Week 3 Recap: Fitness Bible Study Challenge

Hi Sweet Friend! Today we are going over the days 15 - 21 of our Fitness Bible Study Challenge!

This 21-Day Fitness Bible Study Challenge answers the questions of what God says about fitness, and how to incorporate God into fitness, and because it’s November, we are leaning into the spirit of gratitude and learning to be grateful, not hateful of our bodies.

This challenge will help you build a foundation of fitness based on the Word of God and help you create results with power, peace, and grace.

You can still sign up and do the challenge at your own pace here: https://www.kimdolanleto.com/21daychallenge.

Day 15

Pray for God to make your fitness goals more about serving Him and less about what you look like.

Rather than make fitness all about what you look like, make it about how you live and who you live for. God has placed gifts in you and called you to tell people about Him. When you think of fitness motivation begin to consider getting fit to serve, for example, to go on a mission trip, volunteer for a charity, or start the business God has put on your heart. 

And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen. Matthew 28:16-20 NKJV 

Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen. Ephesians 3:20-21 NKJV

Where Had God called you? What dream has He given you? How would being fit help you serve? Let these answers fuel your motivation.

Day 16

Pray that God would help you choose grace over guilt and peace over perfection on your fitness journey.

When you fall off track, don’t be like the world and beat yourself up and promise to do better next time. Instead of thinking you’re good when you eat good or bad when you eat bad, choose God’s grace, and remember there is no condemnation for those of us who love God and are called according to His purpose. Give God your best for the day and find peace in the process.

There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. Romans 8:1

But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. 2 Corinthians 12:9 NIV

Take the performance and perfection out of fitness and replace it with God’s grace and peace. 

Prefer Video? Watch the Live Taping of this Strong. Confident. His. Podcast Below

Day 17

Pray that God shows you when you’re frustrated that you’re trying to get fit or feel whole in your strength – not His.

We have a choice, fitness can either be a flesh project or a spirit-led lifestyle. A good test to know when you’ve veered into the flesh is when find yourself frustrated. So, when you feel the exhaustion of willpower giving up on you, remember you have the Holy Spirit in you and turn back to God. In Him, you have everything you need.

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Galatians 5:22-23 NKJV

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. Romans 15:13 NIV

No diet can give you the Spirit of self-control, only God can do that. – Kim Dolan Leto

Day 18

Pray for God to heal the emotions that make you eat when you’re not hungry.

When you find yourself eating when you’re not hungry, ask yourself, am I bored, sad, or feeling lonely? And instead of opening your refrigerator, open your Bible and be filled with God’s love for you. Ask Him to heal the hurts or change the habits that make you want to numb yourself with food. 

I sought the Lord, and He heard me,
And delivered me from all my fears.
They looked to Him and were radiant,
And their faces were not ashamed.
Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good;
Blessed is the man who trusts in Him!

Psalm 34:4-5, 8 NKJV

Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; 7 and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:6-7 NKJV

 Ask God to help you repair your relationship with food. 

Day 19

Pray for God to help you fan the flame of your motivation

Have you been waiting for the right time to start getting healthy? Have you thought one day I’m going to learn how to cook, or I’d love to sign up for a workout class, but it never feels like the right time? Life is busy and it waits for no one, so the right time is always right now. Take a step today. Google recipes, sign up for a class, write down scriptures that support your fitness and wholeness and practice fanning the flame of your motivation.

For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands. 2 Timothy 1:6 NKJV

Fear not, for I am with you;
Be not dismayed, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you,
Yes, I will help you,
I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.’ Isaiah 41:10 NKJV

Day 20 

Pray for God to reveal to you how to best steward your time.

We all have the same 24 hours in a day, but why does it feel like some people accomplish more than others? The answer lies in how they steward their time. Consider the amount of time you spend on social media, or watching your favorite series, and begin to give some of that time to God and to your health. 

For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline. 2 Timothy 1:7 NIV

“I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing. John 15:5 NKJV

• Where can you create time for God and your health? 
• Could you open your Bible instead of turning your phone in the morning? 
• Could you give up 30 minutes of TV for a walk with your family?

Day 21 

Pray for God to give you a lasting motivation for your fitness. 

You’re not alone if you’ve worked out and eaten healthy and stood on the scale to see a number that has not changed, or even gone up. This can shake us, get us in doubt, and make us start justifying quitting. But we can’t quit, we need truth and understanding here. Weight loss, fat loss, and muscle gains are all intricate processes that require commitment.

As we begin to get healthy and exercise, our bodies undergo a remodeling process where we hold onto to more water to repair our muscles so the number on the scale does not tell the whole story. Rather than allow the scale to dictate your feelings or motivation, choose to dig in with God and make health, fitness, and wholeness your lifestyle. Consider the other benefits of your newfound lifestyle, better sleep, more energy, better mood, more time with God, and know that He honors hard work. In time, the results will come, and you will be so happy you didn’t quit. 

Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me. Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. Philippians 3:12-14 NKJV

But Jesus looked at them and said to them, “With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”Matthew 19:26 NKJV

Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. Romans 8:37 NKJV

Before you continue your day, let’s pray together.

Dear God,

The struggle to find the motivation to be consistent with my fitness goals has been a battle all my life. But in You, I am not a quitter. I am an Overcomer (1 John 5:5). Your Word says, “forgetting what lies behind and straining toward what is ahead, I can press on toward the goal to win the prize for which you have called me in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 3:13–14). Fill me with Your presence, Father. I want to forget my past failures and recognize that I have this treasure in a jar of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from You and not from me (2 Corinthians 4:7). Today, I’m laying down every time I’ve quit in the past, and I’m declaring that I am done with being a poor steward of my body. No matter what comes, I’m pressing on and promising to rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, and be constant in prayer (Romans 12:12).

When the trials come and the enemy tests me, I will hold onto Your Word that says, “You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you” (Isaiah 26:3). By the power of the Holy Spirit working in me, I will cross the finish line of my fitness goals and give You all the glory by saying, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith” (2 Timothy 4:7). Father God, it brings me to my knees to know that I did not choose You, but You chose me and appointed me to go and bear fruit, and that my fruit should remain, that whatever I ask You in the name of Jesus, You will give to me (John 15:16).

I’m asking and believing and trusting in You alone to empower me to press on and have victory over my fitness, my wholeness, my calling, my everything.

In Jesus’s name, amen.

If this 21-day challenge has blessed you, I invite you to grab my latest book, Fit God’s Way! It will change your walk with Christ, your fitness, and your lifestyle.

Remember, you are Strong. Confident. His.