For while bodily training is of some value, godliness is of value in every way, as it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come.

1 Timothy 4:8

Life has a way of filling every corner of our twenty-four hour days, doesn’t it? Schedules tighten. Responsibilities multiply. Good things—even meaningful things—crowd in. Before long, we can find ourselves busy but spiritually thin.

A couple of conversations this week stirred this in me again: if we want to grow closer to the One we follow, we must intentionally create space to do so. It won’t just happen.

Most weekday mornings when I’m home, I see many of the same people at the gym. There’s something admirable about that kind of consistency. Discipline matters. Effort matters and Scripture affirms that. The apostle Paul writes in First Epistle to Timothy 4:8 that “bodily training is of some value.” Physical exercise has real benefit.

But Paul quickly adds that “godliness is of value in every way.” In other words, while caring for the body is good, shaping the soul is eternal.

He expands on this idea in his first letter to the Corinthians 9:25–27. Athletes practice self-control. They train with purpose. They push themselves for a prize that fades. Paul says we are pursuing something imperishable. So he refuses to run aimlessly or shadowbox without intention. He disciplines himself because he knows where he is headed.

The athlete doesn’t stumble into fitness. He chooses it. He structures his life around it. Likewise, spiritual growth requires purposeful decisions—time in Scripture, unhurried prayer, quiet reflection, obedience when it’s inconvenient.

We all have a destination. The question is whether our daily rhythms align with it.

If your goal is to know Christ more deeply, to reflect Him more clearly, and to finish well, then create the space. Even small, consistent steps matter. The reward is not temporary strength, but our goal of lasting transformation. More about that next week.