I recently heard a fitness coach say something that caught my attention:
“You’ve got to train to maintain.”
He was talking about aging physically—how after a certain age, the goal isn’t to hit personal bests or break records anymore. The goal is to stay strong, stay flexible, stay mobile… to maintain what you’ve built and keep yourself useful for life.
But I immediately thought of the spiritual life.
Aging in faith is no different. You’ve got to train to maintain.
When we’re young in the faith—on fire, full of fresh revelation—it feels like growth just happens. Every worship service is an encounter. Every scripture feels alive. Every prayer seems to bear fruit.
But somewhere along the way, if we’re not intentional, we settle. We get comfortable. We live off of yesterday’s spiritual strength. And slowly, quietly, our agility in the Spirit diminishes. Our hearing dulls. Our responsiveness to the Spirit’s nudge fades.
Just like in the physical life, if you stop training spiritually, you start losing ground.
You start stumbling, grumbling and mumbling.
Paul told Timothy:
“Train yourself to be godly. For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things…” 1 Timothy 4:7–8 (NIV)
Notice that word—train.
Not attend.
Not dabble.
Not “go when you feel like it.”
Train.
Why? Because maintaining spiritual strength, agility, and adaptability—especially as we grow older—requires effort. It requires consistency. It requires learning new rhythms and adapting to new seasons.
If you want to remain sharp, flexible, and useful to God in your later years, you’ve got to train to maintain.
Keep feeding on the Word.
Keep practicing listening prayer.
Keep moving in the gifts of the Spirit.
Keep pursuing fresh encounters with Jesus.
Keep surrounding yourself with people who stretch your faith.
Aging in the Spirit is not about coasting. It’s about cultivating. You may not sprint like you once did—but you can walk in a depth, a steadiness, and a richness that the young cannot yet know.
Train to maintain.
Enjoying and training on the journey with you,
Les
Share this post