He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things? Romans 8:32
I take the winters off from running. I do this for several reasons. It gives my body a couple of months of rest and time to recuperate. I get cold weather exercise-induced asthma and it saves me from an inhaler. (If you’ve never used one, blecch) But the overwhelming reason is that I do not like the cold. Period. Dragging myself out of my warm bed and into the cold air is the worst.
Last winter, though, rather than spend the entire two-month hiatus as a bed slug, I lifted weights in the basement. There are some real advantages to lifting. I can do it in my pajamas. I can be a lot less awake than I have to be if I’m running. Most of the time, I barely even have to open my eyes to lift. It works more muscles than running. It’s right in my basement. I don’t have to drive to a gym. There’s no danger of cars or dogs or even owls.
But for years, lots of years, that weight machine sat in my basement doing me absolutely no good because I never used it for anything more than a laundry rack. It was only when I (finally) took advantage of the great resource available to me that it benefited me at all.
God, in His grace, has given me a ton of resources to help me out as I live for Him.
- He has given me His Holy Spirit living inside me. But, if I ignore His promptings …
- He has given me the privilege of prayer. But if I don’t talk with Him as an integral part of my day …
- He has given me His word. But if I don’t read, study, and practice what He’s told me …
- He has given me the consolation of friends. But if I don’t call on them …
- He has given me the Sabbath. But if I decide I’m too busy for rest and renewal and reconnection …
It’s worse than having an unused weight machine in a basement.