minds to move on quickly and diminish our focus for the long term. Shortcuts, quick fixes, and snappy hacks have taught us that the fastest way out is the best way through. But the kingdom of God operates in a more lifegiving way— by teaching us how to press into temporary discomfort, press past temporary distractions, and press on to eternal glory.
The spiritual muscle of resilience is one we must train in preparation for those times of spiritual dryness and numbness. When we don’ t feel like reading our Bible. When we don’ t want to pray. When we feel no desire to act on our faith. And certainly when we feel lifeless and stuck due to the distractions that have created so much distance between us and God.
How do we train that muscle so it’ s ready when the dry seasons come? While watching the last summer Olympic Games, I discovered something interesting. A reporter asked members of the US Women’ s Gymnastics team what it was like training for such an event. One of the gymnasts laughed and went on to explain how it was really about“ going all out.” You see, when a gymnast approaches the vault or uneven bars for their routine, they put themselves in danger if they are not committed to completing their moves at max capacity. They can’ t just do a triple backflip halfway— that would end in them falling on their face or getting fitted for a back brace. Instead, they have to go all out. In training, this means loading up weight until you can’ t anymore, which builds greater tension and, as a result, leads to greater strength and resilience. Then, when they get to the event, they continue going all out by doing all the stretches and warm-ups with excellence before then nailing a perfect routine at the Olympics.
In the same way, if we’ re going to build up our spiritual muscle of resilience, we need to go all out and go all in with Jesus. We need to strive for excellence and consistency in both the big things( an Olympic routine) and the small things( daily stretching and conditioning). Russell from the beloved Pixar movie Up once said,“ I think the boring stuff is the stuff I remember the most.” There is power in showing up every single day. There is power in not despising the small things. There is power in diligent work that feels small but in all reality is building a powerhouse inside of you.
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