“Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters,whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.” James 1:2-4
How do we increase our faith? The same way an athlete increases their physical capabilities. By subjecting their bodies to stimulus that they’ve never experienced before. For the strength athlete, they must have the courage and mental toughness to expose themselves to heavier weights or force themselves to perform more reps than they used last time, thus forcing their bodies to adapt in order to be strong enough to handle that amount of work with more efficiency in the future. Also, it is only by stretching and tearing the muscle tissue down that the body will have a reason to heal and rebuild those muscles bigger and stronger. So while the pain may be difficult to bear in the moment, it is only temporary. The results however, can last a lifetime. Below is a video of Matt Kroc, a powerlifter known for his intensity and mental toughness, doing a 40 rep dropset from 500lb. down to 135lb.!!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5KkvrVq_0CM&index=45&list=FLqrgZ_w_N_RtV4aDeAVSUDg
I believe the same principles apply when it comes to getting stronger in our faith. (Disclaimer: I’m preaching at myself more than anyone.) If we are to build up our faith, we gotta get comfortable with being uncomfortable. It’s only through being put in situations where we aren’t quite sure how things are gonna turn out and making the jump anyway that we’ll be able to handle that same situation again with more power and efficiency. When we feel God prompting us to do or say something we are hesitant to do because we’ve never done anything like that before, are we gonna ignore it and miss an opportunity or are we gonna go for it and trust that God is all He says He is. I know for me, I’ve fallen on both sides of that fence in the past. However God’s given me more opportunities to bless others in the last month or so than I’ve ever noticed before. As a result, I got to see God heal a man of back pain and was able to help out a fellow Racer who is launching in a day or two who still needed some last minute funding!
I still need about a $1,000 in my account by September 26th in order to meet my first deadline and go to training camp in October. If you would like to be a part of our mission to love the hell out of the world, one person at a time, please consider supporting the effort financially by making a one-time or monthly donation. No amount is too little. Jesus fed over 5,000 people with 5 loaves of bread and 2 fish. Just click the “Support” tab to the left. Thank you for your support. I really appreciate it!
