Walking in Strength
“…being strengthened in all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience.” Col. 1:11
Well, I did it. I finally joined a gym. Lord knows this girl needed to a LONG time ago, but if you know me well, then you know that I am a CHEAPSKATE!!! I don’t spend extra money if I don’t have to. Excepts for when a new gym comes to town flaunting their low price of $10 a month… you have my attention
I walked in, my sporty black leggings on and a big ol’ tshirt covering up my… well, my big ol’ backside… ready to go! Then I looked around and was immediately overwhelmed!! There were so many machines. I had never seen half of them before in my life. I figured the treadmill would be the easiest to figure out, so I headed that way and then froze. Buttons! There were so many buttons. Red buttons, yellow buttons, big buttons, small buttons. Which BUTTON was the one to get this party started? Well, no worries, I finally got it figured out and with my warm up walk knocked out, I was on to the next machine.
The elliptical! The name alone conjures up images of a slimy sea creature with tentacles and suction cups, and a big, black eye with a death glare, staring straight into your soul. As its name implies, the machine matched the description tentacle for tentacle. Oh, my goodness! It kicked my tail BAD. I could only manage three minutes on that torture devise. Even so, I must say that I felt like I was a better woman for the effort.
So, with day one I accomplish “arm day” without incident, I was ready for day two... or so I thought. Day two brought on those two dreaded words "LEG DAY". Leg day proved to be a lesson in true endurance. It was everything I had heard it would be. It was grueling. I sweated. I grunted. I crawled out of the gym sore, but exhilarated!! Once again, what a struggle, but Oh, what a feeling!!
By now, I’m sure you’re wondering why I'm going on and on about my new gym membership. Patience now. I'm getting there. You see, a day after my leg day, I realized how much stronger my legs were already feeling. Just walking down the hall, each step felt like it had more purpose, more control. I was walking in a new strength! And THAT'S what got me thinking about things like….
How we as Christians can walk in a new strength everyday… in the Lord, if we just put forth some effort.
How our Bibles are like a spiritual gym. Each book in the Bible, a new and unusual piece of equipment to train and strengthen each section of our faith.
How trials are our endurance training. Each new trial will have an added weight to it. When you’ve mastered the strain of one trial, it’s on to the next, to exercise yet another truth from God’s gym… His Word.
I know I may be stretching it just a bit... (Did you see what I just did there? 😉), but in his Word, God speaks about endurance often.
In the Bible, James, Jesus’ own stepbrother, says, “Hey guys, you need to get excited about when you go through trials, because those trials are going to bring on spiritual muscles. Those trials are going to make your strength training complete” Oh wait. That’s what the NCT version says, the New Christy Translation version. The KJV says it this way….
“My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into divers temptations; knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience. But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing.”
James 1:2-4
Spiritual muscles. You may be wondering what spiritual muscles looks like? Well, they look like the fruit of the spirit. They look like love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faith, gentleness, self-control. Just as body builders check out their muscles in a mirror, we should be checking out our spiritual muscles through the mirror of God's word.
Paul even uses sport analogies in track and fisticuffs (Boxing, I just like saying fisticuffs.) as examples of strength training and endurance. ”Don’t you know that the runners in a stadium all race, but only one receives the prize? Run in such a way to win the prize. Now everyone who competes, exercises self-control in everything. However, they do it to receive a crown that will fade away, but we a crown that will never fade away. Therefore I do not run like one who runs aimlessly or box like one beating the air. Instead, I discipline my body and bring it under strict control, so that after preaching to others, I myself will not be disqualified. 1 Cor. 9:24-27 HCSB
In other words, athletes running in a race must train and train hard!! They train for the strength and endurance to be able to run as fast and as hard as they possible can, so they can win the prize. As a boxer, fighting with all his might to win the title. We too, are in a fight. A mighty fight of good versus evil. Between our will and His will, between the temptations of Satan and the truths of God. How will we ever win a battle, a match, a prize if we never put the time in at “the gym”, God’s Word. How can you expect to withstand the endurance training, the trials of life, if you never allow God to work your faith?
“A faith that can’t be tested, can't be trusted.” -Adrian Rogers
So I encourage you today, to invest in your own spiritual training. Paul tells us to work out our own salvation…. So go and WORK OUT!!
The minute you forget that you are a soldier in a war, a fighter in the ring, a runner in the great race, is the minute you’ll lose the battle, the match, the victory.
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