Weight training

Have you ever signed up for a gym membership?  I have!  I remember the whole process like it was yesterday.  It was most likely in the early part of the year when the gyms offered a reduced rate to join.  I had only to buy some new workout clothes and make my appointment to sign a contract and give them my monthly payment. 

After I arrived I was directed to a desk and listened to the person explaining all that the gym offered. As I began to take the tour, I was always a little intimitated when they would walk me by the area where you could lift weights.  I usually saw many people picking up weights and putting them down over and over again.  Questions I may have had were...how did they know how much weight to pick up?  how did they know how many repetitions to do?  how on earth did they get the muscles they had?   Then the person showing me around would ask me, if I'd like to have a personal trainer to teach me all about lifting weights?  I would think about it and then usually end up on the treadmill or the stationary bike.  It just seemed too much for some reason.

A few years ago, I remember thinking about how the Holy Spirit is likened to a trainer.  When we accepted Jesus as our Savior, we received a teacher or trainer, called the Holy Spirit.  Unlike working on the physical body, He is a trainer for spiritual growth of the body of Christ.

The verse that show us this is in John 14:26

(Jesus said) ....the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost (Spirit), whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.

When we are in difficult situations or relationships, we have a great trainer who will teach us things through them.  We are encouraged to come to Jesus with our weaknesses.  I have many weaknesses in my life that I've tried to lift and carry on my own, but I've failed miserably.  When I pray and share my heavy situations with the Holy Spirit, He reminds me that I'm to let Jesus lift the weight for me.  This is so awesome!  At the gym on earth, I had to lift the weight and always walked away feeling like a failure.  But the holy heavenly gym is where I can share everything with Jesus and he will manifest himself through the Holy Spirit by giving me His strength.  Everytime I trust Him with a situation, I start to see my heavenly muscles develop.  Maybe you're asking ....what are heavenly muscles?

In Galatians 5:22-23 it says as Christians we have:

the fruit of the Spirit which is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.

To have my heavenly muscles worked out, it's when one of these is put under pressure, just like at the gym.  The only way a muscle can grow or be shaped is by bringing a resistance to it over and over again.  As we experience difficulty we can have one of the fruits or several be pressed in to for development. 

For example:

If it was easy to love everyone, we wouldn't need Jesus' love for people.  Each time I exchange my weak love, He gives me His strengthened love.  Every time I exchange my lack of patience He reminds me that He is my patience.  Do you see how this works?  I have all of the Spirit in my spirit and He and I are walking IN this life together.  That's how we can live through difficultly in this life and know that our Trainer is working with us through to the otherside.  Sometimes it's a short time and sometimes a longer time, but our spiritual muscles are being defined each and everyday, if we let Him lead, guide and direct us.  

The Apostle Paul says in:

2 Corinthians 12:9

But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.

Over and over throughout our day, we can lift weights and not be intimidated because Jesus is lifting them for us, in us and through us.  We soon find that we are able to love the not so lovely, be patient with things that make us wait and so on.

My cousin, Pastor Mike Roncaglia spoke on this very subject just last Sunday.  He shared that "God purposes that pressure should lead to enlargement"  IF you would like to watch it, the sermon is only available for one week, so watch before next Sunday.  The sermon starts at the 37:00 minute marker.  https://thurston.church/home

The next time you're under a weighty situation, instead of running away or skipping the weight, embrace your weakness in it and ask Jesus to strengthen you through it for your maturity in Him.

He's the best trainer out there.