Stimulus

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

Reading: Colossians 1:3-14

“I want.” Have you ever found yourself using these two words in the fitness community where you train? Athletes want things. And you should. You want new personal bests. You want to melt some fat. You want to develop new skills. And you want to take the confidence you build in the gym and carry it into the rest of your life. Wanting is natural because results are what people see. And we want results.

But the reality is, despite all the wants I hear, not everyone will achieve the results they desire. The difference for most people is the stimulus. In other words, what’s the why behind the want? Because the journey to a want is full of landmines and roadblocks where your enemies complacency and comfort wait for you. If your why isn’t dialed in, chances are you abandon the journey or justify why it wasn’t for you. The right result will always be the effect of the right stimulus.

The right result will always be the effect of the right stimulus.

Self-examination is a crucial spiritual exercise that requires the right stimulus to be effective. It's easy to get caught up in the busyness of life and neglect our spiritual growth, but taking the time to reflect on our thoughts and actions is essential to living a life that's pleasing to God. In Colossians 1:3-14, Paul encourages the church to grow in their knowledge of God and to live a life worthy of Him. This passage reminds us that self-examination is not just about looking inward, but also about looking upward to God.

So, what is the right stimulus for self-examination? It's a desire to grow closer to God and to live a life that's pleasing to Him. As Paul writes in Colossians 1:10, we should walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to Him, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God. This means that we need to examine ourselves in light of God's truth and character and make the necessary changes to become more like Him.

One of the biggest obstacles to effective self-examination is our own pride. It's easy to justify our actions and to think that we're doing just fine, but the truth is that we all have areas in our lives that need improvement. To overcome this obstacle, we need to humble ourselves before God and ask Him to reveal any areas where we need to grow. As Paul writes in Colossians 1:9, we should pray for each other to be filled with the knowledge of God's will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding.

Finally, the ultimate stimulus for self-examination is God's love. When we truly grasp the depth of God's love for us, it motivates us to live in a way that pleases Him. As Paul writes in Colossians 1:12, we should give thanks to the Father who has qualified us to share in the inheritance of the saints in light. This inheritance is not something we earn through our own efforts, but something that God has freely given us through His love and grace.

We all have wants, including you. Maybe you want to be a more patient person. Maybe you want to truly be happy for other people and not envious. Or maybe you want to be joyful even in the midst of the lousy circumstances you feel life has handed you. Now, ask yourself why? Why do you want those things? And that inward look at your heart is the spiritual exercise of self-examination, which the ancients practiced thousands of years ago,

Self-examination requires the right stimulus, which is a desire to grow closer to God and to live a life that's pleasing to Him. We need to focus on God's truth and character, ask for help from others, and be motivated by God's love. As we increase in our understanding of God, we will be able to identify areas where we need to grow and make the necessary changes to become more like Him. The right result will always be the effect of the right stimulus.

Questions for Reflection:

Where do you feel your desires most closely align with God’s desires?

What’s one thing you want God to do in your life? Why?

We're all working on something

Spiritual Training Cycle: Examination (wk. 8/13)

Reading: Romans 7:14-8:2

When it comes to fitness, we all have something we’re good at. I’m pretty good at pushups; and relatively good at toes to bar. If you build a workout of just those two movements, I’ll climb the leaderboard. But if you throw in running – or worse yet, double-unders… Well, you’re a jerk, and my score will reflect the weaknesses in my fitness and skills. We all have some sort of wheelhouse, which means that we all have some sort of outhouse. Something that we’re just…um… crappy at.

In our gym, we have a phrase for that, “we’re all working on something.” This handy little nugget reminds us and others to stay humble and remember that we all have weaknesses.

It’s an important spiritual concept, too. You have spiritual weaknesses. Sometimes we call these sins, but mostly they are errant desires and thoughts that cause us not to trust God, to seek meaning elsewhere, and then make sinful decisions. We’re all working on something.

Chances are there are parts of the spiritual life you are really good at. Maybe it is reading the Bible or having patience with difficult people. In these arenas, you seem to have it all together. You look like a mature, thriving follower of Jesus. But put you in a different situation, like trusting God when money is tight or attending to your private thoughts – and we get a different story. We’re all working on something… or are we? This is where self-examination comes in.

Self-examination is a soulful diagnostic for your spiritual health. The goal is to find the activity of God in the flow of your daily life. Self-examination is composed of four essential components designed to be completed at the end of each day. All you need is a quiet space and no more than ten minutes. Once you’ve integrated self-examination into your daily rhythm, you may be surprised where you see God and where you may be missing Him. To see the diagnostic in detail, check out this post.

Self-examination is not a grueling scrutiny about all the places you suck. That would be miserable and not part of following Jesus. Rather it is like asking your friend to film you so that you can SEE what is going on. It’s an honest look at what you need to work on, so that you can work on it. It is how you discover opportunities to grow. Opportunities to become a more whole athlete, person, and follower of God.

Self-examination makes you better because it makes you whole.

