Strength Training
Then he said to them, “Go your way, eat the fat, drink the sweet, and send portions to those for whom nothing is prepared; for this day is holy to our Lord. Do not sorrow, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.”
Nehemiah 8:10
The Lord is my strength and my shield;
My heart trusted in Him, and I am helped;
Psalm 28:7a
I have been working out with a personal trainer since late February, 2020. It was set up through the USAA fitness center, so I’d meet with my trainer Danielle at 6:15 a.m. Mondays and Thursdays and then get ready for work there at the gym. When COVID forced us to work from home, we maintained the same routine but would meet virtually via FaceTime and using some dumbbells I borrowed from my son, resistance bands, and my stairs. There are a variety of strength-training exercises that she coaches me through, all with the intent of increasing muscle mass which then increases my resting metabolic rate, which means I burn calories even after I’ve stopped exercising. I don’t do enough weights to where I’ll be mistaken for a bodybuilder, but I have seen improvement in my cardio workouts as well as experiencing my clothes fitting a bit better. It’s a win-win! It’s a commitment for sure, but one in which I am reaping benefits.
Speaking of commitments, I’ve shared with you that I have found a new job, so I’ll have continuous employment and won’t have to worry about facing a countdown clock with all the stress that it brings in having to find a job. My new job is with an area and people with whom I’ve worked before, albeit in a different capacity. It officially starts this week (week starting January 17) in the HR system, but I’ve been attending meetings since we all returned from the Christmas break on January 4. There’s a tremendous amount of history and detail to learn, and there have been a couple of times my director has asked me to prepare a presentation for which I have no clue the scope of how to do it (for fans of The Office, it’s that feeling Jim has when Charles Miner asks him for a rundown—he doesn’t know what it is but is too afraid to reveal that he doesn’t know. It’s nerve racking to watch that episode for me). While the work is exciting, there is a lot of it, and I see my team logged on when I sign in every morning, and that they are still logged in when I sign off every evening. I was told that the extreme pace by which I was interviewed and hired was an indication of how quickly they needed me to take the reins and run with the program. All of these expectations have swirled around my head, increasing my stress level as each day went by with me still not having put together the presentation needed. Add to that a plethora of much smaller stressors that seemed to pile on at exactly the same time, and the fact that I had not been getting enough sleep, and I was a hot mess.
One morning in prayer, the words of Nehemiah 8 came to mind: “Do not sorrow, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.” Nehemiah shared this uplifting message with the remnant of Israel who had returned to Jerusalem to rebuild the wall, and had been weeping, having been convicted of their sin upon hearing the word of the Law of Moses read to them. I sought the answer of what that truly meant, and how I could have that strength, for I felt severely lacking in that area. My weakness felt apparent on all levels—physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual. Even though I knew that the Lord was with me, my grip on Him seemed slack.
His grip on me, however, was ever-present and strong.
Through being in the Word, research, prayer, and the counsel of friends, I have come to realize that the strength that comes from the joy of the Lord is the knowledge that He is always with me, that He loves me, and that there isn’t anything that can separate me from His love—like Paul says in Romans 8:38-39: “neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
I need to emphasize that I did not arrive at this understanding on my own, in my own strength. As with the strength training I do with my personal trainer, with its exercise repetitions and the discipline to keep at it, there are tools and tasks that can help you develop your spiritual maturity and deepen your relationship with Him.
Spend time in prayer. Make time to have one-on-one time with our heavenly Father—enjoy true and gentle communion with the one Who loves you and died for you. Have a conversation with Him—don’t make it formal with fancy “thees and thous”; He is your Father. He knows your thoughts before you even have them, so be frank and open with Him. Share your fears, concerns, confessions, and praise. Be real with Him.
Spend time in the Word. I mean opening up your Bible, studying it and meditating on what you read. Snacking on a devotional in the morning cannot satiate an appetite that hungers for the nourishment that Scripture provides. Jesus tells us in Matthew 4: “But He answered and said, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.’” It is in the reading of His word, through the Holy Spirit, that He can “speak” to you.
Seek the company of other believers. The writer of Hebrews tells us to “consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching.” We are a part of the body of Christ and as such, we need to rely on each other for support, counsel, and accountability.
I’m not trying to sell you on a spiritual workout that is guaranteed to have you powerwalking with the Lord in just 30 days, but I am confident that if you are sincere in seeking to deepen your walk, developing these habits are a definite step in the right direction. Habits like these take spiritual discipline, but the reward is so worth it! It’s a win-win!
PRs: Prayer Requests and Praise Reports
Prayers for:
Our nation during these times of severe civil and spiritual unrest
Those who are facing seemingly insurmountable personal challenges
Those who suffer with depression and thoughts of suicide
Praise Reports:
The rain He has sent and will send our way
That Dora’s brother JP is doing better!
His blessings on Stone Oak Church
Next week’s devotional will be a picture demonstration of specific spiritual exercises like saintly burpees, holy Sumo squats, and divine mountain climbers. (I’m kidding-I tried to be clever but…alas, maybe notsomuch)
Quotes
“The devil will trick you into thinking that you’re still struggling with what God has freed you from.”
“One might better try to sail the Atlantic in a paper boat, than try to get to heaven on good works”. --Charles Spurgeon