BUILDING SPIRITUAL MUSCLE

Dear friends, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal that has come on you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you.  But rejoice inasmuch as you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when His glory is revealed.  1 Peter 4:12-13
 
This morning during prayer, one of my friends said, “Faith isn’t grown; it’s tested.  It’s like muscle; there has to be resistance for it to get stronger.”
 
Whoa!  That’s so profound, and it explains so much about why God leads us into dark valleys, instead of around them.  And perhaps that’s why, when i’m biking uphill God often equates my faith to the muscles in my thighs.  If i don’t let my thighs do the pedaling, my ride soon becomes really hard and i fall into striving.  Similarly, if i don’t let my faith do the heavy lifting, i fall into striving and Jesus and His Spirit get sidelined.
 
An athlete doesn’t ask, “Why are my thighs burning?” because he knows that what he’s feeling is a sign that his workout is making his body stronger.  Similarly, as believers we shouldn’t ask, “Why is this so hard?”  Instead, we should receive even frustration as a sign that maybe our trials are making our faith stronger.
 
And when things get even tougher, an athlete doesn’t think, “My coach couldn’t have meant for me to go through this; I must have misunderstood him or I must be doing something wrong,”  Similarly, we as Christ-followers shouldn’t think, “What I’m believing for must not be God’s will; I will go another way that feels more comfortable.”
 
An athlete guided only by what feels comfortable or seems reasonable to him might not even finish the race, let alone win the prize.  Similarly a disciple who only walks through open doors is unlikely to encounter the resurrected Christ, Who appears behind closed doors.
 
No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful.  Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.  Therefore, strengthen your feeble arms and weak knees.  Hebrews 13:11-12