are
powerless to shame those whothink they are powerful.
(01:27):
His kingdom is a backwardskingdom.
A lot of the things go countercultural to the way things think
they should be.
It's completely backwards.
So why do you think fitnesswould be any different?
1 Corinthians, 12 2, says do notcopy patterns of this world,
(01:50):
but instead be transformed bythe renewing of your mind.
But too often we're copyingpatterns of this world.
When people are asking me foradvice, they usually want me to
show them another pattern ofthis world.
Show me what I can do to get meto where I want to be.
This is not proper thinking.
(02:14):
So often it's not what more canwe do, it's what less can we do
.
How can I stress less?
Because symptoms of stress arereal.
It affects your emotions, yourbehaviors, your thinking ability
, your physical health.
No part of your body is immune,but we all handle stress
(02:41):
differently and it manifests inour bodies in completely
different ways.
But there's a whole heap ofside effects to having stress
headaches, upset stomach, chestpain, insomnia, frequent colds
and infections, loss of sexualdesire or ability, dry mouth,
(03:01):
clenched jaw, cardiovasculardisease, high blood pressure,
obesity, eating disorders,menstrual problems, skin and
hair problems, gastrointestinalproblems, all sort of colitis.
The list just keeps going on.
But still we are searching thisnew diet, this new workout plan
(03:25):
and all that's going to do isstress more, unless you find an
equal and opposite reaction tothat stress.
But in today's world, we're notlooking how to do less to get
more.
That's not what people want.
(03:46):
They want things faster.
They want a new system, a newpattern of this world, but
instead we need to betransformed by the renewing of
our mind, like Romans.
12.2 says.
So back to the gym, where peopleask me all the time what should
I do?
And I started listening to whatthey're doing.
(04:08):
They're usually the onesworking out hard, the ones that
are, because if you're asking aquestion in the first place, it
means you care, it means youactually want something.
So the people that care,they're asking what should I do?
This is where personal trainerscome in.
This is where all the dietscome in.
What more can I do?
But all they're doing isputting more stress on their
(04:30):
body.
When you're working out.
Working out is adding stress tothe body.
If you don't have a proper diet, if you're not getting the
proper calories, if you're notgetting the proper sleep,
working out can actually beharmful, but most people don't
see it that way.
Our bodies adapt to the workingout and slowly but surely they
(04:54):
change a little bit.
But then life happens and thenwe get worse and our body
becomes more resilient to losethe weight.
And this time you're gettingless healthy.
Less healthy, you startdeveloping all these diseases,
whatever it may be, disorders,issues.
And then what do we do?
(05:16):
We go and search more of thedoctors and we get more creams,
more pills, more diets, adifferent way to work out.
But this isn't what we need.
We need more peace.
That is what will really giveus what we need.
There's 1430 is clear when itsays a peaceful heart leads to a
(05:43):
healthy body.
Jealousy is like cancer in thebones.
And what's that jealousy comingfrom?
The need for more, the need forchange, the need to look to fit
in with the Joneses, the needto have the need for world, the
worldly pleasures.
(06:04):
I need the six pack to feelokay.
I need to lose the weight tofeel okay.
This is not peace, this is notworking out of gratitude.
Let me give you an example.
So I have this buddy that's inthe gym and he comes up to me.
He genuinely is seeking,seeking answers, and he listens.
(06:27):
It's one of the very few.
And he came up to me and he'sworking out six days a week.
He's going hard, he's pushing,he's pushing, but he's barely
changing, if anything.
Sometimes he's getting worse.
He's feeling worse, more stress.
His sleep is out of whack.
He came up to me and I startedtalking to him.
One of my first piece of advicewas maybe you need to rest more.
(06:50):
You need to do less.
Give your body the time to rest, because when you're breaking
down your muscle over and overand over again and not properly
repairing it, you got a recipefor disaster.
If you're not meeting it withthe proper nutrition, you got a
recipe for disaster.
(07:10):
That's why you're seeing somuch pain and suffering and
health In the health industry.
Disease is so much reliance onpharmaceuticals, because the
world is just pushing to do more, do more, do more, do more,
stress more, try to get ityourself and not relying on God.
(07:35):
Matthew 621, 34 says itperfectly 621 to 34,.
Here we go.
Wherever your treasure is there, your desires of your heart
will be.
If it's in the gym, if it's inthe physique, the desires of
your heart will be there,because your eye is like a lamp
that provides light for yourbody.
(07:55):
When your eye is healthy, yourwhole body is filled with light,
but when your eye is unhealthy,your whole body is filled with
darkness.
