Hi friends… For the next several weeks, Wednesdays will be dedicated to re-sharing some of my favorite posts. I am so blessed to be working on some “big rocks” and pretty awesome God-sized dreams, but I need time to make that happen. So after much prayer, here we are. I pray you enjoy these words… And thanks for extending me Christ-like grace. Oh. And everything is still business as usual for our Thursday #EverydayJesus link-up, so don’t miss it!
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“Ninety-eight…ninety-nine… one-hundred!”
Oh hey. Didn’t see you there. Sorry, I was just working out… you know, pumping some iron, getting in shape. (Does that sound a little too much like Will Ferrell in Anchorman?)
Obviously, I am not pumping iron… but instead am clicking keys. At a pretty rapid pace, I might add. But I didn’t get to this typing speed overnight.
I had to train. Practice. Become stronger in my skills. Like my love of “training” to write/type, a lot of us desire to be stronger in various areas of our lives: physical, emotional, mental and spiritual.
Physical is probably the most well-known category of “strength training.” It really is pumping iron, doing lunges (yuck), mountain climbers (double yuck) or burpees. (Just that word sounds painful. Triple yuck.)
You probably have a few areas of mental strength training you are working on as well. Perhaps it is better memory or learning a new skill (auctioneering anyone?) Or, if you are really mentally motivated– possibly learning a new language (might I recommend Mandarin Chinese? That will keep you busy for awhile.)
When it comes to emotional strength training– now that starts to get a little bit tricky. If you ask me, it kind of overlaps with spiritual strength training. See, here’s the kicker– we have to be spiritually strong before we can be legitimately emotionally strong. We can’t let our feelings guide our faith– it has got to be the other way around.
So how do we build our spiritual strength which in turn boosts our emotional strength? Easy. We willingly pump iron with Jesus. Now as much as I despise burpees and multiplication tables when it comes to physical and mental strength training respectively, I personally believe that spiritual strength training can be the most painful– but also the most rewarding.
God chooses our weight and our exercise in the form of trials and challenges on this Earth. Think back to the last big, heart-challenging (possibly even devastating) event in your life. You had a choice on how to deal with it. Did you allow God to build your spiritual strength in that process?
As much as I don’t wanna admit it, all of those really tough life events HAVE and continue to make me a stronger person. (Why are Mama’s always right?) We are able to deal with those seemingly HUGE, heavy weights God chooses for us… because He doesn’t let us carry that weight alone. And He isn’t just a spotter– He is RIGHT THERE with us, holding onto that ginormous spiritual burden as we hoist it up over our head.
The world says we can’t do it alone. Well, great news. We don’t have to. We are training with God. We are becoming God strong because with each challenging life experience, we can choose to pump iron with Jesus.
Getting Spiritually Buff one Trial at Time,
“I love you, God— you make me strong…” Psalm 18:1 (MSG)
Linking up today with my sweet friend Beth over at Three-word Wednesday. Oh! And be sure to join our #EverydayJesus link-up community right here at 7 Days Time every Thursday!