Here’s the good news…the really good news: God is also working on something. Just like in the gym, it is the coach's job to help you improve to become a more well-rounded athlete – God is at work making you a more whole person.

Three Thoughts about Self-Examination

1) Guilt and shame are not part of the process. No matter how bad your double-unders, pullups, or power snatch is – you’re not disappointing the coach. In fact, the belief that you’re letting us down is often the biggest obstacle to growth. Same with God, He is not disappointed in you. He knows exactly what to expect and is eager to see you live a more whole life. So turn off the voice of guilt and shame – it’s not God’s.

2) Whole is the goal. Too many Christians are focused on the eradication of sin. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not pro-sin. But sin is a byproduct of a fractured soul and a fractured relationship with God. As we grow closer to God, these fractures become whole, and sin has less power over us. However, the closer we get to God, the more aware of our sins we become. Our focus must remain on wholeness with God, others, and ourselves.

3) Grace, grace, and grace. Without grace, self-examination becomes nightmarish self-improvement. God has surrounded you with grace because you need it. Grace is there to help you see the opportunities to grow. Grace surrounds you with help to grow. Grace, also, accepts you exactly as you are.

Make self-examination a part of your regular spiritual exercise program. As you discover God’s grace in new spaces of your life, be encouraged that the journey is never over. We’re all working on something.

Questions for Reflection:

How do you react when someone points out one of your weaknesses? Why do you think you react this way?

Are you harder on yourself or others?

Are you pursuing wholeness or perfection?

Weighing the scales

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

Reading: Philippians 3:7-14

In our gym we do quarterly check-ins with our members to track progress toward their goals. Some members enjoy these check-ins and others dread it. In some cases, you have athletes who weigh themselves daily, week after week, to see if they made any progress on their weight loss. This can be frustrating when they don’t see the results they wanted, so they avoid checking in with their coaches. In their mind, why should they make it a priority to come to a check-in if their coach is just going to tell them something they’ve already seen on the scale? That feeling of disappointment also sets in when they feel they’ve let their coaches down because their progress didn’t reflect their end goal.

There are others who don’t show up for check-ins for different reasons. After hitting their goals, they feel as though there’s nothing else to check-in about. Because of the experience they’ve gained over time, they have arrived at the conclusion that there is nothing else to learn and they are fine on their own. Though they might seem full, they lose their hunger over time.

Here’s what I like to tell my athletes, “The scale doesn’t tell the entire story.” The number could be going up on the scale because instead of losing fat this week, they gained lean muscle mass. Also, where’s the scale to celebrate the consistency of showing up to class? Maybe losing weight is no longer a goal. What is a skill or strength achievement they have forgotten or want to learn? What is the mindset to develop to keep them on the path of their fitness journey when life’s circumstances suddenly change? The scale doesn’t see the heart. For that, you need self-examination.

Self-examination is a soulful diagnostic for your spiritual health. The goal is to find the activity of God in the flow of your daily life. Self-examination is composed of four essential components designed to be completed at the end of each day. All you need is a quiet space and no more than ten minutes. Once you’ve integrated self-examination into your daily rhythm, you may be surprised where you see God and where you may be missing Him. To see the diagnostic in detail, check out this post.

Paul weighs the scales himself in Philippians 3:7 when he says, “But whatever were gains to me I now consider loss for the sake of Christ.”(NIV). Paul has a number of “gains” to be impressed with. If anyone could opt out of a goal review, it would clearly be him. Paul could boast in his true Israelite bloodline that’s shared with Jesus. He could boast in his knowledge of Scripture. He could boast in his faultless track record and purity to God. He’s hit every goal.

And some might say that his spiritual fitness journey was complete, but Paul would not. In verses 8-9 he says, “I consider them (what he used to boast in) garbage, that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is though faith in Christ…” (NIV)

Everything he has gained he considers loss because, instead of making his own examination of the scale, he has allowed Jesus to determine the better goal. The scales we weigh ourselves on are often determined by our works, but the scale Jesus weighs us on are determined by our faith.

The scales we weigh ourselves on are often determined by our works, but the scale Jesus weighs us on are determined by our faith.

We were not meant to be the coach over our own life doing our own goal reviews. We don’t dictate whether we are good enough, whether we have achieved enough, or whether we are righteous enough. The Gospel is this, that God sees us not according to what we have done for ourselves but what Jesus has done for us if we put our faith in Him. That is the true scale we should be weighing ourselves on. Only in Christ do we stand boldly before God without shame, insecurity, or boastfulness because we allow Him to check the scale. Putting our life in the hands of the One who has made the scale gives us more reason to boast and less weight to carry as we progress forward. I’ll close with the words of Paul saying,

“But one thing I do: forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.” (Phil. 3:13-14 NIV). Weigh yourself on the scales of self-examination and there you’ll find God’s grace in new spaces of your life.

Questions for Reflection:

What are some healthy ways to track spiritual progress?

How does self-examination bring us shalom?