So if you're looking forselfishness, selfish reasons why
you need to change, if you'relooking for that next thing to
change you, you have that falseidol.
Your whole body is going to befilled with darkness.
And if the light you think youhave is actually darkness, how
(08:20):
deep that darkness is.
This is when people are turningto working out, turning to
diets, thinking that's going tobe their savior.
That's why they're strugglingso much.
No one can serve two masters,for you can't serve God and be
enslaved to money.
That is why I tell you no onein the world.
Do not worry about everyday life, whether you have enough food
(08:40):
to eat, what clothes to wear.
Look at the birds.
They don't plant or harvest.
Can all your worries add to asingle moment to your life?
Why worry about it?
Don't worry about these things.
These are things that dominatethe thoughts of unbelievers.
But instead Search God, seekKingdom of God above all else,
(09:08):
and live righteously and he willgive you everything you need.
Don't worry about tomorrow.
Tomorrow has its own worries.
Today's trouble is enough.
And I say all that because we'renot searching God.
I'm not saying, oh, don't go toGod and He'll give you the six
pack.
No, why do you need that sixpack in the first place?
(09:31):
Why do you need to lose thatweight in the first place?
Is it to feel better or is itto serve God more?
Is it out of fear for not beingaround and not having the
lifestyle you want, not beingable to do what you need to do,
or death fear of death or is outof celebration for life, out of
celebration for the God-givenbody that God has given you?
(09:52):
So I'm talking to this guy I'mtalking today, actually and he's
telling me he's like man, youknow, I just I'm working out
less, I'm not worrying as muchand now, with all this added
time that I have, I'm able toread books and I have more peace
(10:15):
.
And now that I have more peace,my workouts seem to be more
effective, I'm getting moreresults.
And I told him I'm like you see,when you're trying to do
everything right, you're workingout right, you're eating right,
but you're constantly stressingto do so, it's the same as like
(10:38):
you're trying to eat in asandstorm.
No matter how well you'reeating, no matter how nutritious
that food is, if you're eatingit in the middle of a sandstorm,
you're gonna be digesting sand,it's gonna be dirty and, no
matter what you do, you're gonnahave this buildup of sand and
(10:59):
it's gonna be weighing you down,it's gonna be clogging you up.
And that's what so many peopleare doing within the health and
fitness industry.
So many people are doingthrough their goals just in
every aspect of life.
They're doing the right thingsfor the wrong reasons.
They have the wrong why sothey're stressing to do so?
(11:21):
They're eating food in asandstorm and unfortunately,
this is what the world is like.
This is what most people aredoing.
They don't even know any better.
When I was in Mexico dirt roadswhen you drive by, it kicks up
(11:44):
sand, it kicks up dirt and whenI was driving on the bus and I
was observing my surroundings, Isaw this little old lady she
had her bags both hands, justholding their bags walking down
the street.
Normally in America we justkind of slow down or, you know,
(12:05):
try to be courteous, or, andwhen that dirt does fly up
anyone that's holding that, theykind of protect themselves, not
this little old lady.
When we drove by kicking up allthis sand, she didn't flinch.
She kept walking through one ofthe deepest, darkest dust
(12:28):
clouds that we just created,like nothing happened.
It was all she knew it was acommon place for that to happen.
So why even exert the extraenergy?
She must have been thinking toherself.
And unfortunately, too many ofus are going through our health
(12:51):
and fitness regiments, goingthrough our life through these
sandstorms, thinking that it'snormal, not understanding the
cleanliness that's offered onthe other side, the other side
that Jesus said he's gonna leaveus with peace.
John 14, 27,.
I'm leaving you with a giftpeace of mind and heart and the
(13:14):
peace I give you as a gift theworld cannot give.
So don't be troubled or afraid.
But here we are troubled.
We're troubled over our workingout.
We're troubled over our goals.
We're stressing left and right,we're forgetting the truths of
the Bible.
(13:37):
Romans 8, 28 says we know thatGod causes everything to work
together for the good of thosewho love God and are called
according to his purpose forthem.
A lot of people say oh, I loveGod.
They stop it at that part ofthe verse.
Everything works good for thepeople that love God, but
(13:57):
there's such thing as selfishlove.
You can love God and all thathe does in his endless mercies
is grace and all that he can dofor you.
But if you're constantly wantingGod to just shower you with
gifts that's only half the verseit says and are called
according to his purpose forthem, are you fulfilling your
purpose?
