Friend, it takes a lot of work to live as a Christian.
And I am not kidding. Hi, this is Joni Eareckson Tada for Joni and Friends, and I sure hope I can lighten your load – your workload today as a Christian – as you seek to live out your faith. Because, you know, when you exercise your faith, I’ll agree it takes spiritual muscle. In fact – okay, I’m going to try a little metaphor on you – it’s a little like lifting very heavy barbells. Now, bear with me on this illustration because growing strong in Christ is like spiritually curling 75-pound barbells. That’s not easy. It’s hard, and add to that, nobody really likes to lift them (that is, unless you’re into that kind of thing).
And so as Christians, you know what we do? (Okay, stick with me on the metaphor). Yes, we want to grow strong in Christ – sure we do – but, no, we don’t like grabbing those barbells. So, we walk around them; examine them; we compare them to other barbells, to other weights we’ve seen. We gather with other barbell lifters and discuss the proper technique. We enjoy listening to the testimonies of famous people who have lifted record-breaking weights, and we collect books and articles about great barbell lifters of the past, wow! And then we all gather together and go to seminars on the subject and listen to CDs that inspire and refresh us.
We do everything but actually walk up to the barbells and lift them! Sometimes fear keeps us away. Will we succeed? What if we can’t lift the heavy weights? Are we too weak? So we end up tap dancing around the real issue, the real work of being a Christian, until we walk away having exerted no effort at all when it comes to growing strong in Christ and doing the hard work of obeying him. Ah, but when we finally decide to wrap our hands around the task (whatever that challenge might be), when we put our hands to the thing God has called us to do and begin to exert force, eureka, what do you know! At that exact point divine energy surges through us. God’s power works in us at the very moment we exercise faith for the task. We can do all things – even lift those spiritual barbells, so to speak – we can do all things through him who strengthens us. Wow!
Philippians 2:12-13 describes this process so beautifully when it says, “Continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose.” Got that? Friend, today, as you work out your salvation, God works in you, giving you the desire and power to accomplish his will. You only have the strength to say “no” to a bad habit when, in his energy, you say “no.” You only have the desire and the power to read his Word when, in his energy, you pick up the Bible and start reading. You only find the ability to pray when, in his grace, you get down on your knees and you just start praying. You can only find the courage to witness when, with his help, you start telling other people about Jesus. So today, remember: you will face many challenges to your faith and you’ll probably feel like turning and walking the other way. But covenant with God to walk up to that challenge, wrap your hands around the task, and trust that Jesus Christ will give you divine strength as you obey. And if you need a little inspiration to do it, go right away to joniandfriendsradio.org and just watch my friend, Jean Driscoll, exert a little of her spiritual energy. Until next time, bend and grasp, jerk and lift high the name of Jesus.
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