Yesterday happened to be one of my day exercise days, but the problem was that I didn’t want to work out. I am inundated with Jesus Alliance website work, matters concerning building my new home, selling Honey Lake, and helping out with taking care of my ailing wife. As I mentally reviewed all I had going on I felt that I just didn’t have time to fit it in an hour and a half of exercise. Nonetheless I donned my workout clothes and sullenly trudged upstairs.
Ordinarily I enjoy working out, but I literally had to force myself to do each exercise and I was constantly trying to convince myself to cut short the number of reps and sets and go back downstairs and work; It was a battle royal with a Yes-No-Yes-No-Yes-No confrontation of monumental proportion plaguing my mind; however in the end “Yes” won out, and I steeled myself against my inner thoughts and kept going.
I begin my routine with stomach crunches. I got about half way through and wanted to quit, but kept going. The same was true for various flexibility exercises that I do, (such as I’ve set a goal of being able to bend over and touch my toes without bending my legs, no small feat at my age). It is painful to try to stretch and I dislike doing it, but I just kept at it for the required time.
Next I got on the punching bag. It looks easy when you see someone on TV pummeling away in rhythmic fashion; however it makes one’s arms very tired to hold them up for long periods of time punching away as fast as one can muster. My arms felt like lead, but I thumpity-thump-thump-thumped the bag until my phone alarm went off and mercifully notified me that I had banged away long enough.
Then I went to the weight bench to do my chest exercises. I normally do three sets of everything. I tried my utmost to convince my stubborn alter ego to allow me to just do one or maybe two sets, but it was not to be. Not only did I do the required number of reps and sets I increased the amount of weight dramatically.
I always finish working out by walking/jogging on the treadmill. The treadmill is prayer time for me. I pass the time away praying for everyone on my prayer list, praising God for being who He is, and asking His guidance for my day. It was all I could do to focus on prayer and my mind wandered like a hobo hopping a freight to go nowhere in particular. I would catch my mind straying and would get angry at myself and snap back to my prayers, and in a few minutes would catch myself wandering again. Grrrrrrrr! Finally the timer reached its magic mark and I was through.
I trudged back downstairs panting like a deer and sat down at my desk. I was sweating like a politician on a hot day at the fairgrounds and couldn’t stand it and headed for the shower. Finally I was ready to begin my work.
To be honest I was amazed at the tremendous amount I accomplished in such a short period of time. In fact in spite of interruptions galore and phone calls from all over the country I actually achieved all of my goals for the day by 4:30 P.M. and I grilled some nice ribeye steaks to celebrate the productive day.
As I reflect on this today I am happy that I didn’t lose my resolve and I tenaciously fought through my weaknesses and the urging of my flesh to quit. Some call it self-discipline and if one doesn’t possess this trait they are doomed to never achieving goals. I disagree. I think it all boils down to how badly we want something. I want to be physically fit and strong more than I want to allow myself to be a physical disaster who cannot open a jar of sour pickles, thus I persevere with my fitness program.
I was particularly pleased that I fought so hard to stay on track and pray. I know we are in a spiritual war and I’m no match for the demonic forces that surround me, but God created those slimy suckers and He can protect me, my family, and friends from them through intercessory prayer.
There is no tsunami, hurricane, tornado, earthquake, or atomic bomb that comes anywhere near the power of prayer. We can unleash this awesome power at anytime, anywhere. This morning I went outside long before daylight and looked at the sky filled with zillions of stars and galaxies. I was in awe that the Creator of it all hears every prayer I utter and loves me so much that He suffered at Calvary in order that I might live. How wonderful it is to know that we can pray to Him and He who spoke the universe into existence will channel that tremendous power towards helping little old me. Don’t allow dark forces to deprive you of your blessing. Do you want God’s blessings more than you want to answer the call of the world? Take the time – MAKE the time to pray!
Luke 18:1
Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up.
August 6, 2015 – Click here to listen