Spiritual Fitness in Walking With Jesus - Balancing

 One of my cousin’s girls was practicing balancing on her knees on a big ball. It made me think about this next in our series on moving forward in our walk with God.

Life can feel like you’re balancing on a big ball. You fear tumbling off like Peter walking to meet Jesus and sinking when he took his eyes off Jesus.(See Matt. 14:22-36, parallel account in Mark 6) We talked about standing for truth, in prayer, etc.. Part of that is not letting the devil or temptation make us tumble off. But, part is also getting in better shape ourselves, like with the full armor of God, so we can move forward while doing it.

We have lots of muscles we don’t know we have till we use them. If you ever rode a horse or some other rough activity for the first time, or first time in a while, you’ve felt those muscles. They’re not new ones, they just weren’t used.

I know, you say, “I thought we were walking forward, not going on horseback.” Well, I did only say “going forward,” and even running makes us use different muscles (quads) than mere walking (more hamstring use.) And, that’s the point.

God has a special plan for each of us. He might call us to use one Fruit of the Spirit(Gal. 5:22-23) more(like longsuffering for parents), or one might need more work (like if a person feels little joy since they were never taught to be thankful.) But, He wants to develop each of those Frit in us. In the same way, He wants us to grow in every area, just like a person who gets fit by using many different muscles at different times.

Getting fit means getting your heart, lungs, muscles, etc. in good shape; like that girl did balancing on that ball. Being fit isn’t just about weight. Saying it’s just weight is a lie the devil uses. People see airbrushed images of people who can be very unhealthy. John 10:10 says the thief (devil) comes to steal, kill, and destroy; Jesus came that we might have life and life more abundantly. God is all about building us up. (If a friend worries about weight, you can witness by sharing how God made them special & wants a personal relationship with them. Send them to a great ministry, www.findyourtruebeauty.com, @findyourtruebeauty on Instagram & “Find Your True Beauty” on Facebook. Of course, the best thing you can share is how to be saved from sin. Still, many worry about other things, too, and need help.

Back to moving forward spiritually, this shows how we can “tumble off” when we focus on the world. We should try to exercise different spiritual muscles at different tiems. We might not be as good at some. The only good thing I can do with music is keep kids from acting up on the church bus by threatening to sing if they do. 😊 Okay, maybe I’m not that bad, but my point is, I still make a joyful noise singing, even if I forget words and – as I did once – sing the word “something” as the church was singing. If you have a chance to sing, then do it for God singing things thatbuild others up, not tearing them down. And, of course, singing of our salvation and other great things about God will build us and others up.

You can do so much for God when you let Him use you. Don’t let your self-talk defeat you. Instead, trust God to use you – as He did me leading songs for VBS for about 15 minutes before the start one morning 15 or so years ago when a couple people who were supposed to hadn’t gotten there and the bus that I helped on got there early. (I did have a few kids who were sitting quietly come up and help with motions and with some words.)

Remember what Paul said about how God used him. “I am made all things to all men, that I might by all means save some..” (1 Cor. 9:22) He was willing to step out in faith and try lots of different things. Yet, he always remembered to keep the preaching and living out of the Gospel as the main thing. I pray you will, too.