Are you allowing your workingout, your goal achievement to
(14:21):
fulfill the purpose that youwere called to, or are you doing
it for selfish reasons?
If you're doing it for selfishreasons, it's going to lead to
stress, and you heard all thoseside effects that I gave, and
those were just the physicalones, because there's other
(14:42):
sides of it Increased uses ofalcohol, drugs or cigarettes,
exhibiting more nervousbehaviors, anxiety,
procrastinating, avoidingresponsibilities, changes in
appetite or even eating too muchor too little.
All these things just fromsimply stressing you.
Stressing because you'reoverweight and unhealthy and
(15:02):
trying to do the right things isjust going to produce more
overweight, unhealthy things.
It's a circle.
It's a circle that the devilwants you to stay in.
The Mayo Clinic, a non-Christianclinic, had a book that says
(15:23):
how to stress less and here'sthe six ways that they actually
stated Higher meaning, having abig enough.
Why?
Forgiveness, compassion,acceptance of others and seeing
the good of others.
Gratitude, and prayer andreflection.
This is a non-Christianbusiness.
(15:50):
It's talking about prayer andreflection.
It's talking about gratitude,being grateful for the things
that we have.
Instead of thinking of yourselfas this fat tub of lard that's
so lazy, why don't you sit hereand praise God for the amazing
body and understanding andsaying praise God that I have
the ability of choice, that Ican go change my eating habits?
(16:12):
Tomorrow I can go and startgoing to the gym and things can
change.
Praise God, not I have to go tothe gym.
Pour me, I gotta do this.
It's a complete difference.
There's another story that Iwant to bring up.
(16:34):
It's one in the Bible andthat's the story of Martha and
Mary.
It's found in Luke 10, 38 to 42.
And there's Mary and Martha andthey get into Martha's house
and Mary sat at the Lord's feetlistening all to Jesus' said.
(16:58):
But Martha was distracted bythe big dinner she was preparing
.
She went up to Jesus and shesaid Lord, doesn't it seem
unfair to you that my sisterjust sits here while I do all
the work?
Tell her to come help me, asthe Lord said to her.
My dear Martha, you are worried, upset, over all these details.
(17:20):
So we have one thing worthbeing concerned about.
Mary has discovered it and itwill not be taken away from her.
Martha was so worried about allthe things she needs to do, all
the things that needs to be done, instead of treasuring her time
(17:44):
with Jesus, finding that peace.
Are you worried about all thethings you need to do?
Are you worried more about yourworkouts, your diet plan, your
plans, your structures, yourprograms, more than spending
time with Christ, the Prince ofPeace, the author of life, the
(18:10):
giver of wisdom, the creator ofyour body?
We need to search God first.
We need to search Him, theneverything's going to be that
much easier.
Then, when you go and you havethe favor of the Lord, when you
(18:33):
move mountains, move waters,part miracles happen.
Instead of working so muchharder, you can work so much
less and have better results.
That's what's happening with me.
It's currently happening.
(18:53):
Giving up steroids, all theseother things in my past, worried
, worried, just constantly, justdepressed, anxious.
Now, the more I spend time withthe Lord, the more I find more
peace than Him.
The easier it is for me to doall the things that I struggled
to do before, the easier it isto make right choices.
(19:17):
The desires in my heart are nolonger to find food as a comfort
, because he's the only comfortI need.
I don't need that comfort.
I don't need my gym to make mefeel like I have worth.
But I get to go to the gym.
I enjoy going to gym.
I don't need to be ripped andcut up and have a six pack to
(19:39):
make myself feel like I'macceptable or that I'm good
looking or whatever.
No, I know I'm in the createdin the image of God.
God doesn't make mistakes.
We're fearfully and wonderfullymade, says the Bible.
When I realize that and Irealize the amazing gifts and
(20:00):
abilities God has given me, itmakes me just want to go work
out harder, do all the rightthings better.
That's what God has given me,so I can be ready and capable
for anything that God, the devilor life throws my way.
So I can inspire other people,so I can have what other people
want.
And when they ask me how muchI'm struggling and stressing
what I'm doing, what method, Isay none other than serving my
(20:22):
Lord, and it naturally comes.
It throws them for a loop, butit's the way I can bring Christ
into all that I do.
Serves three.
Five says trust in the Lord withall your heart.
Don't depend on your ownunderstanding.
Seek his will and all you doand he will show you which paths
to take.
But instead we're worried aboutour own understanding.
(20:47):
I got to work out.
I got to eat this.
I got to eat that.
I got to have these diets.
Don't eat carbs.
You just got to go find thatpersonal trainer.
