I spoke with my old strength coach, Jimmy Anderson on the phone yesterday and we talked about lifting, life, and faith. He is a great friend and mentor to me. Jimmy took time to encourage me to strengthen every aspect of my life and shared how he had begun to see some parallels between building physical strength and strengthening one’s faith.
To get bigger faster and stronger, three things are necessary:
- Time under Tension. This means you’ve got to spend time lifting weight and exercising to get stronger. To be strong you have to pick up heavy weight.
- Nutrition. You have to eat the right foods and eat enough of it. If you want to build muscle, you’ve got to eat plenty of protein, calories, and carbs. A nice caveat is this, you probably have to consume more food than you think necessary if you want to pack on muscle weight. If you wait until you are hungry to eat, you’ve waited too long.
- Rest. The body needs proper rest to repair itself and to prepare for the next day’s work. Sleep is essential.
In the spiritual life, all three of these things are necessary too. We need time under tension because the times in our lives when it is tough require us to rely upon God. We need spiritual nourishment–time in the word–and just like a power-lifter or a body-builder, if you are to grow as a Christian, you need more of God’s word than you think. If you wait until you are hungry for it, you’ve waited too long. Finally, you need to rest. The sabbath was created for man and not man for the sabbath. God has made us to rest in him regularly and through that rest to be refueled to take on the world again.
Dan John, a former Olympian, power-lifter, and writer has said that the quickest way to our goals is simple, but not easy. This is true for your spiritual life as well. But remember, though it may not be easy, it is not impossible. Strengthen your faith.
