Swimming sensation and winner of 8 gold medals, Michael Phelps has an Olympic recipe for success --and it involves eating a staggering 12,000 calories a day. When asked what he needs to win medals, he said, "Get some calories into my system and try to recover the best I can." By comparison, the average man of the same age needs to ingest about 2,000 calories a day. Michael swam 17 times in 9 days, meaning that he would need all the calories he can shovel in his mouth in order to keep his energy levels high. Phelps' diet, which involves ingesting 4,000 calories every time he sits down for a meal, resembles that of a reckless overeater rather than an Olympian. Phelps lends a new spin to the phrase "Breakfast of Champions" by starting off his day by eating three fried-egg sandwiches loaded with cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, fried onions and mayonnaise. He follows that up with two cups of coffee, a five-egg omelet, a bowl of grits, three slices of French toast topped with powdered sugar and three chocolate-chip pancakes. That is just breakfast. (USAToday)
"Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. Therefore I do not run like a man running aimlessly; I do not fight like a man beating the air. No, I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize." I Corinthians 9:24-27
Sometimes ministry is just as demanding and draining, if not more. If you are in ministry--and I am not talking just about the position of a pastor--here is my challenge to you. You need to make sure you are taking spiritual calories into your spiritual system if you are going to maintain the energy and edge that you need to be productive and fruitful in the work God has called you. We sometimes make the mistake of thinking we can give of ourselves or minister time and time again without paying attention to what we're taking in. God expects us to grow up in Him to be self-feeders, and we are the ones who are responsible for our own spiritual intake. We need to be very intentional about spending time in God's word, communing with Him in prayer, and ingesting good spiritual reading materials in order to feed ourselves. Our ministries can only be powerful and effective if we minister out of an overflow of our souls.
I want to encourage you to closely monitor your own spiritual diet. Are you starving yourself or being filled with healthy, nourishing spiritual food?
Do you not know? Have you not heard?
The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom. He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint. Isaiah 40:28-31
