Note: I blogged last week about the heartbreak of racism in our country. You can read that post here. I wanted to continue the conversation today, but since I invited two black sisters in Christ to participate with me, it’s taking longer than I would have liked to put together. So we will hopefully get back to this devastatingly important topic next week. But for now, I hope this is meaningful to you.
For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come. 1 Timothy 4:8 NIV
The world is slowly beginning to open up. At least here in Texas. I have a high-risk child, so my family and I will not line up for restaurants and nonessential stores yet. I am, however, starting to think about what life looks like going forward. The future remains unknown as we watch this virus and wait with the rest of the world. And though the pandemic brought hardships and inconveniences, I hope some things will NOT go back to “normal”.
A sermon my pastor preached on 1 Timothy 4:6-10 caused me to ruminate on what physical discipline could teach me about spiritual discipline. Take the science of muscle building. Bear with me if you know this info already, but in my 20 years of teaching fitness I constantly come across people who don’t know how it works. When we lift heavy weights or do exercises that challenge us, we cause microscopic tears in the associated muscles. That sounds bad, but does a body good – even though it makes us feel sore.
In an effort at protection, our muscles repair themselves stronger and bigger than before the tears occurred. We need to rest before stressing the same muscles groups again, as this rebuilding takes a couple of days. Without time to recover, we might tear the already damaged muscle too much – creating an injury that takes much longer to heal. This process is the ONLY way to build muscle. You must tear it down in order to gain strength.
During this time of self-isolation, my spiritual disciplines have been torn down. My Bible study and prayer time needed an overhaul, and this extra time at home helps me dig deeper and linger longer. I thank God that He listens to our prayers – no matter how lengthy or how organized. And He’s kind enough not to keep a ledger of our time spent in His word. So, when the kids go back to school and I punch the time clock again, there may be days when shooting up arrow prayers and reading a devo off my phone in the school pick-up line is all I can manage to squeeze in. But my goal is to make that the exception. Not the rule.
Psalms 46:10 details the hard work and discipline of the Christian life. “He says, ‘Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth’” NIV. Stillness strains some of us more than lifting the 1,105 lbs to break the world deadlift record! Eugene Stock said, “There is no such thing as drifting into godliness, ‘the stream of tendency’ is against us.” MY tendency is to get busy, and fit God around the rest of my life. But that’s no way to godliness. We must discipline ourselves in prayer, in study and in witnessing to others of His goodness.
Did you catch the last part of Psalms 46:10? God commands us to exalt Him among the nations. We don’t see that part on coffee mugs and t-shirts. But stillness equips us to pass on what we gain. We are not meant to enjoy His peace and rest selfishly.
When we take a break from lifting weights, we get sore all over again after picking them back up. I pray that no matter how slow or how busy my life, I will continue the discipline of quiet and stillness before Him.
And now for this week’s featured post!
Carlie Lake of From Dust Towards the Heavens hit the nail on the head with her post How to Listen Even When it Hurts. I feel that poor listening, or the unwillingness to listen, sits at the root of many of our society’s problems. I know simply listening to people of color won’t change the world, but it’s a good place to start. Read this post and challenge yourself in this area in the coming week.
Now for this week’s link-up! Let’s bless and encourage one another in our walk with the Lord.
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Heather Hart & Valerie Riese
Maree Dee
Lauren Sparks
Lisa Burgess
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