Got to go to CrossFit, got togo do all these things.
Is that what his will is foryou?
Are you an athlete?
Do you have the time to spendin the gym like that?
Do you have the ability to cookall the food that you need to
cook in order to follow that?
(21:09):
Isn't it sustainable.
Why don't you search God thathard?
He'll start showing you atotally different way To
continue after that.
Proverbs three, five and six.
It says don't be impressed withyour own wisdom.
Instead, fear the Lord and turnaway from evil.
Then you will have healing foryour body and strength for your
(21:33):
bones.
But we're getting impressedwith our own wisdom.
Look at me I compete.
Look at me I did this diet.
Look at me I'm following thisplan.
Look at how wise I am.
Look at all this stuff.
We're stressing, stressing,stressing, and we're wondering
why things aren't changing, whythings get only worse, why we're
(21:57):
going so hard and not seeingthe results that we want,
despite us doing all the rightthings.
If you really want healing foryour body, we fear the Lord.
Turn away from evil.
What is evil?
Pursuing after selfish things,doing things for selfish gain,
being a lover of the world,trying to do it all yourself?
So how do we?
(22:19):
What's some steps that we canstart taking to stress less?
Because if I follow the trail ofyour stress, it's going to take
me to the deepest, your deepestfears.
If I see that you're stressingover your children, it's because
you're probably fearful thatyou're not a good mother or that
(22:40):
you're not going to be a goodfather.
If I see that you're stressingso much about your body and your
weight and or your diet, yourdeepest fear is that you may die
.
You may be unhealthy.
My Bible says to live as Christ, to die is gain.
What are you so fearful about?
Do you not believe that God isgoing to work?
(23:04):
All things good for you?
So when we're stressing, what Iwould really suggest is make a
list of your biggest knownsources of stress.
Write them down.
Write them down, see where theyare.
Then explain why each of thesesources of stress stress you out
(23:28):
.
Write a list, then, what you dowhen you are stressed out.
Then maybe figure out what youthink would be a better course
of action when you are stressedout.
Look at those things, bring Godinto it, pray over it.
(23:51):
Figure out why you're doingwhat you're doing.
Philippians 4-6-7 says don'tworry about anything.
Instead, pray about everything.
Tell God what you need andthank Him for all that he has
done.
Then you're going to experienceGod's peace, which exceeds
anything we can understand.
(24:11):
His peace will guard yourhearts and minds as you live in
Christ Jesus.
We need to stop worrying.
We need to stop walking throughthe sandstorms of life and
thinking that it's just normalthat you can't reach your goals,
thinking, oh, it's my hormones,it's my hormones, that's why I
(24:32):
can't lose weight.
Then go find another pattern ofthis world and have them go and
prescribe you these hormones.
So then you get this change forone year, two years, five years
.
Then you find yourself evenworse off than before because
you didn't do the things thatwere needed to maintain that.
Now you're dependent on thesehormones.
Now you're speeding things upwhen they were slowing down for
(24:55):
a reason.
Now you're depleted in anotherarea.
Now you're on a new medication,and then on a new medication,
and then you become 65, 70 andyou're on so many medications.
This is what the world wantsyou to do to be dependent on
these things, dependent on theseprescriptions, dependent on all
these false idols, all thesethings.
(25:17):
But Jesus can heal you.
His miraculous touch is rightaround the corner.
But how much do you trust him?
How much do you really believethat he has his best in mind for
you?
How much do you really believethat if you stopped working so
hard and started insteadsearching God is hard, that he
won't come and make up for that?
(25:38):
That's my challenge.
Let's start, or stop stressingso much and start finding peace.
Peace is what our goal shouldbe, because when we have peace,
(25:58):
that means we're okay, thatmeans we have joy, that means if
you have all that we need,isn't that what we're trying to
do is have all that we need.
That's what will give us peace.
But what do we think we need?
All these worldly things?
No, the world is going to pass.
This is only temporary.
Just stop striving for thetemporary and start striving for
(26:22):
the eternal.
When you're trying to do everything right
but you're constantly stressingto do so.
It's the same as like you'retrying to eat in a sandstorm.
No matter how well you'reeating, no matter how nutritious
that food is, if you're eatingit in the middle of a sandstorm,
you're going to be digestingsand, it's going to be dirty and
(00:23):
, no matter what you do, you'regoing to have this buildup of
sand that's going to be weighingyou down.
It's going to be clogging youup.
Welcome to the Y2 FitnessPodcast.
