By Brad Bloom, Publisher
My grandfather and I were particularly close. When I was a boy he often went to my track meets to cheer me toward the prize. We lived life together for many years. It was through the physical work, meals, travel, conversation, rest — and more work, that I got to know him spiritually. He, among others, have given me inspiration to honor God with my life and give myself fully to His purpose.
It was through my grandfather’s life that I first witnessed muscular atrophy – the wasting away of the body often due to lack of exercise. Descriptive words like wither, shrivel, shrink, degenerate and become emaciated accurately describe what happens when you stop using what you have. All of us can have a gradual decline in physical effectiveness and mental vigor when we neglect or underuse the body, mind and spirit that God has given us. In his case it was part of aging. For others like Alyssa K. Silva it is the result of a disease. Yet others experience an accident or other trauma that leads to atrophy.
Unfortunately too many experience physical decline because they choose to not exercise and have poor diets.
Alyssa reveals some riveting perspective in her blog, Let Yourself Surrender:
Today I am letting honesty and God take my one little hand with my one little finger that types this story to you. What about the moments that cause us pain and heartache and the ability to feel numb? As much as we fight it, that serves a purpose, too. Nothing about living in the dark makes you feel deserving. That’s the thing about darkness, though. It does everything in its power to shadow the light. Life isn’t about having all- or any- of the answers we want or need. Life is about the process. It’s about learning to let go and forgive yourself for the things you allow to weigh you down. It’s about learning to surrender to God’s will.”
These are the kinds of words – the deeper spiritual perspective that God gives us through others so that we can move from physical and spiritual atrophy to being a trophy for God.
What is the atrophy in your life? Is it a broken relationship, your own personal sin, a debilitating fear, selfishness and the preoccupation with things other than God or perhaps YOUR body and the things you prize most dearly.
I want to suggest to you that the concept of reaching or staying at a plateau isn’t really an accurate understanding of God’s design. We never really plateau – physically, mentally, financially, relationally and certainly not spiritually. Over the course of your lifetime you may feel like you are plateauing, BUT the more accurate (and certainly more challenging and demanding) perspective is to realize your either continually adapting to progressive overload (making gains and having growth) OR you’re in some state of atrophy. You’re either advancing or declining. While that may be a tough pill to swallow in regards to your training and physical fitness, it can be a sobering even disheartening understanding when it comes to your spiritual journey. UNLESS you commit to adapt to God’s Spirit.
We mustn’t be deceived and hesitate to work hard and serve God. It is the way we are physically and spiritually designed to live. God desires His very best for all of us. Each one of us are God’s greatest prize – a trophy of great value. When you feel like you are being held back realize that it is simply a lie. When you think you’ve arrived, realize that in your journey through eternity (it doesn’t begin someday – you’re in it already) God wants to continually take you further. So, Don’t believe the illusion of the plateau – Don’t hold onto the curse of atrophy. God gives you the freedom to live a prized life. That is the vision He has for you.
Let’s commit today to be fully devoted to God with our physical bodies and our spiritual gifts. We can daily represent Christ’s victory over sin and death by living fully for Him for others. Discover what it means to be #atrophyforgood.
Train strong in Christ,
Brad Bloom, Publisher
