Fall Conditioning

Ready:
Psalm 40:16 "But may all who seek you rejoice and be glad in you; may those who love your salvation always say, "The Lord be exalted!"

Set:
The fall sports season is here again and along with it comes a word that all athletes love to hear "conditioning"! You, along with every other athlete on your team are probably hopping at the chance to run and lift your tails off in preparation for your season...right? In all reality, this is probably not the case but allow me to provide some biblical perspective.

Psalm 40:16 makes an interesting statement when it says "May those who love your salvation always say, "The Lord be exalted!" When considering fall conditioning, it may seem impossible to say "The Lord be exalted!" After all, you are going through a significant amount of physical pain trying to make yourself physically stronger. But instead of focusing on the end result as we so often do, lets focus on the process and analyze our desires before God and His Word. According to this verse, loving your salvation apparently has something to do with you always doing what God desires in your life and saying in your heart "The Lord be exalted!" even during fall conditioning.

Go:
1. What does it mean to exalt something?

2. Do you understand what it is that you need to be saved from?

3. How is it possible to be saved? (www.morethanwinning.org)

4. How does Jesus' work on the cross change our perspective on fall conditioning?

5. Read James 1:2-4 and Romans 8:28-29. What is God trying to do in our lives through the tough things we go through like fall conditioning?