New Spiritual Adventures With God

New Spiritual Adventures With God

Spend your time and energy in training yourself for spiritual fitness. Physical exercise has some value, but spiritual exercise is much more important, for it promises a reward in both this life and the next. –1 Timothy 4:7-8

Last year in science class, Matt studied the body and learned to name all the bones and major organs. One day he told me he had learned that muscles develop by being pushed beyond their capacity, which causes them to actually break down. It is in the recovery process they are rebuilt stronger, firmer, larger. What this means is that if I want to build up my physical muscles, I must repeatedly lift more weight than is really comfortable for me. I have to lift until it burns a little. This burn is a sign that the muscle is breaking down and will come back bigger and stronger.

It’s that burn I don’t really like in exercising my body. And it’s the burn I avoid in exercising my spirit and soul. I have felt it, and I don’t particularly like it. The truth is, I’d like to have the muscles without the burn, the spiritual strength without pain. Wouldn’t you? But it doesn’t work that way.

For years I have worked with authors who have made writing a book look easy. But for me, it hasn’t been. For me, it has been a spiritual adventure, an opportunity to exercise and build my faith muscles, because it has required that I depend on God to supply the inspiration and understanding I need in ways I have never needed it before, in different ways than my experiences with Hope and Gabe required. I have felt the burn, and while it hasn’t always been comfortable, it has been thrilling. Because the truth is, I don’t want my greatest spiritual adventures to all be behind me! I want to keep going, keep growing. I want to know him better and love him more next year than I do today. I want to be more like him and do more for him. So I’ve got to keep building my spiritual muscles.

Do you want to settle for staying where you are, or do you long for more faith adventures with God? If you really want to go deeper and become stronger, it will require a willingness to feel the burn. But with the burn comes a promise not only for strength to live in this life, but a sure reward in the next.

Lord, I don’t really want to hurt anymore, but I’m willing to feel the burn if that’s what it takes to make me spiritually strong and fit for a great spiritual adventure. Keep stretching me and shaping me into someone you can use.

DIGGING DEEPER