A Life in Exile

Though it has taken persistent urging by my sons, I recently succumbed and began taking a weight class at a local gym. Trust me, I began with pretty light weights, because it didn’t take much for my arms to tire with a forty-five-second interval of lifts. Who knew that forty-five seconds was so long? But it can be when your arms are flabby and your shoulders weak.

After a few weeks of this willful torture (in my perspective), I did decide to add one further weight to my routine. Only two pounds heavier than the largest of my two pairs of weights, I felt I was ready for a challenge. What did that mean? I was building strength. Do you know what else it meant? That the forty-five seconds I was feeling confident about now caused me to moan and groan once again.

There’s no way around pain when you want to gain muscle strength.

Faith is a muscle that must be exercised

When nothing challenges a Christian’s faith, it is very easy for the spiritual life to atrophy. A weakened faith cannot stand up to major disasters, cultural attacks, and the temptations of the devil, the world, and the flesh. James had a word to say about the spiritual exercises believers face. He calls them trials.

Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. (James 1:2-4 ESV)

The trials of this life push at our faith and want us to question God. Remember the Tempter’s words in the garden: “Did God really say?” This is why we should be joyful when such tests come. We already know the answer! We already know that we are not good enough in ourselves to save ourselves. We needed a Savior, and that is Jesus! While we were STILL sinners, He died for us (see Rom. 5:8). Satan wants to tell us we’re not good enough for God to love us. For once we push back and say, “That’s so true, we’re not, but Jesus loved us anyway and gave Himself for us.”

The more we push back against the lies and deceptions of this world, the stronger our faith becomes. We begin to recognize what Satan’s trying to do before he does it.

The weights we use are the Word of God and His Spirit

If the only Bible you’re getting is an occasional sermon on Sundays or a Sunday School class every now and then, then your spiritual muscles are not going to be up to the task of taking on the trials of this life. Just as I needed to regularly pick up those weights to build up my physical muscles, we need to daily pick up our Bibles to build our knowledge and understanding of God. The more we know about God from His Word and the better our relationship is with Him in study and prayer, the easier it is to recognize false prophecies, worldly temptations, deceptive lies, and the multitude of other tools Satan carries in his toolbox of evil doings.

When we know the truth, we can stand up to the lies.

Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm. (Ephesians 6:10-13)

This Spirit-filled armor of God enables us to stand up against the spiritual forces of evil with amazing God-given strength. We can’t do this on our own—it’s all God—working in and through us by the power of the Holy Spirit. If you don’t recognize that you’re fighting a spiritual battle in this world, then that is a clear indication that your spiritual muscles are weak. Those strong in the faith are strong in the faith because they know there is an enemy out there to get them. Thus, the reason they do daily spiritual workouts through prayer and Bible study.

Be steadfast

If you’ve ever known a wishy-washy person, you know how hard it is to nail them down on anything. One day, they’re all excited about this cause, and the next, they are pursuing something at the complete opposite end of the spectrum. It’s hard to nail them down on anything.

This is why James tells believers that we should be glad when trials grow our faith, because, in the end, they produce in us a true steadfastness. One definition of steadfastness is “loyalty in the face of trouble and difficulty.” In other words, this verse could read, “that the testing of your faith produces loyalty to Jesus Christ in the face of the trials.” With strong spiritual muscles, we can proclaim, “Throw at us what you’ve got, Satan; but we’re standing true to Jesus!”

What needs to change in your spiritual exercise routine to reduce the flab and atrophy in your faith and build up your confidence and loyalty to God? Lord, strengthen our faith, even if it requires trials to make us strong.

Grace and Peace

If you missed the last Wednesday Wisdom, click HERE, or check out these posts on faith: Did God Really Say: A Crisis of Faith, By Faith, Focus in the Frailty, Remember—He’s Told Us Already, Staying Battle Ready, The Good Fight, and Engaged in Battle.