Fortified

Spiritual Training Cycle: Connection (wk. 7/13)

Reading: Luke 24:13-35

The church my husband and I attend offers communion about once a month. Every time without fail we have this inside joke. They pass out the elements: a cup of grape juice which is basically as much as a liquid teaspoon and a dime-sized wafer on top. The wafer has zero taste and probably no nutritional value at all. Every time I lean over to my husband and whisper to him, “oh thank goodness; I’m starving!” and then once we’ve taken the communion I lean back over and whisper, “gah, I’m so full now.”

It's a joke to say I’m full because the communion elements themselves are not filling or fortifying to my appetite. If I’m truly hungry while we are in the middle of the service and I receive the communion my stomach will still be growling the rest of the hour. However, when I fully and actively participate in the opportunity that communion provides, a celebration of the new life found in Jesus, my entire life, not just my fleshly appetite becomes fulfilled and fortified in a way no other substance or person can provide.

Oxford Languages defines Fortify as: providing (a place) with defensive works as protection against attack. Similar to secure, protect, surround, strengthen.

When I recognize that communion is fortifying and read that definition, I am blown away at how much God shows up in all those ways in my life when I let Him. When you step into the new life found in Jesus you can look back over your life and see where He consistently shows up. The moments you’ve been strengthened, surrounded, protected with no explanation to how it was even humanly possible to get through without His presence, guidance, and peace.

I think about my own life and one of the hardest moments I’ve gone through; pain and heartache I’ve never experienced before until the day I went into the hospital from miscarrying at almost twelve weeks. They estimated my baby girl stopped growing and her heart stopped beating around ten weeks into my pregnancy. In just those short 10-12 weeks I had already connected with, prayed over, visualized what my family’s life would be like with another girl. Knowing that I would be admitted to the hospital with a baby in my womb and walk out with nothing in my arms, the dreams and love I had already formed vanished before my eyes. I’ve never cried and wept more than I did in that moment.

And through it all, God showed up. Through my husband, the nurses, my family, and friends I had peace. There was still pain yes, but there was also peace that everything would eventually be ok. By the time you read this, it will have been exactly five years to the week, November 8th, 2018, when I experienced that loss. I can’t help but shake my head and smile a little that God is over here showing up in a way that is healing for me all over again. What are the odds I’d be writing about His fortifying goodness and sharing this story on almost the exact date of it happening? Two years after that experience God blessed our family more than I could’ve prayed or imagined on my own with a sweet baby boy and everything is better than ok; it’s redeeming and beautiful.

Jesus is consistent. He offers His fortification to us all day, every day. Therefore, we must be consistent in stepping into that relationship to receive it.

It’s like stepping onto the competition floor or behind the starting line. If you take it seriously, you don’t just show up without training and putting in the work beforehand. You’re consistent with your training, you put in the work day after day for weeks, months. You are consistent. You may be nervous when you show up, but you are prepared. You are confident and know you can accomplish your goal because you trust your training has taken you far enough to do your best.

It's the same with our consistent practice of communion. We rely on God, His Word: scriptures, His promises. We’ve seen Him work, we know His track record and no matter what we have faced or will face in life we can know that we are capable of getting through it because we have a relationship with Him and we can trust Him completely. There may be pain. It may be a struggle. But there will also be peace. You’ll be surrounded, protected, and strengthened in a way that isn’t humanly possible without Jesus.

In Luke 24:13-35, Jesus shows up on the road to Emmaus to two of His disciples. Throughout the time he spends with them he heals their pain, their doubts and disbeliefs. Something ignites their hearts (“were not our hearts burning within us while He was speaking to us on the road..?) to want to spend more time with Him and to tell everyone about what they had just experienced. The communion Jesus shared with them fortified their hearts and their lives in a way that nothing else could and they couldn’t wait to share about it with others. He invites us to do the same in our lives; we just have to be open to receiving it.

Questions for Reflection:

What does the act of communion ignite in you?

When has God shown up in your life and protected, strengthened, and surrounded you in a way you would’ve never experienced without His presence?

How can you consistently show up for God as He consistently shows up for you?

Bottom's Up

Spiritual Training Cycle: Connection (wk. 6/13)

Reading: John 6:25-35

Seven ankle rotations clockwise, seven ankle rotations counterclockwise. And like that, class begins. We call it bottom’s up, and for over nine years I’ve started every CrossFit class I coach the same way. With the exact same warm-up. Trunk rotations, bow and bends, y’s, t’s, and w’s – it’s all being done with a clear purpose. While to the rookie athlete it may appear to simply be a warm-up, it’s actually so much more. Bottom’s up is an invitation.

Now, that may sound strange, so let me explain. On the other side of bottom’s up is work. We’ve got a strength component to complete as well as a conditioning workout. When I start the warm-up, I’m inviting the athletes into the work. The depth of the athlete’s connection to the work and the quality of their movements will be driven by how well they warm up. If bottom’s up is just some throw away thing they do, they miss the opportunity to prepare. And not just their physical bodies. There’s the mental aspect of life we all carry into the gym. Bottom’s up is the space and time to let all that go. It’s so much more than a warm-up. Bottom’s up is an opportunity.

