I have exercised and worked out with weights for over 30 years. I am exceptionally disciplined in that regard and unless incapacitated by illness or travel have maintained a strict regimen of working out 5 days per week.
A term much used around the gym is: “no pain no gain”. Indeed the next couple of days after a good workout and one can feel soreness in the muscles, (sometimes it is severe). I once told my son that I was going to shave my head, and get a vise installed in my bathroom. When he asked why, I told him I was going to put my toothbrush in the vice and load it with toothpaste, then I would move my head side to side to brush my teeth. That way I wouldn’t have to lift my sore arms to do it. The same for the shaved head. I would no longer have a need to comb my hair.
The way weight lifting works is one must tear down the muscle with the heavy weights which will cause soreness, but then in a few days it grows back stronger than it was before.
The wonderful thing about lifting weights and working out in general is that improvement can routinely be observed. After my neck surgery I quit working out for several months. I got so weak I couldn’t remove the lid from a bottle of water. One day I decided that I didn’t want to be in such bad shape and I resumed my workout routine.
When I started I could barely do 1 pushup and 5 or 6 sit ups. Yesterday I did 20 pushups and 75 sit ups. The same went for lifting weights, I could barely lift the bar with no weights on it 3 or 4 times when I started. Now I’m loading a 35 on each side and pumping it 10 times for 3 sets. As for running I barely made it walking ¼ of a mile. My jaw hurt so bad I thought I was having a heart attack and I was completely winded. Now I’m up to a mile at a good clip and not even working up a sweat.
I’m still a far cry from where I was when I was struck down, but it’s nice to see the progress. I would be remiss if I omitted repeating that being fit and strong does come at a price. Different body parts, (dependent upon the workout regime), are constantly sore; thus making the adage, “No pain – no gain” a certainty.
In thinking of the trials we must endure on this earth I think it is much the same concept. Each trial tears us down, but after a while we not only recover, but we emerge much stronger. When the next trial hits we are no longer rookies. At some point we become seasoned veterans and trials just “ain’t what they used to be” anymore. Yes the initial shock is difficult to face, and we definitely feel the pain but we know that soon it will subside and we will be stronger and better off because of it. With all of the trials my family and I have had this year I feel like I can handle most anything. I feel like a cage fighter who smiles as they enter the cage. They know they will get the crap beat out of them, but the prize awaits the victor so we might as well get it on.
I think this is what James was talking about when he said we should be glad when we endure suffering. Not only does it produce strength and endurance, but it is useful in helping others who suffer similar maladies. For example what better person to talk to for someone who is undergoing treatment for cancer than a cancer survivor. Who can counsel someone who was dumped by a spouse better than someone who’s been through it? The same could be said for those who lived through the ravages of alcoholism only to come out on the other side unscathed. Who can console someone who lost a child better than someone who’s lost one themselves? Who can give hope to a prisoner better than someone who lived through it themselves and became a success outside the walls?
The prize of the cage fighter doing battle is loving and helping others.
I’m no masochist and would not want to relive one moment of the tragedy, trials, and suffering that I’ve endured, but then again I’m glad that I have those experiences under my belt so they can be used as resources in my life and my ministry.
See, there’s always something to smile about . . . Cheer up!
James 1:2
Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance . . .
July 28, 2015 – Click here to listen