The "E" Word

Wherefore lift up the hands which hang down, and the feeble knees
Hebrews 12:12

Well, I did it. I decided to do the ‘E’ thing. It was a struggle to start, but now I have decided that I it must be a part of my life. Yup, I exercised. Last Thursday night, right after work, Dan and I walked back into the gym after a 6 month sabbatical and exercised. I tried to find reasons not to go. You know, my ankle hurt. I was too tired. Too many things to do. My flesh was weak. . . . .

Two years ago Dan and I decided to join a gym to get fit. We felt that in order to enjoy our lives to the fullest, we must be able to breath. Of course, the more weight you have on your body and the less you move, the harder it becomes to breath. Out of the two years we have been members of “In Shape”, we have attended about 6 months. Isn’t that sad? Yes, I’m sad.

So, Thursday morning I woke up and went to work knowing that my day would end at the gym. In many ways, I was excited to begin exercising. I remembered how great it felt earlier this year when I was able to exercise for longer periods of time as I became stronger. I remembered how it made me feel mentally that I was taking care of myself. This is where my motivation was coming from. This is what I was drawing on all day. I couldn’t wait to go.

As 5:00 p.m. was approaching, my excitement started to turn to dread. I was tired, my ankle hurt, I had a lot of things to do at home and I didn’t want to go to the gym. I began telling myself I could start next week, but I knew next week would only put off the very thing I needed today. I was going to the gym if it killed me.

I arrived home and immediately went to get my workout clothes on. I knew if I didn’t go right away, I would talk myself out of it. I asked Dan if he was going with me, he wasn’t too excited about it, but he said he would go. My shoes didn’t feel right, my clothes were tighter than I remembered and my ankle was hurting but I was going to the gym.

When we arrived, we decided we had better start slow and get back into our routine. So, we jumped on the treadmills. At 3 miles an hour, my heartrate was where it needed to be and I was feeling good. Then…. I began to look around. This is a big mistake at a gym. You see all kinds of people, young and old, fat and skinny, fit and flabby. The guy next to me was running on the treadmill. The girl in front of me was walking fast on a steep incline. People behind me running on the cross trainers and I am only going 3 miles an hour. So, being the competitive person that I am I decided to speed up.

I moved my steps to 3.5 mph. Not a lot I am sure you are saying, but keep in mind I haven’t worked out in over 6 months. Within seconds I couldn’t breath. I broke out in a sweat (I hate to sweat, it’s not ladylike) and my heart rate climbed high. Of course I immediately slowed it back down to 3 mph, but my heart had already began rebelling so I was struggling to catch my breath for a few minutes. I glanced at the guy next to me who was running, and he wasn’t even breaking a sweat. How does he do that? Of course, he is able to do that because he does it so often and he has become strong.

The Lord began to show me that our spiritual life is the same way. That in order to become strong, we must exercise our faith. There are all kinds of people in the church as well. They are spiritually young, old, fat, skinny, fit and flabby. The young are energized and excited about being in the house of God. The old are tired, they have no energy and no longer feel needed in the house of God. The fat are content to sit in the pew and take in the word without excercising the faith or serving in ministry. The skinny only attend once in a while for a small morsal of the word. The fit are there for the long haul, they can run and not break a sweat. Now the flabby, they are dieters. They take in the word, starve a while and return to take in more only to starve again. So, which are you? Young, old, fat, skinny, flabby or fit? Which do you want to become?

Hebrews 12 talks about how God disciplines his children. In order to make us strong, God must discipline us as a father disciplines his child. Discipline creates a right behavior. If we weren’t corrected or disciplined in our ways, we would always remain weak and unable to handle the trials of life. To become the fit man, we must be willing to exercise our faith daily. As we begin to make reading the word and praying a daily routine, we will begin to crave that which is good. Our spiritual muscles will become stronger and we will be able to graduate to a deeper understanding of God and His will. Our scripture of the week says, “wherefore lift up the hands which hang down, and the feeble knees”, we need to do the ‘E’ thing so we can strengthen our feeble arms and weak knees. As you begin your exercise program this week, remember to start where you are and don’t compare yourself to those around you. Ask Jesus to become your personal trainer and to assist you with increasing your endurance. That no matter what hill you must climb or what speed you must run, that you will be able to run and not faint.

My prayer
Father, we lift up our feeble arms and we stand on our weak knees before you. Strengthen our bodies, both physically and spiritually. Lead us on a path of healthy living. Jesus, be our personal trainer. Help us to live a life of integrity as you have done. Help us to be strong and endure the tests of life. Be with us and guide us. Your ways are higher than ours, and your thoughts better than ours. We leave our lives in your hands. Amen