Strength Training

2 Thessalonians 3:3 But the Lord is faithful, and he will strengthen and protect you from the evil one.

"The Lord is faithful." How do we know that the Lord is faithful? When do we believe it? Unfortunately, it seems to take time and "proof." We believe the Lord is faithful when He comes through time and time again. This verse goes on to say, "He will strengthen and protect us." Now, if He protected us, only, would we need to be strengthened? No. I believe He could always and only protect us, but I don't think He would. I believe that God is the beginning and the ending. I believe that He is all knowing, all seeing, and all powerful. I believe that God can do anything He wants. But, I also believe that sometimes He allows some of what the devil wants in order to strengthen, grow, and stretch us.

After a very short period of inactivity, our muscles become weak and eventually are useless. It takes more work to go from "couch potato" to "well maintained, lean muscle" than it does to simply maintain it. The same is true for your faith muscle. If God doesn't allow us to work it out, it will become useless. The key thing is that the faith muscle is like any other muscle in that constant overexertion can damage it. That's why trainers say you can exercise daily, but weightlifting or strength training must be done every other day to give your muscles a chance to recover. It's in that "recovery period" that they are rested, but also strengthened enough to "go again" the next time. Our faith requires those same periods of stretching and recovery. That is why the scripture says that the Lord both strengthens and protects us.

Today's devotional in The Word for You Today says, "you need [faith] when life makes no sense...We think there's only one good outcome--the one we want. No, we must trust the character and plan of God...(4 Jan 2010). Things are going to come our way that we didn't plan, that we don't like, and that we don't want to have to deal with. That is when it is vital to remember, "the Lord is faithful."