We moved across town four months ago. We love our house and location. It’s right across the street from the University of Arkansas campus. It’s a perfect location for ministry to students. We’re about one mile from the high school and about two miles from the junior high, so it’s easy to get to both schools. The grocery store is only a 1/2 mile away, so that’s convenient, too.
What’s not convenient is the athletic club. It’s now on the other side of town, so we let our family membership lapse in June. We haven’t yet joined the facility on campus that’s within walking distance. We need to…and fast.
I’ve been watching my upper body disappear right before my eyes. It’s like I’m performing a slow magic trick on myself. My muscles are not being pushed, so they’re not growing…they’re shrinking.
The key principle in weight training is “progressive overload.” For a muscle to grow and get stronger, you progressively increase the resistance you’re asking the muscle to lift. The muscle responds by getting bigger and stronger.
For example, if you begin weight training today and can do 3 sets of 10 bicep curls with 40 lbs., then to continue deriving benefit, you’ll probably need to increase the resistance to 45 lbs. next week.
You progressively place more load on the muscle than it’s used to handling. It adapts and gets stronger.
You can see where I’m headed with this, can’t you?
Our faith grows in the same way.
When we experience various kinds of trials, we choose to believe God, we see God come through and our faith grows stronger. But what tests our faith today is not what tested our faith two years ago. As we grow stronger, God is able to increase the “resistance” of the trial, so we can continue to get stronger.
James said it like this:
Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. (James 1:2-4)
Is your faith being tested today? Don’t quit. God is developing perseverance in you. Perseverance leads to maturity and completeness, which includes strong, powerful faith.
Anyone who trains with weights knows it’s important to include rest in your training schedule. You can’t continually overload your muscles and expect them to grow. They need time to rest and recover.
God understands rest as well. He will not place more load on your faith than you can handle. He knows when you need a break. He is the perfect Trainer.
You may be experiencing a heavy load today, but know that God sees what you’re going through. He understands the weight or pain you’re enduring. He will not let it crush you. He will remove it at just the right time.
You can trust Him.