Quit Spinning Your Wheels

I was in the middle of my quiet time with Jesus yesterday morning when I felt led to pick up my pen and begin journaling. When God speaks I don’t really know what I’m supposed to write but he just begins wielding my pen.

After reading Lysa T’s blog today regarding skinny girl vs fat girl I decided to post yesterday’s journal entry.

Quit Spinning Your Wheels

You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness. Ephesians 4:22-24 (NIV)

Lance Armstrong was a seven time winner of cycling's most prestigious race. Three years before he won his first Tour de France, a race that calls for amazing endurance, he was diagnosed with testicular cancer and given less than a 50/50 chance of survival.

It must have made getting back on the bike difficult, in more ways than one.

Can you imagine how different Lance Armstrong’s life would have been if he hadn’t listened to his heart. If he hadn’t had the courage to believe he was destined for greater things.

What would his life have been like if he had been content to ride a stationary bike through life? What if he had been too comfortable in his indoor setting to brave the outdoor elements that he would most likely endure on his way to achieving his goal?

He could have settled for just being a little more physically fit by continually spinning his wheels on the stationary bike of life.

On his stationary bike he might have pumped the same amount of revolutions, or increased the cycle’s tension to get the same cardio workout, but he never would have gotten to where he wanted to be. He never would have tasted the Glory.

I believe our churches are filled with stationary bike riders today. They put in their time each Sunday to do their work-out. But in truth they are only spinning their wheels because they have yet to brave the elements in order to get where God wants them to be. They have stayed indoors- in their comfort zone, instead of listening to the voice of God calling them to Glory.

Glory is a close personal relationship with Jesus Christ, the Savior of our souls. We come to Glory by laying our own personal agenda aside and following God.

We can’t assume to know where God is leading; we must listen to his voice. But so many voices compete with Gods each day it’s hard to decipher which one is His. The only way we can know God’s voice is to know his very heart and we do this by delving into his Word and reading and listening to it on a daily basis.

I like to use a dieting and exercise analogy.

When we exercise, our hearts beat faster and we breathe harder. Although its good for our bodies, it’s not easy to get our heart beat up to the maximum rate and sustain it.

But as we cut out the calories and increase the work out our muscles mass increases and endorphins are released giving us a euphoric high. It helps us endure.

The scales begin to show our weight dropping. Sometimes, we get discouraged because we’ve stayed on program but the scales don’t show our hard work. We have reached a dieting plateau. Our bodies have gone into a fight or flight mode to protect us. But eventually our body rebounds and the pounds begin to drop again.

And finally, the results begin showing, and people begin to take notice of the new you.

Exercising our faith is much the same.

As we begin to read the bible we begin to inhale God’s very words to us. But inhaling Christ isn’t any easier than physical exercise.

As we start our morning workout we begin breathing in Gods words, and as we do, he begins pinching off the fat in our lives. He takes a little bit off over here, and adds a little bit to us over there. He takes away a night out with the boys, and he adds a weekly bible study.

Sometimes we come to a spiritual plateau and suffer a set back. But as someone once so aptly spoke, “a set back is a set up for a come back”.

As we endure the exercise, we develop spiritual resolve. God releases his Godly endorphins and we receive a spiritual high called JOY. Even in the grueling workout called life, where we experience bountiful blessings one day and a devastating blow the next, we can count it all Joy. The more joy we give the more joy we get back. The more joy in our lives, the more people take notice of the new self, and the more spiritual fruit we begin to produce.

Will 2008 be the year for you to quit spinning your wheels? Isn’t it time for you to get out of your sweat suit and get into your spandex and go for the Glory?
Isn’t it about time to put on the new self?

Loving Father, thank you for creating in me a holy temple in which the Holy Spirit may abide. Forgive me for the clutter which I have allowed to accumulate, squeezing out your holy presence. Make new my attitude Lord, so that I may be able to put on the new self and always produce good fruit for your kingdom.