In our spiritual life, there are a set of practices the ancients did thousands of years ago. This practice is also an invitation and an opportunity. It’s known as communion. Communion is not dipping a fake cracker into grape juice. Well, it may be for some of you. But that’s not the point of communion. Communion is a celebration of the new life found in Jesus.

Communion is a celebration of the new life found in Jesus.

Later this month, other writers on our team will explain in more detail the elements of communion and their meaning. For now, I want to focus on the point of the experience itself. If you approach communion the same way some athletes approach a warm-up, then you’re probably going to miss it. Because there are some amazing things on the other side of communion – if you’re ready for them.

Communion invites us into a deeper connection with God. When you hold the cracker or wafer or bread in your hands, recognize that’s what Jesus did with His disciples the night He was betrayed. When you taste the wine or juice, that’s what the disciples did. Jesus’ willingness to face death head on means not just a reconnection to God, but a deeper one.

Communion invites us into a deeper faith in Jesus. When Jesus said, “The work of God is this: to believe in the one he sent,” He made it clear that faith, or belief, is the foundation. But faith changes over time as it is tested. Don’t be tossed about by the tsunamis of life. Come to the communion table and let Jesus deepen your faith.

Finally, communion invites us into deeper obedience in our lives. James said faith without works is useless. We get the privilege to live life for the glory of God, and communion reminds us that because Jesus was obedient even to death on a cross, His resurrection is proof of His promise. And our invitation is to grow more like Jesus everyday as we submit to God in more areas of our life.

One of my coaching mantras is, “Let the work work.” In other words, let the work accomplish the purpose for which it was programmed. Including your warm-ups! Remember, they are an invitation to the work ahead. In the same way, remember that communion is also an invitation. An invitation to a deeper connection to God, a deeper faith in Jesus, and to a deeper obedience in our lives. The Author of Life has programmed a great workout for you – so don’t miss it!

Questions for Reflection:

What’s your experience with communion? Do you practice it regularly?

Of the three invitations communion invites us into, which one connects with you the most?

(deeper connection to God, deeper faith in Jesus, deeper obedience in your life)

The Healing Journey

Spiritual Training Cycle: Connection (wk. 5/13)

Reading: Matthew 9:18-26

Picture this: you get to the gym, all the usual crowd is there, people are warming up, putting their gear on, catching up from the long weekend. But there’s a new guy standing in the corner, a big guy, not an athletic guy, at least not anymore. He’s shy and nervous. He’s been neglecting his fitness and health for far too long. But today is the day he turns all that around.

What is going through your head right now? "Good for him. I hope he makes it. I was there once." Maybe a little shade creeps in: "How could he let himself get like that? I’m glad that’s not me."

Far from a gym, about 2,000 years ago, a woman started a similar journey. She heard that the miracle preacher, who loved sinners and was kind to outcasts, had come to town. And judging by the bustle, he was close. Quickly, she gathered herself, covered her face, and stepped outside. She hoped no one would recognize her. The Bible was clear that anyone bleeding was unclean and should keep their distance. Certainly, not press into a crowd. Certainly not come near a rabbi. But there was another verse rolling around in her mind. Micah 4:2, “there is healing in his wings.”

Jewish men wore a special kind of robe, with tassels (tzitzit). These came to be referred to as the wings of their robes. Hebrew sages had been teaching that when the Messiah would come, even the wings, the tzitzit, would have the power to heal. So after 12 years of bleeding. 12 years of painful and useless treatments. 12 years of being an outcast. This woman made Micah 4:2 a reality and grabbed the wings of Jesus’s robe. Immediately she was healed. Jesus turns to see who touched Him, or rather His wings. He finds the eyes of the woman and says, “Your faith has healed you.”

“Your faith has healed you.”

Now, here is where it gets interesting… Jesus doesn’t say healed (iaomai). He says “saved” (sozo). Central to the biblical concept of salvation is healing and restoration. After all, salvation is the healing of sin by forgiveness and the restoration of a relationship with God. But salvation is so much more than that. It is the healing of our minds, our hearts, our relationships, and even our bodies. In heaven, you are no longer broken – you’re fully healed. All the scars, wounds, fears, trauma, and anger are replaced with wholeness, joy, and love. The journey from here to heaven is a healing journey.

Back to our friend. He’s on a healing journey, too. His journey also requires faith. Faith that exercise will work. Faith that he can stick with it. Faith in the coaches. Faith in the system. It requires faith to confront his brokenness.

Now to you: Do you have faith to confront your brokenness? Do you think Jesus can heal you? Restore you? Can you learn from the woman 2,000 years ago? Can you be inspired by our new friend?

Can you say: Jesus, this is where I’m hurt? This is where I’m lost? This is where I’m broken? Jesus is the path to salvation, which is the beginning of our healing journey.

Questions for Reflection:

What brokenness have you learned to live with?

What parts of your life, relationships, or heart do you think Jesus longs to heal?

What keeps you from seeking healing?