you're going to need more than carbs for this

Endurance. Do you have it? We often see TV commercials for sports oriented products like Gatorade, Adidas, or Nike with slogans like "Is it in you?" "Impossible is Nothing" or "Just Do It" which encourage us to endure and do greater things at the sports and fitness level, with the help of their products of course.

This morning I was watching the Today show and they were reflecting on exercise, how difficult it is to stay in a routine of exercise, but how overwhelmingly beneficial the results are. Once again...endurance.

A principle you can probably easily picture/relate to is the fact that when you exercise, you often have muscle pains....the reason a lot of people don't like to continuously exercise. Interestingly enough, muscle is built by tearing old muscle, which rebuilds bigger...hence the pain. Yet, if we want to reach the goal of fitness or washboard abs, etc., we must endure.

Our Spiritual lives are much the same way. Often it is the tearing down of walls, temptations, and even obstacles that emotionally seem to weaken us that allow our spiritual muscle to rebuild stronger. Just like lifting weights or doing 200 sit ups a day, it can be a painful process, but the real question is will you endure? You must if you want to reach the goal.

Tonight, our church had its first night of revival. The preacher had travelled to Africa in the past and reflected on his experiences with one tribe in particular. He explained that some people are physically beaten, imprisoned, or killed when they convert to Christianity. One story about the tribe that caught my eye though was about a cooking pot. There was one woman in particular who had converted to Christianity and was even helping to lead the Christian movement. When the chief of the village found out, he threatened to take away her cooking pot if she did not worship the idols of the village. While this may seem silly to you, it is a huge punishment for women in the community. They only have one cooking pot--it is what they cook their yams and all their food in after assembling some stones and a small fire. Without the pot, they have no way to prepare the food. Well, the woman refused, and sure enough her pot was taken away. What you have to realize here is that this means she had NO promises of food...she could have died from starvation...but (that's right) she endured.

Another message here is that the Christian community came together and provided for her from their meager means. This is what we need to be doing for out brothers and sisters in Christ...helping each other to endure. Share your Gatorade, your life juices, your blessings from God. At the very least...the VERY least, share a kind word (but you can do so much more than that I feel).

Six weeks later, the chief felt silly and decided to give her her cooking pot back, thinking he had proven his point. To the contrary, she had never bowed down to idols, and God had provided.

So how far will you endure? Would you risk not being able to eat to spread the cause of Christ? Will you depend on Him for your everything even when the odds aren't in your favor (cool thing is, He outdoes the odds all the time :))? ...most of all...is it in you--to endure, to conquer, to win for Christ? It can be. After all, impossible is nothing [with Christ]...so get out there and just do it.

2 Timothy 2:11-13
"Here is a trustworthy saying: If we died with Him, we will also live with Him; if we endure, we will also reign with Him. If we disown Him, He will also disown us; if we are faithless, He will remain faithful, for He cannot disown himself."