Have you noticed that all the exercise gurus are now focusing on core strength exercises? No longer do you just exercise your arms, legs, stomach and back etc. to get a good workout. Now-a-day the focus of a well thought out training program is about developing core strength first and foremost. But why?
What is Core Strength?
Physical fitness experts now understand what yoga teachers and dancers have known and practiced all along. Core strength is associated with the overall physical fitness of the entire body. Your core is what bible writers referred to as the loins…the idea was to prepare, i.e. gird your loins. It’s that part of your body that ties everything else together…it is the center of gravity and the fulcrum for all our movement, stability and strength. So one way to gird your loins is to develop core strength.
Where is the Core?
Anatomically, it is the region which is below the belly button and above your hip joints. More importantly the core is referring to the inner and outer muscular structure of your diaphragm, pelvic floor, obliques, and spine. Without core strength – that is having strength in the deeper muscles of your core – one is more likely to incur injury. Wikipedia defines the loins as the sides between the lower ribs and pelvis, and the lower part of the back.
The Mind is our Spiritual Core
Just as our physical core provides strength and stability for our entire body, the mind is our spiritual core. Instead of muscles in our core that provide strength and stability to our whole body, in our mind we have truth and doctrine that provides strength and stability for our whole spirit man. Isaiah 26:3-4 states…
A person whose desire rests on you you preserve in perfect peace, because he trusts in you. Trust in Adonai forever, because in Yah Adonai, is a Rock of Ages.
Adonai is my strength and shield; in him my heart trusted, and I have been helped…Psalm 28:7
To have the loins of your mind girded with truth is to be strong or prepared in the knowledge of God. It is to have your whole mind filled with the personal knowledge of God so that all your spiritual strength, stability and motion flows from truth based on God’s Holy Word.
Gird Your Mind with Truth
Proverbs 4:23 admonishes “Keep your heart with all diligence, For out of it spring the issues of life.” The heart is the seat of the mind. Our emotional and relational problems are largely the result of a mind that is lacking core strength, a mind that is not girded up with truth. There is only one way to gird your mind with truth and that is by using the same self-discipline you would to participate in a regular physical fitness routine. Set your sights on strengthening your mind with truth by gaining understanding of God (Proverbs 1) through regular Bible study, meditation and memorization.