Wait Training

I was back at it today, Lord.  Logging in my 10.25 miles on my bicycle, enjoying the bright sunshine and the brisk mid-fifties temperature.

A few days ago, I was contemplating Cross Training.  How engaging in different athletic activities can enhance overall fitness.  I had changed my exercise routine that day, opting for my first walk in quite some time.

Today, I got to thinking about weight training.  Most of the athletes do it — runners, skiers, swimmers, soccer players, and many others.  Building up their legs, of course, but also their upper bodies.

Strengthening their muscles one day and their hearts the next.  Alternating weight training with cardio-vascular training.

Then it hit me.

You did, Lord… hit me, that is.   🙂   With that wonderful teaching technique You so often like to use with me.  The 2-by-4 right to the side of my head.

Works every time!   🙂

The “hit” was actually an insight.

We all need some kind of weight training.  Our bodies were made to be exercised, for peak fitness and performance.

But we also need another kind of training… don’t we, Lord?  The kind of training that will supernaturally empower even what the world calls a “98-pound weakling.”

Wait Training.

“The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth.  He will not grow tired or weary, and His understanding no one can fathom.  He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak… those who wait on [hope in] the Lord will renew their strength.  They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.” (Isaiah 40:28-31)

Our “make it happen” culture seems to say the opposite, Lord.  We often move at hyper-speed, as if the act of cramming too many activities into too little time has been elevated to an Art Form.

Or a kind of Purple Heart, earned only on a corporate battlefield.

We have been taught:  “Do It My Way.”  “Look Out for Number One.”  “Pull Yourself Up by Your Own Bootstraps.”  “If it is to be, it’s up to ME.”

The world says, “Strive!  Strive!  Strive!”  Without saying, “Three ‘strives’ and you’re OUT!!!”  Burned out, that is.

The very opposite of what You say, Lord.

“God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble… He says, ‘Be still, and know that I am God.'”  (Psalm 46:1,10)

Oh, Lord… This is so much better than the “Ready, Fire, Aim” approach to Life!   🙂   But how do we get there?  To the level of Wait Training that will really make a difference?

If bench pressing helps build our biceps, what kind of “bench pressing” will do the same for our spirits?

“I wait for the Lord, my whole being waits, and in His Word I put my hope… for with the Lord is unfailing love.”  (Psalm 130:5,7)

Breaking a “spiritual sweat” by waiting on The Master…

…so I can master the Art of Waiting and “power lift” today’s challenges!

Abba’s Girl

 

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