Spiritual Muscles

Today more than ever, we need encouragement on our pathway to eternity. As Christians there are tribulation times coming our way, not for our destruction, on the contrary, for our edification - even if, oh Lord, it is difficult for us to see it at such so many times. Just as with fitness and gymnastics, you can't train for a day and the next to become the winner of the Olympics! No, it doesn't happen overnight.

A friend of mine gave me a new fitness video program and it has been awhile since I have seriously worked out; when I first saw the trainer performing it to such speed I said to myself "I will never be able move that fast!" However, three weeks later I realized I was moving just as fast as she did! "Hmm, it was not impossible after all" I concluded.

At that moment, the spiritual parallel occurred to me; I saw that you can't all of a sudden be strong in faith if you have never seen God pulling you out of deep dark fountains of despair or fear! Theory is good but practice is so much better; even if it is more difficult to practically go though pain, it is only then when we experience for real that God is undeniably with us, weighing the extent of our trial and not letting anything extra so as to destroy us. He doesn't want our destruction! He wants to make us stronger and mature soldiers in His army! Yes, that's why we need the hard training.

Also fitness trainers say that if you perform over 12-15 dumbbell lifts and afterwards you still can perform some more, it is time to change the weight of your dumbbell. If you don't, you can't reach the performance you want, you settle for much less. So it happens with our "spiritual muscles"; if God would give us no weight at all, we'd never use our "spiritual muscles" especially when we keep in mind that we were born to fight, a spiritual fight of course, not killing or harming each other but on the contrary, showing purity, truth, love and a humble heart towards all people.

Yes, but just as it is with fitness, we can't train for one day and get all the fat over with and all the muscles we want! It takes time and serious training, actually if we want to be fit, exercising has to become a way of life.

It is the same with the "spiritual muscles"; how can you imagine giving your life for Christ, being willing to die for your faith just as the first Christians did, if today you can't stand the way your neighbor has talked to you (because you are a Christian). Although, you might be right, you need to get used to these "small dumbbells" and spiritually "perform the exercise" until you don't find it difficult any more. Yes, you're right, once the present dumbbell becomes light...it is time to get a heavier one!

Remember that soldiers go through rough training programs to achieve all the physical and mental endurance they need for the battle. Just as they do, we as Christians fight but with different kind of weapons:"for though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ."2 Corinthians 10:4,5

We don't need "spiritual muscles" just to put up a show just like body builders for instance! No, we need to use them, not to expose them to get admired for. The spiritual war is the strongest ever and nowadays more than before we have to be aware that if we don't train, we shouldn't expect to simply be strong overnight!

If you can't suffer unfair loss in small things, what will you do when you'll not be able to sell or buy because of the sign of the beast (666)? What if your possessions so hardly achieved (house, car, and savings) will be taken from you because you are a Christian?

There are difficult times that come ahead of us, Bible describes them as never being so difficult throughout all history of the mankind; consequently, as Christians we have to be aware and get as much training I mean "spiritual war training" as possible. Many deceivers will come, how will you know if you are deceived or better yet, how do you know you have not been deceived so far?

The only safe place to verify where you stand is the Bible, the word of God. Many churches have come a long way from the model of the first church presented in the New Testament. Check your own convictions, make sure you think over and check what you're being told, don't swallow everything but compare it to the Word of God.

"For this reason I kneel before the Father, from whom his whole family in heaven and on earth derives its name. I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge - that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.

Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen." Ephesians 3:14- 21