Are you staying in shape? Not talking about physical shape here, although that is certainly an important aspect as well. I was helping a friend of mine seed their new lawn of 1 ½ acres on Saturday. Spent a lot of time picking up rocks and then pushing a seeder full of fertilizer over rough, loose and hilly ground. UGH!! I was beat from the process, mostly from being out of shape. It wasn’t necessarily a really difficult job, the rocks weren’t to large, it was the bending over time and time again that my back began to notice. And the muscles that I am not normally used to using began to ache as they were forced into action.
Are you in spiritual shape? Are you constantly and consistently using your spiritual gifts and abilities on an ongoing basis? Are you exercising your spirit man, using every opportunity to pray for the sick, speak the word of the Lord to someone, encouraging the people, believers and pre-believers alike, and staying sensitive to the leading of the Holy Spirit at all times? Or do you keep these things in your back pocket only to be used in emergencies or when someone calls upon you like my friend did.
It is so important that we stay in spiritual shape, always ready to allow the Holy Spirit to minister through us. Otherwise, we can get a bit rusty, so to speak, and if we are rusty in the use of spiritual gifts, they do not function as they were meant to function. The difference is this, when I use physical muscles that are out of shape from non-use, I ache. When I use spiritual muscles, that are out of shape from non-use, others feel the pain. Let’s stay in spiritual shape, but of course let’s not neglect our physical bodies either.
Declaring Our Victory Emanuel