Today I went to a hot yoga (stretching in a steam room) class. It was the first intense workout I'd had since I broke my wrist in October. I couldn't do anything active while I was in the cast, and once I was out, I was told to take it easy. That translated to "your laziness is now excusable" in my mind. Anyway, I knew this would be good for me and so, with a few good friends, I went to hot yoga class. It was hardcore. I was beat. About 10 minutes into class, I was struggling to breathe because of the heat and steam (and bodily weakness). I started talking to the Lord.
He began to show me how this was really representative of so many facets of my life. As He gave me strength, He showed me other areas of my life where my muscles needed to be stretched, pushed, and flexed, and where endurance needed to grow.
You see, we are so much more than physical bodies. We are spiritual beings who have bodies, hearts, and souls. Jesus reminded me of a similar awkwardness to the one I experienced as I realized how out of shape I was. Until recently, I was in a long-distance relationship. I had developed endurance in the long-haul aspect of long-distance dating, but when we were together, there was always a weirdness at first. It was that shock of being together, when I realized I was relationally out of shape. We had to stretch our hearts to become comfortable together in real life (physically instead of just on skype).
Then He showed me a whole slew of other areas where I was out of shape. Culturally, I haven't been stretched in a while. Sharing the love of God (intentionally and explicitly, i.e. evangelism) is an area where I have grown lazy. Reliance on Holy Spirit to lead me in the daily walk of life is another area…not just for big decisions, but for life…relationship. Personal discipline, specifically with regard to food and the spending of money is another area in which I am weak. In all of these, when I need to perform, I can sprint. But there is little endurance, and I want to be in for the long-haul, for the health of it, not just the performance aspect.
Thank You Holy Spirit for showing me this. Thank You Papa for your Love. Thank You Jesus for sacrificially offering me Grace. Give me strength and endurance as I take the steps to stretch and get flexible. I love You!
Hope this encourages and challenges you.
In Christ,
Caleb
