Building Strength
As I struggled during the work out with her, I kept asking myself, “What have I been doing in the gym all this time?” because it was not clearly helping me during that moment. Joking it off, I told her, “I am clearly not doing something right.” As I laid collapsed on her floor, it hit me,
“You may have been losing weight, but you have not been building strength.”
You Can't Force the Rain
At any moment, the first inkling of true repentance and humility He sees in your heart, He is prepared to provide you a downpour of blessings and favor.
Joy Unspeakable
When our flesh says, “No”, praise Him anyway. Turn on worship and sing. Even if you don’t feel like it, do it and allow the Holy Spirit to sweep you up in the merciful arms of our King. This joy is unspeakable because it is irrational.
Works vs Obedience
Therefore, I no longer interpret it literally as “faith without works is dead” but rather “faith without obedience is dead”. One leads to enslavement to vain works, the other encourages and promotes a relationship with the Father.
When the Way to Fight is to Be Still...
When God has a command for us that goes against our nature, based on this story, there are three things He has planned: increase our trust in Him of His faithfulness and delivering power with our lives, bless us with plunder, rewards and blessings that goes beyond anything we could ever imagine and remind us that He is God. These commands are to not take away from us nor make us feel powerless but rather to empower us because of who our God is.