I’m guessing that one of the most popular New Year’s resolutions is a commitment to exercise more. People often decide to cast away all those holiday desserts and sluggish activity levels and begin anew with a fresh resolve to use that treadmill that presently is doubling as a clothing rack.
But did you know that you can resolve to strengthen spiritual muscles as well?
Paul Tripp thinks you can and should.
Here is his recommendation (in
A Shelter in the Time of Storm): “When God asks you to wait, what happens to your spiritual muscles? While you wait, do your spiritual muscles grow bigger and stronger or do they grow flaccid and atrophied? Waiting for the Lord isn’t about God forgetting you, forsaking you, or being unfaithful to his promises. It’s actually God giving you time to consider his glory and to grow stronger in faith. Remember, waiting isn’t just about what you are hoping for at the end of the wait, but also about what you will become as you wait.”
While reading this I was reminded of the verse in 1 Timothy 4:
“For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come.”
So let’s not only dust off that treadmill, but also make healthy use of spiritual waiting. If we’re going to exercise at all :-) let’s do something that will be profitable for this life and the next.
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