Finding the groove
I was in the groove of biking through the Ozark hills almost every day. Yep…actually exercising and making progress, my friends! One beautiful day I was riding along and my tire hit the edge of the sidewalk and the uneven grass in such a way that…BAM…I lost control! In two seconds I was up and over the top of my bike. It happened so fast! I laid there completely shocked. I hobbled to a standing position and looked around to see if anyone had seen my ridiculous crash LOL.
It was early in the morning so no one was around, and thankfully I did not have any broken bones! But let me tell you, I was a mess. The palms of my hands were all bloody, a huge gash on my left knee, and lots of bruises up and down my legs. But the worst thing was the whiplash. When I landed, my chin hit the ground really hard and threw my head back. I am blessed to be married to a wonderful chiropractor!
Getting In shape
I was amazed at the pain this bike wreck caused and how long it took me to recover. Back in the day when I was in shape, I snapped back so fast. I had an Aha moment: being physically in shape parallels being spiritually in shape when we take a hit. For example, we experience insults, slander and mistreatment from people we encounter in our life, but the more spiritually “in shape” we are, the better we will handle them and our recovery time will be faster.
How do we become spiritually strong and in shape?
The Bible says, “Great peace have they which love your law: and nothing shall offend them.” Psalm 119:165
Hearing and studying the word of God, speaking it out, and obeying it, is how we get strong. A church service once a week won’t cut it…we need our daily dose! We get stronger when we make a choice to spend time with Him in worship, prayer and in the word…and we do it the next day…the next…and the next. We learn to put on the full armor of Christ, and the hits don’t take us out! We stay close to Him in His word, and day by day we get in shape. Then when we get hit, we find strength in Him and we keep going because His grace is sufficient.
Giving up is not an option
I am going to be honest and tell you that I waited two weeks to get back on my bike. Not only because I was hurting, and afraid I’d crash and burn again, but also because I felt like maybe I was just too out of shape and too old to even try anymore. But then my spirit rose up within me and said, “I don’t think so!!!” Listen, I have gotten physically out of shape, but thank God it is not too late to make choices to get stronger! I am not gonna give up that easy. The word says, “He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak.” Isaiah 40:29
Won’t He do it!!!
I am excited to say that I am back at it! Maybe there is something in your life that you know you should do…that will make you stronger…but it’s just easier to let it lie. You will feel so much better if you go for it! If the thoughts in your head are very defeating–cast them down–those are not from God. Replace those words with God’s word. We can never stop making choices to get stronger in God’s Word. Getting stronger physically only will help us too! DAY BY DAY!!
Every choice we make to get stronger will add up!
Keep on keeping on, our Lord God is for you and so am I! I leave you with this passage from Psalm 119 from the Message version: “Even though troubles came down on me hard, your commands always gave me delight. The way you tell me to live is always right; help me understand it so I can live to the fullest.”
Yes!