Contending With Horses
Sunday, August 11, 2024
If you have run with the footmen, and they have wearied you, then how can you contend with horses? And if in the land of peace, in which you trusted, they wearied you, then how will you do in the floodplain of the Jordan? Jer. 12:5, NKJV.
A few years ago I was playing softball and doing my impression of a weekend athlete. Giving all "for the sake of the team" and in denial of my real age, I slid into second base in an attempt to break up the double play, only to tear the cartilage and several ligaments in my right knee. It didn't take long to realize that I should have settled for being called out and avoided the major league heroics. As a physical therapist I knew the importance of exercises and rehabilitation, so I began physical therapy as soon as possible. I returned to work a few days after the injury, exercised with weights, swam, walked, and resumed my routine activities of daily living.
An interesting thing happened about eight months after the injury. I tried to jump on one foot and hop from side to side to test my maneuvering ability, but I couldn't do it. Although I said to myself, "Jump," I remained there, flat-footed. My muscles could not produce adequate strength, tension, and force quickly enough to jump. I realized I had not fully rehabilitated my knee. My exercises had prepared me for walking and swimming, but not for more complex and challenging activities such as jumping or hopping.
That experience raised other thoughts. Our spiritual exercises of church attendance, returning a faithful tithe, and being vegetarians can enable us to be respectable Christians. But alone they are not enough to prepare us for the more challenging and complex spiritual activities such as keeping silent when we are being insulted; speaking words of kindness and encouragement instead of censorship and hatred; loving unconditionally; accepting someone who may believe differently than we do; or reflecting Christ's character. If our spiritual exercises and rehabilitation do not prepare us for more complex spiritual activities, how can we contend with spiritual "horses" and a Jordan overflowing its banks?
Today, why not consider more industrious physical and spiritual exercises that will prepare you for whatever "horses" and/or Jordan experiences may come your way.
Lord, show me where I am weak, and show me the way to become strong for You.
A few years ago I was playing softball and doing my impression of a weekend athlete. Giving all "for the sake of the team" and in denial of my real age, I slid into second base in an attempt to break up the double play, only to tear the cartilage and several ligaments in my right knee. It didn't take long to realize that I should have settled for being called out and avoided the major league heroics. As a physical therapist I knew the importance of exercises and rehabilitation, so I began physical therapy as soon as possible. I returned to work a few days after the injury, exercised with weights, swam, walked, and resumed my routine activities of daily living.
An interesting thing happened about eight months after the injury. I tried to jump on one foot and hop from side to side to test my maneuvering ability, but I couldn't do it. Although I said to myself, "Jump," I remained there, flat-footed. My muscles could not produce adequate strength, tension, and force quickly enough to jump. I realized I had not fully rehabilitated my knee. My exercises had prepared me for walking and swimming, but not for more complex and challenging activities such as jumping or hopping.
That experience raised other thoughts. Our spiritual exercises of church attendance, returning a faithful tithe, and being vegetarians can enable us to be respectable Christians. But alone they are not enough to prepare us for the more challenging and complex spiritual activities such as keeping silent when we are being insulted; speaking words of kindness and encouragement instead of censorship and hatred; loving unconditionally; accepting someone who may believe differently than we do; or reflecting Christ's character. If our spiritual exercises and rehabilitation do not prepare us for more complex spiritual activities, how can we contend with spiritual "horses" and a Jordan overflowing its banks?
Today, why not consider more industrious physical and spiritual exercises that will prepare you for whatever "horses" and/or Jordan experiences may come your way.
Lord, show me where I am weak, and show me the way to become strong for You.
Used by permission of Health Ministries, North American Division of Seventh-day Adventists.
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