FRAGILE

Spiritual Training Cycle: Connection (wk. 11/13)

Galatians 6:1-9

Claaaannnggg. The sound rang out across the entire gym echoing off the walls. The experienced athletes cringed, waiting to see what fate awaited the rookie weightlifter. All eyes followed the coach as she graciously, yet expeditiously, made her way to the scene of the crime. The equipment in front of the athlete confirmed what she, and everyone else, suspected had happened. Anxiously, the rookie athlete watched as the coach slipped the remaining plates off the other side of the barbell and carefully set it on the ground. As she stood, she quietly, but firmly said to the wide-eyed athlete, “You don’t ever drop an empty barbell. Empty barbells are fragile.”

If you want to get your coach’s attention, drop an empty barbell. I mean, even from shin height, you’ll have a coach at your station faster than when you set a new personal best. It’s a learning process for new athletes and I get it. They see these videos of people lifting incredible loads with barbells. They see the barbell bend at the strongman competitions, yet never break. Well, almost never. They watch other athletes in the gym on deadlift day finish their final rep and feel the floor shake as their barbell drops to the ground. But what they don’t yet realize is that the barbell by itself is fragile. What seems like a simple piece of steel is quite complex. Inside the collars, or the ends of the barbell, are bearings – small balls or needles that allow the barbell to spin. When you load a barbell with weight, it’s the weight that ultimately receives the force of a drop, preserving the barbell from severe damage. Empty barbells must bear the force of the fall directly, and over time they will simply lose their effectiveness or break altogether. A barbell is strongest when it is connected to an external load. That’s where it becomes most powerful.

In life, you’re essentially an empty barbell. You’re fragile. I know we all think we’re tough and we can handle what life throws at us, but truth be told, it only takes one or two “bumps” in the road to reveal just how fragile we really are. And I don’t mean physically, I’m talking emotionally and mentally. We’re all one crisis away from breaking. Next thing you know, we’re yelling at our kids, fighting with our spouse, distracting ourselves on social media, drinking one more glass of wine, you name it. These are all coping mechanisms we turn to when life shows just how fragile we really are. While they may bring temporary relief, they don’t provide the strength or power we need to live a purposeful and fulfilling life.

The empty barbell teaches us the need to be gentle in the gym and in life. I know it may sound strange for me to suggest that in a gym full of clang and bang you need to be gentle, but you do. If you roll in like a bull in a china shop, you’re going to miss the opportunity to practice being gentle. And you need to train gentleness because it is a life skill.

Gentleness is our strength under divine direction. When we choose to let Jesus direct our strength, we learn we don’t always need to go all out, red lined and full throttle. Not only is that a direct highway to burnout, it also causes us to miss the moments when people need us the most.

Last year my son had a challenging high school football season. He was playing center for the first time, which required lots of extra practice outside of school. At first, he was excited to work with me as we did our usual 100 snaps a day. But then things began to change. His mood was a little more solemn and his enthusiasm started to wane. Being the classic Dad/Coach that I am, I pressed on and talked to him about perseverance and the work no one ever sees.

But it was me who couldn’t see. I was the bull in the china shop, and it took some encouragement from my wife to slow it down. To be gentle with my son. As God directed my strength, I realized there was a deeper issue – one filled with anxiety and insecurity. My son was the empty barbell. He didn’t need me to press. Ne needed me to pray.

Over the course of the season, we would grow so much closer as a family. Time and space would help heal the emotional anguish of my son. Gentleness has the power to change lives. Just think how much your life has changed as God has been gentle with you. Like the empty barbell, God is gentle with you because He knows you’re fragile.

Questions for Reflection:

What does being gentle look like for you?

What areas of your life need more gentleness?

STRONGER

Spiritual Training Cycle: Connection (wk. 10/13)

2 Timothy 2:22-26

In sports, it’s not uncommon to ask the question, “Who is stronger?” Who is the stronger team? Who is the stronger competitor? In other words, based on a side-by-side comparison of physical capacity, who is most likely to win?

But like the famous saying goes, “That’s why they play the game.” Because it’s not that straightforward. You can be physically dominant in every statistic and still chalk up a loss. You can put in a solid cycle of training and still not get a new PR. As athletes grow and mature in their field of sport, they understand that strength is merely one component of the journey to become stronger.

Especially when it comes to mental, emotional, and spiritual strength. These are the arenas where “brute force” is the last thing you want to do. Instead, you must build the skill of allowing God to direct your strength. This is the spiritual skill of gentleness.

Now, when you think about the qualities and characteristics of strong people, where does gentle rank? Probably not high on the list. But we all know a “gentle giant” in our lives. A person whose strength or size or power is tempered by the way they care for and interact with others. 

They can pick a dandelion. They can hold a baby. And yes, they can crush a barbell. But it’s as if they know when and how to direct their power, as well as when to restrain it.

