“All right, this is the year, baby, I’m gonna start running every day. Yeah, I think I’ll even train for a marathon. I’m going to start by jogging over to the refrigerator, I guess.”

Nancy Leigh DeMoss: The apostle Paul wrote to his younger friend, Timothy, and said, “Bodily exercise profits a little.” My dad used to remind us that exercise wasn’t the most important thing in life, but at least it did profit a little.

I’ve found that a habit of walking for exercise does have some profit for health reasons. But I’ve found another reason. Physical disciplines—the way we eat, drink, and exercise—lay a practical foundation for other disciplines in our lives.

I find that being consistent in the little things, like exercise, helps me be more consistent in bigger disciplines—things like being morally pure.

At the start of a new year, what habits can you form that will lay a foundation for a disciplined and godly life?

With Seeking Him, I’m Nancy Leigh DeMoss.