I'm your host, aaron O'Connell,and today we're going to be
exploring why you're notreaching your goals, even though
you may be doing everythingright.
(00:45):
I've been doing this fitnessthing for a really long time and
a lot of people come up to measking for advice.
Unfortunately, the advice thatI give them is usually not what
they want to hear.
In the past, I would give themthe advice that they wanted to
hear, but now that I've foundGod and really found the secret
(01:06):
of living and understanding howour body works, I give different
advice.
But that's because 1Corinthians 1.27 says God chose
the thing that world considersfoolish in order to shame those
who think they are wise, and hechose the things that are
powerless to shame those whothink they are powerful.
(01:27):
His kingdom is a backwardskingdom.
A lot of the things go countercultural to the way things think
they should be.
It's completely backwards.
So why do you think fitnesswould be any different?
1 Corinthians, 12 2, says do notcopy patterns of this world,
(01:50):
but instead be transformed bythe renewing of your mind.
But too often we're copyingpatterns of this world.
When people are asking me foradvice, they usually want me to
show them another pattern ofthis world.
Show me what I can do to get meto where I want to be.
This is not proper thinking.
(02:14):
So often it's not what more canwe do, it's what less can we do
.
How can I stress less?
Because symptoms of stress arereal.
It affects your emotions, yourbehaviors, your thinking ability
, your physical health.
No part of your body is immune,but we all handle stress
(02:41):
differently and it manifests inour bodies in completely
different ways.
But there's a whole heap ofside effects to having stress
headaches, upset stomach, chestpain, insomnia, frequent colds
and infections, loss of sexualdesire or ability, dry mouth,
(03:01):
clenched jaw, cardiovasculardisease, high blood pressure,
obesity, eating disorders,menstrual problems, skin and
hair problems, gastrointestinalproblems, all sort of colitis.
The list just keeps going on.
But still we are searching thisnew diet, this new workout plan
(03:25):
and all that's going to do isstress more, unless you find an
equal and opposite reaction tothat stress.
But in today's world, we're notlooking how to do less to get
more.
That's not what people want.
(03:46):
They want things faster.
They want a new system, a newpattern of this world, but
instead we need to betransformed by the renewing of
our mind, like Romans.
12.2 says.
So back to the gym, where peopleask me all the time what should
I do?
And I started listening to whatthey're doing.
(04:08):
They're usually the onesworking out hard, the ones that
are, because if you're asking aquestion in the first place, it
means you care, it means youactually want something.
So the people that care,they're asking what should I do?
This is where personal trainerscome in.
This is where all the dietscome in.
What more can I do?
But all they're doing isputting more stress on their
(04:30):
body.
When you're working out.
Working out is adding stress tothe body.
If you don't have a proper diet, if you're not getting the
proper calories, if you're notgetting the proper sleep,
working out can actually beharmful, but most people don't
see it that way.
Our bodies adapt to the workingout and slowly but surely they
(04:54):
change a little bit.
But then life happens and thenwe get worse and our body
becomes more resilient to losethe weight.
And this time you're gettingless healthy.
Less healthy, you startdeveloping all these diseases,
whatever it may be, disorders,issues.
And then what do we do?
(05:16):
We go and search more of thedoctors and we get more creams,
more pills, more diets, adifferent way to work out.
But this isn't what we need.
We need more peace.
That is what will really giveus what we need.
There's 1430 is clear when itsays a peaceful heart leads to a
(05:43):
healthy body.
Jealousy is like cancer in thebones.
And what's that jealousy comingfrom?
The need for more, the need forchange, the need to look to fit
in with the Joneses, the needto have the need for world, the
worldly pleasures.
(06:04):
I need the six pack to feelokay.
I need to lose the weight tofeel okay.
This is not peace, this is notworking out of gratitude.
Let me give you an example.
So I have this buddy that's inthe gym and he comes up to me.
He genuinely is seeking,seeking answers, and he listens.
(06:27):
It's one of the very few.
And he came up to me and he'sworking out six days a week.
He's going hard, he's pushing,he's pushing, but he's barely
changing, if anything.
Sometimes he's getting worse.
He's feeling worse, more stress.
His sleep is out of whack.
He came up to me and I startedtalking to him.
One of my first piece of advicewas maybe you need to rest more.
(06:50):
You need to do less.
Give your body the time to rest, because when you're breaking
down your muscle over and overand over again and not properly
repairing it, you got a recipefor disaster.
If you're not meeting it withthe proper nutrition, you got a
recipe for disaster.
(07:10):
That's why you're seeing somuch pain and suffering and
health In the health industry.
