Workout

1 Samuel 16:²³ “After that, whenever the bad depression from God tormented Saul, David got out his harp and played. That would calm Saul down, and he would feel better as the moodiness lifted.” (MSG).

The third exercise for a spiritually healthy heart is The Exercise of Recreation. There is a huge difference between amusement and recreation. We often go to amusement parks to amuse ourselves; it is purely for amusement. People get amused but they are still tired. Amusement leaves you more tired than when you started because amusement can drain you. Recreation, on the other hand, refreshes you and renews you. So, if you go on an amusement vacation, most times, you come back tired. But if you go on a recreative vacation, you come back recharged. Amusement is mostly about what is being done to excite us.

Recreation is more about what we do to release the creative juices in us. Recreation allows us to express our creativity like God. The more creative you are, the more like God you are. You say, ‘But I am not creative’. There is nothing like that. There is no one that is not creative. You have just been told that you are not, or your experiences have told you a lie and you bought the lie. Everybody is creative. But I am not even an outdoor person, what can I do creatively indoors? Do you know that cooking is creative? Cooking actually refuels some people.

Painting is creative. Writing is creative. Playing a musical instrument is creative. Just plug the piano and play, pick one song, and play it in different ways with different kinds of chords. Play it with different kinds of modes—a very sad mode, or a very bright mode. That is creativity. Some are outdoor people; you may enjoy fishing. Fishing is creativity. Golfing is creativity, do you know that? In golfing, every shot is a creative exercise because you need to envision the shot, and how to curve it. There are various ways of playing a particular shot. You need to be creative. For some people it is soccer. Do you know soccer is very creative? In fact, that is one of the most creative sports I have experienced maybe because of the way I play soccer.

For some people, it is swimming. By the time you exercise your creativity, you actually are exercising recreation. Guess what? Your heart becomes healthier. Recreation is a heart exercise. Do you know that if you were cranky, upset, angry, bitter, disappointed, or disillusioned and you are given to any of these kinds of recreation, as you engage you will discover that your heart is calmer, and your perspective is sharper? The problem may still be there, but you will see it differently.

Prayer: Father, as I deploy the exercise of recreation let my heart be spiritually healthy, in Jesus Name. Amen!