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

Tottering!

I was watching my one year old grandson, Brandon, today. He had on some baggy little shorts, weird flip-flops over his socks, and he was tottering. It made me think about how I often feel these days. Funny how that when we are little and "innocent" and tottering in our baggy pants, with our little potbelly sticking out from under our t-shirt we look precious. When we are older and tottering in our low slung trousers and the same potbelly, we looks pathetic! I guess that the two drastically opposite points of view are based on the viewer's chronological perspective. Brandon is growing and I'm dying. He is cute because the little guy has a lot to learn and we love to see him progress. The old guy has already had his chance at learning and what he is progressing toward is not quite so much fun to ponder. When I have these weird thoughts I praise my God because He never lets go of my hand whether a tottering little guy or an old one. And I found this verse to prove my po...

What Are You Worth?

What are you Worth?  Have you ever thought about what you are worth? In investing circles there is a term used to gauge this exact question, it's called Net Worth. You take all of your assets, like property owned, funds in your bank account, clothes, jewelry, car, etc.. You total all of these things. You then take everything you owe, like mortgage, car loan, and credit card debt, and you subtract these items from the first total. This gives you your net worth. That number represents where you are financially. Most people never stop to think about this number because they don't understand anything about it. They never have two nickels to rub together. They live from hand to mouth and know (or at least believe) nothing will ever change so, they fall into the "daily grind" mentality. Psalm 49 should be a great encouragement to such as these. The sons of Korah write about them. These sons write about all of us. They call all people everywhere to listen to their wisdom. Bo...

Church Isn't a Place

  Many times we say, I'm going to church on Sunday. What some fail to understand is that "church" isn't a building. I remember our pastor saying, "the church is an organism, not an organization." He was teaching us the Bible truth about the church. Jesus Christ is the head of the body, and the church is his body on earth. Another pastor once said, "God's hands have human fingers." This is a difficult concept for some to grasp, pun intended. However, it is important to understand that God accomplishes his work through human beings. He uses us, the church, to do his will and work. It's not that if we don't do his will that he is stymied. But he does use willing servants. To be in the church, one must be a part of the family. You cannot be in the church if you don't have the Savior. The church is not for the lost; it is for the edification of the saved. The lost can come and hear the message of salvation. But the church is made up of t...