Disease is so much reliance onpharmaceuticals, because the
world is just pushing to do more, do more, do more, do more,
stress more, try to get ityourself and not relying on God.
(07:35):
Matthew 621, 34 says itperfectly 621 to 34,.
Here we go.
Wherever your treasure is there, your desires of your heart
will be.
If it's in the gym, if it's inthe physique, the desires of
your heart will be there,because your eye is like a lamp
that provides light for yourbody.
(07:55):
When your eye is healthy, yourwhole body is filled with light,
but when your eye is unhealthy,your whole body is filled with
darkness.
So if you're looking forselfishness, selfish reasons why
you need to change, if you'relooking for that next thing to
change you, you have that falseidol.
Your whole body is going to befilled with darkness.
And if the light you think youhave is actually darkness, how
(08:20):
deep that darkness is.
This is when people are turningto working out, turning to
diets, thinking that's going tobe their savior.
That's why they're strugglingso much.
No one can serve two masters,for you can't serve God and be
enslaved to money.
That is why I tell you no onein the world.
Do not worry about everyday life, whether you have enough food
(08:40):
to eat, what clothes to wear.
Look at the birds.
They don't plant or harvest.
Can all your worries add to asingle moment to your life?
Why worry about it?
Don't worry about these things.
These are things that dominatethe thoughts of unbelievers.
But instead Search God, seekKingdom of God above all else,
(09:08):
and live righteously and he willgive you everything you need.
Don't worry about tomorrow.
Tomorrow has its own worries.
Today's trouble is enough.
And I say all that because we'renot searching God.
I'm not saying, oh, don't go toGod and He'll give you the six
pack.
No, why do you need that sixpack in the first place?
(09:31):
Why do you need to lose thatweight in the first place?
Is it to feel better or is itto serve God more?
Is it out of fear for not beingaround and not having the
lifestyle you want, not beingable to do what you need to do,
or death fear of death or is outof celebration for life, out of
celebration for the God-givenbody that God has given you?
(09:52):
So I'm talking to this guy I'mtalking today, actually and he's
telling me he's like man, youknow, I just I'm working out
less, I'm not worrying as muchand now, with all this added
time that I have, I'm able toread books and I have more peace
(10:15):
.
And now that I have more peace,my workouts seem to be more
effective, I'm getting moreresults.
And I told him I'm like you see,when you're trying to do
everything right, you're workingout right, you're eating right,
but you're constantly stressingto do so, it's the same as like
(10:38):
you're trying to eat in asandstorm.
No matter how well you'reeating, no matter how nutritious
that food is, if you're eatingit in the middle of a sandstorm,
you're gonna be digesting sand,it's gonna be dirty and, no
matter what you do, you're gonnahave this buildup of sand and
(10:59):
it's gonna be weighing you down,it's gonna be clogging you up.
And that's what so many peopleare doing within the health and
fitness industry.
So many people are doingthrough their goals just in
every aspect of life.
They're doing the right thingsfor the wrong reasons.
They have the wrong why sothey're stressing to do so?
(11:21):
They're eating food in asandstorm and unfortunately,
this is what the world is like.
This is what most people aredoing.
They don't even know any better.
When I was in Mexico dirt roadswhen you drive by, it kicks up
(11:44):
sand, it kicks up dirt and whenI was driving on the bus and I
was observing my surroundings, Isaw this little old lady she
had her bags both hands, justholding their bags walking down
the street.
Normally in America we justkind of slow down or, you know,
(12:05):
try to be courteous, or, andwhen that dirt does fly up
anyone that's holding that, theykind of protect themselves, not
this little old lady.
When we drove by kicking up allthis sand, she didn't flinch.
She kept walking through one ofthe deepest, darkest dust
(12:28):
clouds that we just created,like nothing happened.
It was all she knew it was acommon place for that to happen.
So why even exert the extraenergy?
She must have been thinking toherself.
And unfortunately, too many ofus are going through our health
(12:51):
and fitness regiments, goingthrough our life through these
sandstorms, thinking that it'snormal, not understanding the
cleanliness that's offered onthe other side, the other side
that Jesus said he's gonna leaveus with peace.
John 14, 27,.
I'm leaving you with a giftpeace of mind and heart and the
(13:14):
peace I give you as a gift theworld cannot give.
So don't be troubled or afraid.
But here we are troubled.
We're troubled over our workingout.
We're troubled over our goals.
We're stressing left and right,we're forgetting the truths of
the Bible.
(13:37):
Romans 8, 28 says we know thatGod causes everything to work
together for the good of thosewho love God and are called
according to his purpose forthem.
