As America’s collective waistband increases many Americans find themselves at the gym a few times a week like most of the Team Swap Team does as well. It seems that all of us need to loose a few extra pounds and get in better shape. Going to the gym is a new experience for many people and with this being a new part of their life they have to learn how to work out properly. That idea is the basis for this week’s post.
Many of us are far from experienced in the area of working out, fitness center operations, fitness routines, etc. Personally, until recently I just rode my bike more when I wanted to loose weight, and I have had no real upper body strength since my time working at the office supply store in college. At the same time though my wife’s personal trainer made a excellent point about two years ago that makes more and more sense to me over time. Paraphrased it would be - “The first ten reps do not make you stronger, it is the last five reps that help you grow stronger.”
I have found that to be true when I work out. The first ten or so come easy, and it is the last five that hurt. Those last five are the ones where the muscles are really taxed and strained. For me, that same thing held true in college. The early (i.e simple) stuff came easily, it was the last third or the growth portion of the class or projects that really taxed me.
Following the same logic now let’s look at ministries. Most of the time the basic stuff is easy. Typically these are the things that we have done before, and things that we have mastered in general. To accomplish our goals in these areas requires little stress and work on our part. Those around us usually are fine with these ministries as well as they have seen these same ideas, and labors, be profitable in the past. So, the basic stages of a ministry are easy and usually little resistence and work is offered or required.
Over time though that changes, or at least it should. In every good ministry there is a point where that ministry has to go to the next level and grow. This is when the resistence begins. This is also the time when the seed of real growth is planted in the lives of both the leaders and the followers.
Many times this is also when the resistence, both internal and external, begin. From a internal perspective, we are now doing things that require real work on our part. This new work makes us question our ability to accomplish what is set before us. We begin questioning our abilities because we are now struggling to reach the next step. This is new for us as previously each step had been easy and virtually effortless for us. However when we work through this time, and we accomplish that next step, we are stronger. After we reach the next step, we realize that we can accomplish much more then we previously believed possible.
This next step of growth requires us to accomplish and do things that are new to us. We can no longer just use our past labor and experiences to achieve what is needed in our current place of service. That does not make the previous work irrelevant, actually it is just the opposite. The previous work is required for us to achieve what is ahead of us. This previous work is the foundation that we build our new work on. Many Christians miss that and begin trying to build a new and difficult thing without building the proper foundation beneath first.
The other struggles that we find appearing when we begin to leave our area of ease and move into new and challenging areas are external struggles. These are people or things calling us to abandon our new work and new struggles for various reasons. This is when hobbies, interests, and activities become more difficult for us to participate in because we have less free time. Time management becomes critical, leisure time decreases, and all our activities have to be weighed again our new priorities. During this time, some will call us to step back because they fear the new work is worthless. Others do not like the new work simply because it is different then the past. Others are afraid that our new labor may result in new labor for them. Still others fear the actual pain of breaking new ground. Additional others simply do not want the new work done because it challenges their work. Along the way we usually get a bit of resistence from family and close friends because they do not want us away from them any more then we currently are. Their fear is based in the reality that the new work will require more of our time, commitment, dedication and devotion then the past work has.
However, these struggles, both internal and external, are the very things that allow us to accomplish our goals. By facing these struggles, and overcoming them, we learn that we are capable of more. This builds our mental strength and gives us the hope and encouragement that we need to attempt the next step. In the process of developing this mental toughness, we also develop new spiritual strength. Throughout this developing process our new, developing, or previous ignored spiritual muscles will be sore. In the end, we are stronger and better developed then before, and the short term pain and suffering is worth the end result. Each additional step beyond our comfort zone makes us stronger and prepares us for the next difficult step that lays before us.
This new work is more difficult as it stretches our spiritual muscles to the point of breaking,. This process however is vital to building the next level of our spiritual foundation. Each foundation level that is properly developed allows us to begin building one level higher as we accomplish all that God has for us.
Today you may be getting pressed to the breaking point in some areas, and probably working in other areas with ease. I know that is true in my life many times, so I am sure it is similar in yours. We do not need to be pushing ourselves in every area all the time. In some areas we need to just build the foundation and work the easy stuff there, later on that area will be painfully expanded but it is not today. Today we need to focus on those one or two areas where we are working past the easy reps and into our pain zone where we can build new strength and power for the future. These pains will be short, but their results will be long lasting. Many people will call for us to remain in the comfort zone, but those people will never fully build their spiritual strength to where it should be. Our spiritual goal should not to be able to do 1000 reps with no weight, but to accomplish one rep at level that we have never imagined possible before.
God is with us all today, He is the good trainer, He is the gentle coach, He is motivating and guiding us all the way. Today is the day to push, God will help you through it. Tomorrow, and the day after, and the day after that, etc are also the days to push. Some weeks we may push in the same areas day after day, other times we may push in different areas every day for months on end. The goal is not to just get strong in one area, but to build the well rounded spiritual body that God is calling us too.
Get stronger, get braver, never fear and push out one more for the Lord.
