Skip to main content

Whipped!

whipped pupFinally my brethren be strong in the Lord and in the power of his might. (Ephesians 6.10)

My gym experience continues. I am seeing progress but am also feeling like a whipped pup after every workout. Right now for example my hip hurts, my foot aches and I can barley lift my fingers to the keyboard without grunting.

Why? Is it age? Is it weakness? Is it the intensity of the training? Yes, yes and maybe.

Age fights dirty and saps one’s youthful strength. Weakness is harder to lick than it used to be. The training is intense but could be worse. Building stamina will take longer than it did when I was fifteen. And there is a good chance that it might never arrive at the level that I had way back then.

All of this made me wonder about my spiritual stamina. Do I lose strength as I age? Does the battle’s intensity lessen?

Paul, in the above text indicates that the older we get the more we need to get strong. Life can be a tough trainer. It often has no pity nor mercy. If I don’t get the lesson the first time I am apt to repeat the dreaded reps innumerable times.

The encouragement comes as I examine this text a bit closer to find the source of my strength. Notice it, “…in the power of his might” His who? The Lord.

The Lord’s arm is STRONG. With His strength as my source I need never fear spiritual muscle cramping, fatigue nor exhaustion. God’s exercise plan is not necessarily easy but it is definitely worth the effort. God promises success and happiness as I stick to the Plan.

Spiritual fitness is enviable. Do you know any spiritually fit people. Don’t you just want to have there physic? You can but you won’t find it in a bottle, weight room or on a tread mill. It comes as you dedicate yourself to God, His Word and prayer.

The key word is, “dedicate”. Dedication is a daily, moment by moment exercise that with time will pay great dividends. Don’t give up! If you feel whipped… get back up and have at it again! You won’t be sorry.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Daughter and dog...

About six months ago we discovered that Ann was pregnant and were very excited for she and Jackson. We will have babies on this side and that of the Atlantic. We weren't prepared for that news and we we were even less prepared for the news that our little dog is pregnant. To date we have spent more on the dog than on Annie (don't tell her... Ann that is). Ann has yet to discover whether her baby is a boy or girl. Both ultrasound images were inconclusive. Though I did some further investigation of my own and was startled with what I found. to me it looks as if the baby is definitely a boy and has some resemblance from both sides of the family. Take a look for yourself and let me know what you think.

Urgent Prayer (part 2)

Does God ever give you a gut punch? He did that just a few days ago when I watched a missionary story from the other side of the world. It was short but poignant, and it punched me in the belly button and brought a few tears too. One thing that shook me was the final statement that the missionary made. He was questioning himself and said, I wonder if what I have done will make a difference. This question comes to a missionary's mind now and again as they ponder how vast God's world is and how tiny one’s work is. As I thought, and identified, with his sentiment, the Lord brought a verse to mind that I had used recently in a youth talk. It was this one in John 12:24, “ Very truly, I tell you, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds. ” When, in Matthew, the sower sowed his seed, it was the Word of God. Here in John, Jesus indicates that the seed is the life of the servant. Jesus talked of his comi...

Living Up to Expectations

walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called (Ephesians 4.1) I’m sorry but I cannot imagine being primped to be a duke, prince or king! I have always thought of Prince Charles as a big wuss in waiting. His whole life has been spent preparing to be “the next king of England.” This poor guy has gone above and beyond the call of duty in being groomed for a position that Elizabeth II, his mom, doesn’t seem to want to give up. Elizabeth’s mother, the Honourable Elizabeth Angela Marguerite Bowes-Lyon, lived for 101 years for Pete’s sake! Does Charley have a chance? Doubt it. Why this talk about princely preening? Well my friend it is because we as God’s children are in a similar process. In Ephesians 4.1 Paul goes into some interesting details. He tells us the following. I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called, The word vocation trips us up. I went through my career at GM working my best so that I would plea...