inspirational training

Yesterday I went biking with a group of CRX kids (Caribou Rec. Xtreme- an outdoor summer program) to Fort Kent’s 10th Mountain training facility. Complete with much grass, hills, rocks, and roots, our atmosphere assured us we were surely in for a day of interesting riding.

Something I found particularly interesting was when we first arrived at the facility the place was bustling with various athletes diligently going about their training regimens. A red flag was raised to alert all visitors of the athletes training. I was amazed at their discipline clearly visible on the course. Quite literally these athletes eat, sleep, breathe, and train for the biathlon.

With this in mind, I have to wonder – shouldn’t we as Christians have a “similar” training regimen in our daily walk with the Lord? Shouldn’t we eat, sleep, breathe, and train with His purpose on our minds, His work as our workout, and His will as our drive and motivation?

I think our lives often get too crowded and overwhelmed with fillers that soon turn into excuses to stray from a training regimen. For anyone who exercises (or attempts to) on a regular basis, perhaps you can relate. How many times do we find ourselves saying we’re too tired or too busy to go for that run or take the dog for a walk? How often do we let the weather (humidity, rain, sunshine too little or too much) dictate when and where we go as we slowly begin to neglect our physical training? Are we getting enough sleep? Are we eating the right foods?

Considering our spiritual lives, how often do we plan to exercise our talents and giftings for the Lord and never get around to doing so? How often to we promise to pray for someone, leave a note of encouragement, or truly study the Word, and simply forget, or get too busy with life?

What would happen if the biathletes watched movies instead of shooting their rifles – or – ate potato chips instead of protein? What would happen if these athletes only ran when the weather was conducive to their absolute comfort? We all know their training would suffer and certainly their performance in the big competition would suffer as well. Their standings would certainly fall below their expectations and they would likely disappoint those who had invested much time and energy into their training through encouragement, sponsorship, etc.

I wonder what habits and comforts I’ve let mar my training regimen…physically, mentally, emotionally, spiritually…and which of these things are holding me back from being all the Lord wants me to be at this moment for His glory.