“Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power.” — Ephesians 6:10
I recently celebrated my 63rd birthday, and yes, I ate the cake. I love cake!
After more than four decades of teaching fitness classes, I’ve learned that healthy aging isn’t about never eating the cake. It’s about what we consistently do before and after the cake.
So, eat the cake. Then lift the weights.
Birthdays have a way of making us think about aging. Another candle appears on the cake, another year is added to our lives, and the person looking back at us in the mirror changes a little. But growing older doesn’t mean we have to surrender our strength.
Over the years, there is a constant in the students I have taught. Those who consistently strength train often look, move, and function much younger than others their same age who do not strength train. In my experience, the difference can sometimes appear to be 10, even 20 years.
I’m not talking about wrinkles or trying to look 25 forever. I’m talking about posture, balance, energy, mobility, muscle tone, and the ability to continue doing the things we need and love to do.
I’ve noticed a change in my own body as I’ve aged too. While cardiovascular exercise remains important, I’ve become even more intentional about strength training and protecting the muscle I have.
Our hearts need exercise, and our bodies were created to move, but as we age, maintaining muscle becomes increasingly important. Strength training helps preserve muscle and bone, supports balance and physical function, and benefits our metabolic and cardiovascular health.
In other words, strength training isn’t only about what we see on the outside. Some of its most important benefits are happening where we can’t see them.
And isn’t that true spiritually?
Some of the greatest work God has done in my life hasn’t been visible from the outside either.
There’s something fascinating about strength training: strength requires resistance.
If I pick up a weight that never challenges my muscles, there’s little reason for them to grow stronger. Appropriate resistance challenges the body to adapt.
Life brings resistance too: trials, disappointments, waiting, loss, closed doors, prayers that aren’t answered the way we expected, and seasons when we simply don’t understand what God is doing.
James 1:2-3 tells us, “Consider it pure joy…whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance.”
I wouldn’t have chosen many of the difficult seasons I’ve walked through. But looking back, I can see that God used them to teach me something I couldn’t have learned when everything was easy: His strength is greater than mine.
The apostle Paul learned this when the Lord told him, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness” (2 Corinthians 12:9).
What a beautiful truth. We often think being strong means never feeling weak. Yet our weakness can become the very place where God’s strength is most evident.
That’s the kind of strength I want as I grow older.
Yes, I want strong muscles and strong bones. I want to keep lifting weights, walking, moving, and taking care of the body God has entrusted to me. First Corinthians 6:19 reminds us that our bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit. Caring for our bodies isn’t simply about how we look. It’s about stewardship.
As I’ve gotten older, I’ve noticed that one of the questions I ask God each day is, “Lord, how can I faithfully serve You today? What can I do for You today?”
That question has changed the way I think about physical strength. I don’t want to stay strong simply so I can look younger. I want to remain strong so I can continue serving God and others for as long as He allows.
“Serve the Lord with gladness” (Psalm 100:2).
I want legs strong enough to carry me where God calls me, arms strong enough to serve others, and a body capable of doing His work. But even more than a strong body, I want a strong spirit that is willing to say, “Yes, Lord. What can I do for You today?”
At 63, I’m not trying to turn back the clock. I’m thanking God for every year He’s given me and asking Him to help me faithfully steward the next one.
So yes, I’ll eat the birthday cake and enjoy every bite. I’ll keep lifting the weights and moving the body God has given me.
But above all, I’ll keep looking to the One who gives me a strength no dumbbell ever could.
“The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him, and he helps me.” — Psalm 28:7
So eat the cake, lift the weights, and above all, be strong in the Lord.
