The Spiritual Athlete: Resistance Training (Guest Writer – Steve Davis)
June 1, 2011
Dear Friends,
When I was in high school, our basketball team was told by the coaching staff that we should avoid weightlifting because it would ruin our ability to shoot. Today, it’s pretty obvious that Lebron James and other chiseled NBA stars missed that memo — or more likely, discovered that my coach’s advice was nothing but an old wives tale. It is now widely recognized that resistance training not only increases the strength and size of our muscles, it also reduces the potential for injury because our joints, tendons and ligaments are stronger too.
From a Scriptural point of view, resistance training can be very helpful in our daily walk. Consider this verse: “Resist the devil and he will flee from you” (James 4:7). In other words, James suggests that through “Scriptural Resistance Training”, temptations that were once difficult to overcome become less of a problem – they will flee from us.
Think about how difficult it must have been for Jesus when the crowd in his own home town wanted to throw him from a cliff. Luke records, “They got up, drove him out of the town, and took him to the brow of the hill on which the town was built, in order to throw him down the cliff”. (Luke 4:29-31) What a temptation this event must have been for Jesus! Surely, he knew that God would not allow him to die this way. If Jesus allowed the crowd to push him off the cliff, the angels would have caught him up – just as the Psalmist promised. Could there be a better way to prove to his hometown that he was, in fact, the Son of God? And while this event would have attracted dramatic public attention, it would have been wrong for Jesus to test God’s faithfulness. Consequently, Luke’s record tells us that despite this very real temptation, Jesus “walked right through the crowd and went on his way”. So how did he do it? Perhaps Jesus’ strength to overcome was honed through resistance training. Perhaps it was easier for Jesus to overcome this temptation because he had faced a very similar one in the Wilderness when he was tempted to throw himself down from the highest point of the Temple. God knew that the temptations in the wilderness would be beneficial for His Son. I like to think that our Heavenly Father had Jesus on a type of “Scriptural Resistance Training” program.
Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as sons. No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it. (Hebrews 12:7-11)
If you’re like me, you’ll find that there are certain types of temptations that are more difficult to overcome than others. After prayerfully identifying our own personal weaknesses and those things we are most susceptible to, we should consider developing specific strategies to help us overcome.
One very important technique is to proactively plan to remove ourselves from those circumstances that we fear may be too difficult to handle. This is what Jesus did after the feeding of the 5,000 when the crowds came and “intended to make him King by force”. (John 6:15) Rather than listen to the crowds’ passionate pleas to accept the Kingship before first having suffered, Jesus removed himself from the situation and “withdrew to a mountain alone.” Joseph did the same thing when he was seduced by Potipher’s wife — He fled! (Genesis 39:12) Similarly, we would do well to plan out “life boat drills” so we know what to do and how to escape before our ship goes down.
Unfortunately there may be times, despite our best efforts, when we find ourselves struggling repeatedly with the same temptation. If you find yourself in this difficult situation, consider confiding in a trusted believer whom you respect. Athletes have coaches and training partners. As “Spiritual Athletes” we might consider employing the same. By sharing our struggles confidentially with a spiritual mentor, we can ask for guidance, suggestions and even accountability. This I believe is why James tells us to “confess our faults one to another”. (James 5:16)
And so, in the oft repeated words of Moses, Joshua and David, “Be strong and of good courage!” (Deuteronomy 31:6; Joshua 10:25; 1 Chronicles 28:20)
Have a great week,
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