So it is with the spiritual skill of gentleness. Jesus has incredible power. He raised the dead. He made the lame walk. He let the blind see. Yet He was gentle with His power. He allowed the Father to divinely direct His strength.

And nowhere do we need more gentleness then when it comes to conflict and disagreements. I guarantee you there are people in your life you have tension with. It could be a co-worker, a relative, a sibling, your significant other, or even your children. Live on the earth long enough and you will have conflict.

Culture wants you to believe the best way to handle it is with brute force. Maybe you post a rant to your feed to stir up the mob, so they’ll take your side and cancel the other. Maybe you go in guns blazing with a whole laundry list of why they’re wrong and you’re right. Or maybe you passively aggressively tuck it away and start plotting your revenge for later. These are the examples culture gives us. But Scripture offers us another way.

The book of 2 Timothy is a letter from the Apostle Paul to a young pastor. Timothy is facing some conflict. He’s dealing with people who muddled and confused the gospel and contorted it into what they wanted it to be. Now, I don’t know about you but that fires me up. That’s still going on today! And maybe Timothy wanted to hit them with a little cultural brute force.

But instead, Paul instructs him to be gentle. Not to get tangled up with the false teachings, but to continue lovingly instructing the false teachers. Not to prove that God is right, but to give then space to realize they are wrong.

Gentleness may not appear to be strong, but that’s why they play the game of life. People who place their strength under the divine direction of Jesus have the capacity to bring love into any conflict. And love is the essential ingredient we all need to truly be stronger.

Questions for Reflection:

What’s your experience trying to bring gentleness into conflict?

Why do you think culture wants us to use brute force instead?

How has God been gentle with you?

Blessed Beginnings

Spiritual Training Cycle: Connection (wk. 9/13)

Philippians 4:1-23

My favorite clients to train aren’t necessarily the fittest. In fact, some I started training had never stepped foot in a gym before. Can you relate? Remember those days when the thought of walking into a foreign warehouse filled with oddly shaped metal equipment and cheerful, sweating smiles made you anxious? If that’s not a familiar memory, it might be the time you knew you needed to make a change in your life and all you had was a free membership to an outside walk down to the end of the street and back. 

When your beginning starts there, any progress made toward improving your health is incredible. Getting your running shoes on is a win. Reserving your class ahead of time is a win, and so is showing up the next day.

If we’re careful not to discredit the days of humble beginnings, we can find more to be grateful for along the way. It is when we "get grown", as my grandmother liked to say, that we start to forget. Suddenly, our discipline is expected of us. We’re disappointed when we only back squat 10 lbs. under our personal best, even though we know we’ve done more in the past. Our gratitude turns into grumbling.

If you want a lesson on humble beginnings, look no further than the Apostle Paul. One of his most quoted verses from the Bible comes from the book of Philippians. You know the one that’s in Instagram bios everywhere? “I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength.” This book is often seen as the book on joy, yet we forget Paul was writing it from prison.

Paul found every opportunity around him as something to praise. He didn’t miss a chance to thank God in every season of his journey. Good and bad, rich or poor, in sickness or in health (that quote might also sound familiar from Paul).

I believe there are two things Paul did to get more spiritual reps of gratitude daily.

Number one was his gratitude to the saints. Even in prison, he counted others as more important than himself. He says, “Even in Thessalonica you sent me help for my needs once and again. Not that I seek the gift, but I seek the fruit that increases your credit (Phil 4:16-17)." The “fruit” he mentions is the outpouring of his ministry of the gospel. He’s teaching generosity in the church by modeling it himself. More than anything, he wants the church to grow in these virtues to reflect the free gift of Christ Jesus and his rescue.

Number two was his gratitude in the scriptures. “What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me—practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you (Phil 4:9).” We cannot forget where we came from. The same light from the Son of God that shines on a heart of clay that hardens can shine on a heart of wax that melts. The scriptures can’t just exist in our heads; they must reach our hearts, moving us with compassion for others because Jesus made the first move for us.

As we reflect on our journeys and humble beginnings, let’s remember that every small step forward is a gift guided by God. Whether it’s finding time to work out through busy schedules or sending a sincere text to a friend when the thought passes by, these moments are growing opportunities for gratitude. Just as Paul found thankfulness in every situation, we too can cultivate a grateful heart in our daily lives.

Let’s embrace gratitude for those around us and the wisdom we gain from God’s word. By valuing the ministry of saints and the sacrifice of Jesus, we align ourselves with a heart of gratitude. Practicing this daily opens us to the joy and peace found only in Him. May our gratitude reflect His love, shining brightly through every trial and triumph.

Questions for Reflection:

What was the beginning of your fitness journey like? Who encouraged you along the way?

What was the beginning of your spiritual journey like? Who encouraged you along the way?