WHERE DOES OUR STRENGTH LIE?
Sometimes our strength comes not only from adding more mass to our
muscle; it emerges when we have purged the excess body fat and the unnecessary
intake that is making us weak. How do we
do this? Bookstore shelves are spilling
over with an overflow of manuals on body-building so we can look as if we are
bulging with strength! They are equally
crowded with an array of the perfect diet books and how-to-books on detoxing
and cleansing. The exercise books
designed to strategically shape and slim and firm are all updated to fast-paced
dvd’s that coach us through sweat, blood, and tears to that perfect body
status. Knowing that so many unhealthy
food products are entering our bodies even when we attempt to eat as healthy as
possible, I recently made a homemade detox beverage. The water, sliced lemons,
sliced cucumbers, and fresh mint leaves were fused overnight and it tasted
refreshingly healthy and pleasant. It
definitely had detox properties and lived up to its cleansing claims. After getting past the first day of a few
hunger pangs, I began to feel really wonderful and even energized! Why?
Because I was putting good things in – and purging the bad out. I began to think about all the physical
sacrifices and commitments we make for the sake of healthy, strong bodies. And I couldn’t help but ask myself what would
happen if we would get serious about doing the same for the sake of healthy,
strong souls. Why can we not make
spiritual sacrifices and commitments to empower our Christian muscle with added
strength and stamina? With the news in
the headlines showing ever more despair and hatred and killings, we had better
be putting in some extra work-out time in the gymnasium where God is
Coach. Where the sought-after book is
the Bible. Where the exercise program
shows us how to get on our knees – and stay there until we have sweated off the
ways of the world and ever-so-prevalent nonchalance of our everyday lives. Where we get off our knees and choose real-life
encounters with real flesh and blood people over being addicted to all the
social media sites that steal our time away from what is really important. Oops – don’t misinterpret what I am
saying. I believe that a small, set
amount of time on social media sites can be an additional way to keep connected
to loved ones – especially those who are far away. I know these sites can be used to share
scripture and inspiration and encouragement.
They can put out pleas for almost instant prayer response in times of
need. But like everything else in our
lives, we must control our amount of time spent engaged in those activities –
or that time spent will control us in not-so-healthy ways. Now as the days of summer ebb away to make
way for the school season and fall schedules at churches, it is a good time to
be reminded about renewed commitments to the things that God tells us really
matter. The other day I came across a
few quotes in a newsletter we had received a few months ago, and as I took time
to re-read it, I knew I needed to clip this page and save it for present and
future reference. No, for more than
that: for ACTION! How do we prepare for our day? How we do exercise our hearts and minds and
souls before we walk into a new day? See
if these quotes make as much sense to you as they did to me! “I ought to pray before meeting anyone. Often when I sleep long or meet with others
early, it is 11 or 12 o’clock before I begin secret prayer. This is a wretched system. It is unscriptural. Christ arose before day and went into a
solitary place to pray. David says,
‘Early will I seek Thee … my voice shalt Thou hear in the morning.’ The conscience feels guilty, the soul unfed,
the lamp not trimmed. I feel it is far
better to begin with God – to see Him first, to get my soul near to Him before
it is near another.” (Robert Murray
McCheyne) Then, these words shared by
E.M Bounds: “The men who have done the
most for God in this world have been early on their knees. He who fritters away the early morning, its
opportunity and freshness, without seeking God will make poor headway in
seeking Him the rest of the day . . . Our laziness after God is our crying
sin. The children of the world are far
wiser. They are at it early and
late. No soul follows hard after God who
is not after Him in early morn.” Alright,
so just interpret the “Thee’s and Thou’s” into your own words, and soak in the
meaning. Powerful, isn’t it? It’s true, isn’t it? So what will we do with this coaching to
strengthen our souls in preparation for what God is lining up for us to do in
these days and weeks to come? The days
are going to pass by either way. We can
waste them by being spiritually flabby – or we can commit to a time of
spiritual detox, cleansing, and exercise before the Lord God Almighty, inviting
Him to coach us early every morning as we sacrifice a bit of extra sleep to
follow hard after Him. With God, we get
results! Do nothing, and we get
nothing. Neither does anyone else who
God wants to use us to touch, if we are not prepared and fit! God is asking me to sign up for His “Follow
Hard After God” class … do you want to join me?
Grab your pen right now!
REMEMBER . .
.
“Run in such
a way as to get the prize.
Everyone who competes in the games goes into
strict training.
They do it to
get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last
forever.”
~ I
Corinthians 9:24b-25
Serving Christ Joyfully . . .
Pastor Doug and Debbie