A lot of people say oh, I loveGod.
They stop it at that part ofthe verse.
Everything works good for thepeople that love God, but
(13:57):
there's such thing as selfishlove.
You can love God and all thathe does in his endless mercies
is grace and all that he can dofor you.
But if you're constantly wantingGod to just shower you with
gifts that's only half the verseit says and are called
according to his purpose forthem, are you fulfilling your
purpose?
Are you allowing your workingout, your goal achievement to
(14:21):
fulfill the purpose that youwere called to, or are you doing
it for selfish reasons?
If you're doing it for selfishreasons, it's going to lead to
stress, and you heard all thoseside effects that I gave, and
those were just the physicalones, because there's other
(14:42):
sides of it Increased uses ofalcohol, drugs or cigarettes,
exhibiting more nervousbehaviors, anxiety,
procrastinating, avoidingresponsibilities, changes in
appetite or even eating too muchor too little.
All these things just fromsimply stressing you.
Stressing because you'reoverweight and unhealthy and
(15:02):
trying to do the right things isjust going to produce more
overweight, unhealthy things.
It's a circle.
It's a circle that the devilwants you to stay in.
The Mayo Clinic, a non-Christianclinic, had a book that says
(15:23):
how to stress less and here'sthe six ways that they actually
stated Higher meaning, having abig enough.
Why?
Forgiveness, compassion,acceptance of others and seeing
the good of others.
Gratitude, and prayer andreflection.
This is a non-Christianbusiness.
(15:50):
It's talking about prayer andreflection.
It's talking about gratitude,being grateful for the things
that we have.
Instead of thinking of yourselfas this fat tub of lard that's
so lazy, why don't you sit hereand praise God for the amazing
body and understanding andsaying praise God that I have
the ability of choice, that Ican go change my eating habits?
(16:12):
Tomorrow I can go and startgoing to the gym and things can
change.
Praise God, not I have to go tothe gym.
Pour me, I gotta do this.
It's a complete difference.
There's another story that Iwant to bring up.
(16:34):
It's one in the Bible andthat's the story of Martha and
Mary.
It's found in Luke 10, 38 to 42.
And there's Mary and Martha andthey get into Martha's house
and Mary sat at the Lord's feetlistening all to Jesus' said.
(16:58):
But Martha was distracted bythe big dinner she was preparing
.
She went up to Jesus and shesaid Lord, doesn't it seem
unfair to you that my sisterjust sits here while I do all
the work?
Tell her to come help me, asthe Lord said to her.
My dear Martha, you are worried, upset, over all these details.
(17:20):
So we have one thing worthbeing concerned about.
Mary has discovered it and itwill not be taken away from her.
Martha was so worried about allthe things she needs to do, all
the things that needs to be done, instead of treasuring her time
(17:44):
with Jesus, finding that peace.
Are you worried about all thethings you need to do?
Are you worried more about yourworkouts, your diet plan, your
plans, your structures, yourprograms, more than spending
time with Christ, the Prince ofPeace, the author of life, the
(18:10):
giver of wisdom, the creator ofyour body?
We need to search God first.
We need to search Him, theneverything's going to be that
much easier.
Then, when you go and you havethe favor of the Lord, when you
(18:33):
move mountains, move waters,part miracles happen.
Instead of working so muchharder, you can work so much
less and have better results.
That's what's happening with me.
It's currently happening.
(18:53):
Giving up steroids, all theseother things in my past, worried
, worried, just constantly, justdepressed, anxious.
Now, the more I spend time withthe Lord, the more I find more
peace than Him.
The easier it is for me to doall the things that I struggled
to do before, the easier it isto make right choices.
(19:17):
The desires in my heart are nolonger to find food as a comfort
, because he's the only comfortI need.
I don't need that comfort.
I don't need my gym to make mefeel like I have worth.
But I get to go to the gym.
I enjoy going to gym.
I don't need to be ripped andcut up and have a six pack to
(19:39):
make myself feel like I'macceptable or that I'm good
looking or whatever.
No, I know I'm in the createdin the image of God.
God doesn't make mistakes.
We're fearfully and wonderfullymade, says the Bible.
When I realize that and Irealize the amazing gifts and
(20:00):
abilities God has given me, itmakes me just want to go work
out harder, do all the rightthings better.
That's what God has given me,so I can be ready and capable
for anything that God, the devilor life throws my way.
So I can inspire other people,so I can have what other people
want.
