Back in college there were a few of us among our larger group of friends that would hit the weight room on a regular basis. Every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday around 6:30 pm, Tyrone, Gabe, and I would meet up and head over to the gym.
It was a good routine for us; most of the time all three of us kept the appointment, but of course there would be times when one of us had to catch up on school work, make up some time on a project, or pull some extra hours at work, so the trio would be down a man. That’s when having a group of three paid off, there would still be two guys that could meet up and get a workout done.
Consistency was the key to results. Getting into a routine was important, and after a few weeks of regular workouts, the body came to embrace the physical stress. It was also a good mental discipline for all of us. There were definitely times when I didn’t feel like going, but knowing there were two other guys that were going to come looking for me to go with them helped get me ready to head out the door.
Now, missing a workout every now and then wasn’t a big deal. You can skip a workout and still jump back in without much of an issue. Christmas break, on the other hand, was something you had to figure out how to deal with. Bench press and bicep curls were some of the mainstay exercises we did in the gym, but neither of those exercises were something you really performed naturally in normal life. If you had a couple of weeks off from school (and the weight room), you probably missed a bunch of workouts unless you did something really creative to stay in shape, and those muscles didn’t take long to begin to atrophy.
Every January when we arrived back on campus, we kind of dreaded the first time we got back into the weight room. We still had muscle mass, certainly, but it had noticeably lost some of its density and tightness. We wanted to get back into our routine, but we were also a bit reluctant to get started up again because after you go for a few weeks without doing unnatural movements like bench press, and then you start doing it again, it becomes very painful.
What we came to realize was that it wasn’t the first workout back that we needed to fear, it was the second.
On the first workout back, we’d try to hype each other up a little bit, probably spout off something about working out harder in the new year, and grit our teeth as we pushed through. Sure, we took a couple of steps backward for that first workout, but the goal was to just get through it.
On the second workout back, we wouldn’t be gritting our teeth, we’d be wincing in pain. The acute stabbing pain in our pectoral muscles was terrible as we asked our bodies to work through the soreness that came from our first workout back. The only way to get to the other side of the pain and back into the reality of exercising without that kind of hurt was to just keep going. “If you can make it through the second workout, you’re home free,” we used to say.
As Christians, we’re entrusted with spiritual gifts. If Christ is your savior, you’re equipped with what you need to perform the work God’s asking you to do. We go through different phases and chapters in our lives and we’re capable of giving more effort in some phases than in others, but at some point during our lives God calls us to do something on behalf of His kingdom.
Perhaps it’s been a few chapters since you were willing to step outside your comfort zone to follow God’s will for your life, and you’ve been trying to get back to fulfilling your calling. Things tend to align against you and work to dissuade you from getting back into that sort of routine.
I can’t sit here and honestly tell you that you only have to get through two sessions of whatever it is that God’s called you to do before it gets less painful, but I would encourage you not to give up, and urge you to stick with it. To His followers, Jesus promised persecution, difficulties, and generally some hard times. He said that we’d need to have perseverance and grit to stick it out. I may not know you personally, but I can tell you that you’ll have challenges in this new year. Stick it out. Hang in there.
I’ll leave you with two Bible verses on perseverance. One is addressed to you as an individual who needs encouragement to follow Christ, while the other is addressed to you as an individual who’s exhorted to fulfill your calling. In both cases, note the need for persistence and perseverance.
Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him. –James 1:12
And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up. –Galatians 6:9
May 2023 be a year of persistence and growth for you, and I wish you the best in getting past your discomfort and into the routine God wants you to pursue.
