Enfeebled or Empowered
MY HUSBAND AND I were planning a vacation the other day and had a good laugh over the fact we were picking hotels based on their workout facility.
That’s nuts, I know.
It’s a vacation
for Pete’s sake!
EXERCISING is not natural for me. If you give me a reason to not show up at the club, I might surrender. Some days it doesn’t take much convincing to sway me toward the lazy workout. And, yes, there is such a thing.
BUT THEN what’s the point of a workout if I’m only going to do it halfheartedly. That’s like trotting on the treadmill next to a “real” runner and pretending I’m keeping his pace. After all, we are running neck-and-neck, aren’t we? (Hint to the slow reader: whether you walk or run, treadmills stay in one place.)
THE MORE MORSELS of truth I learn about exercise, the more I’m inspired to practice what I learn…if only to prove that I’m a hearer AND a doer.
Here’s one big morsel:
When you hold yourself up on a treadmill,
You reduce the efficiency of your workout by 50%
THAT’S HALF!
Which means I’m CHEATING myself.
UNDERMINING my own progress.
RESTRICTING my growth.
BY DESIGN, the treadmill (or your cardio apparatus of choice) offers power, a yoke of energy that can enable the user to reach his goal. It can empower me if I apply myself correctly.
MAYBE YOU’VE SEEN the “stud” on the Stairmaster with his arms locked and his hands gripping the side bars. His feet are moving really fast, but in actuality he could lift his feet without a problem because his arms are holding him up.
Yep. He is reducing the efficiency of his workout by half.
If he lets go and uses his legs, he’ll no doubt have to slow the machine’s speed.
TIME to change our modus operandi?
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The same thing can happen in the SPIRITUAL realm.
WALKING with God is like walking on a living, meandering treadmill. He provides the power; I walk in it. If I WILLFULLY step right or left thinking I know best, I stumble.
HE SEES the future and knows how to adjust the pace better than I do. I can trust Him to set the best incline and speed to get me through the every season. ALIGNING my will with His is critical.
BUT DO NOT equate surrendering your will with turning off the treadmill or straddling the belt while it keeps running.
–>Get this . . .
God will not drag me along.
I’ve been given a “spirit of boldness, not timidity.”
I’m called to walk in power, with confidence.
If He dragged me along instead of making me take the steps, that would:
Undermine my growth
Thwart my maturity
MY FATHER is too perfect and just to drag me through an existence. He expects me to take responsibility for the life He’s given me, according to the POWER that’s in me. His ways and 
thoughts are far higher than my ways and thoughts, and when I surrender my all, I gain access to His mind!
HIS DESIRE is to prosper me. In order to thrive, I cannot cut the efficiency of my training by 50%.
Meditate on these truths…
On the day I called, You answered me; You made me bold with strength in my soul. Psalm 138:3
This was the plan God had for all time. He did this through Christ Jesus our Lord. We can come to God without fear because we have put our trust in Christ. (an unreserved approach to God with freedom and without fear). Eph 3: 11-12
They answered, “Come on, let’s attack them! We have seen that the land is very good. Aren’t you going to do something? Don’t hesitate to go there and take it over. Judges 18:9
The wicked flee when no one pursues, But the righteous are bold as a lion. Prov 28:1