And when they ask me how muchI'm struggling and stressing
what I'm doing, what method, Isay none other than serving my
(20:22):
Lord, and it naturally comes.
It throws them for a loop, butit's the way I can bring Christ
into all that I do.
Serves three.
Five says trust in the Lord withall your heart.
Don't depend on your ownunderstanding.
Seek his will and all you doand he will show you which paths
to take.
But instead we're worried aboutour own understanding.
(20:47):
I got to work out.
I got to eat this.
I got to eat that.
I got to have these diets.
Don't eat carbs.
You just got to go find thatpersonal trainer.
Got to go to CrossFit, got togo do all these things.
Is that what his will is foryou?
Are you an athlete?
Do you have the time to spendin the gym like that?
Do you have the ability to cookall the food that you need to
cook in order to follow that?
(21:09):
Isn't it sustainable.
Why don't you search God thathard?
He'll start showing you atotally different way To
continue after that.
Proverbs three, five and six.
It says don't be impressed withyour own wisdom.
Instead, fear the Lord and turnaway from evil.
Then you will have healing foryour body and strength for your
(21:33):
bones.
But we're getting impressedwith our own wisdom.
Look at me I compete.
Look at me I did this diet.
Look at me I'm following thisplan.
Look at how wise I am.
Look at all this stuff.
We're stressing, stressing,stressing, and we're wondering
why things aren't changing, whythings get only worse, why we're
(21:57):
going so hard and not seeingthe results that we want,
despite us doing all the rightthings.
If you really want healing foryour body, we fear the Lord.
Turn away from evil.
What is evil?
Pursuing after selfish things,doing things for selfish gain,
being a lover of the world,trying to do it all yourself?
So how do we?
(22:19):
What's some steps that we canstart taking to stress less?
Because if I follow the trail ofyour stress, it's going to take
me to the deepest, your deepestfears.
If I see that you're stressingover your children, it's because
you're probably fearful thatyou're not a good mother or that
(22:40):
you're not going to be a goodfather.
If I see that you're stressingso much about your body and your
weight and or your diet, yourdeepest fear is that you may die
.
You may be unhealthy.
My Bible says to live as Christ, to die is gain.
What are you so fearful about?
Do you not believe that God isgoing to work?
(23:04):
All things good for you?
So when we're stressing, what Iwould really suggest is make a
list of your biggest knownsources of stress.
Write them down.
Write them down, see where theyare.
Then explain why each of thesesources of stress stress you out
(23:28):
.
Write a list, then, what you dowhen you are stressed out.
Then maybe figure out what youthink would be a better course
of action when you are stressedout.
Look at those things, bring Godinto it, pray over it.
(23:51):
Figure out why you're doingwhat you're doing.
Philippians 4-6-7 says don'tworry about anything.
Instead, pray about everything.
Tell God what you need andthank Him for all that he has
done.
Then you're going to experienceGod's peace, which exceeds
anything we can understand.
(24:11):
His peace will guard yourhearts and minds as you live in
Christ Jesus.
We need to stop worrying.
We need to stop walking throughthe sandstorms of life and
thinking that it's just normalthat you can't reach your goals,
thinking, oh, it's my hormones,it's my hormones, that's why I
(24:32):
can't lose weight.
Then go find another pattern ofthis world and have them go and
prescribe you these hormones.
So then you get this change forone year, two years, five years
.
Then you find yourself evenworse off than before because
you didn't do the things thatwere needed to maintain that.
Now you're dependent on thesehormones.
Now you're speeding things upwhen they were slowing down for
(24:55):
a reason.
Now you're depleted in anotherarea.
Now you're on a new medication,and then on a new medication,
and then you become 65, 70 andyou're on so many medications.
This is what the world wantsyou to do to be dependent on
these things, dependent on theseprescriptions, dependent on all
these false idols, all thesethings.
(25:17):
But Jesus can heal you.
His miraculous touch is rightaround the corner.
But how much do you trust him?
How much do you really believethat he has his best in mind for
you?
How much do you really believethat if you stopped working so
hard and started insteadsearching God is hard, that he
won't come and make up for that?
(25:38):
That's my challenge.
Let's start, or stop stressingso much and start finding peace.
Peace is what our goal shouldbe, because when we have peace,
(25:58):
that means we're okay, thatmeans we have joy, that means if
you have all that we need,isn't that what we're trying to
do is have all that we need.
That's what will give us peace.
But what do we think we need?
All these worldly things?
No, the world is going to pass.
This is only temporary.
Just stop striving for thetemporary and start striving for
(26:22):
the eternal.
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