I hurt my thumb a couple months ago.  I haven’t been able to lift any upper body since. I haven’t been keeping up with cardio or lifting legs either.  I have no excuse for that. Today I went to the gym for the first time in a long time.  I was blown away by what a lack of endurance I experienced.  I hit the cardio first and suffered through a couple miles of gasping and sweating.  My thumb has healed enough that I can finally put some pressure on it and so I stumbled my way to the machines and started lifting chest.  I finished about 20 minutes ago and my arms are literally shaking as I write. Holy cow!  I have not taken this long of a break in years.  It was terrible.  I need to be consistent again.  I need to gain endurance.

As I was working out, I was listening to worship songs on pandora.  It was so good for my soul.  I was aching to work out today.  I literally have started feeling like my body is in pain, uncomfortable from being lazy.  My soul is starving for exercise too.  Do you ever feel that way?  I mean, have you ever had that experience, where you have gotten in such a bad pattern of laziness that you literally can’t stand it anymore, both spiritually and physically?  Today was great but I need to go again tomorrow.  I need to go sunday afternoon and then again on monday.  Today wasn’t enough.  It never could be.  But isn’t that what we often do with our soul, our walk with God?  We think sunday is enough, or maybe one session of jammin to some worship songs and connecting with God. It’s never enough.  It’s lazy.  It’s ridiculous to believe that these sporadic experiences will produce any endurance, perhaps more ridiculous to believe that it can produce many results at all.  Why?  Discipline.  I have been so undisciplined in my life. It really began way back when I fell into a dark depression.  No discipline in exercise, no spiritual discipline, no real boundaries to my thought life or finances.  I just live fat and uncomfortable.  It’s time for me to kick my own ass into being consistent so I can gain some endurance, persevere through the struggles of my life.  

I think it’s easy in our culture to live in an undisciplined lifestyle without accountability. We justify what we do, or don’t do, by looking at others lives, comparing ourselves to what we see around us. Complacency is so easy to point out.  It’s very convenient to be able to feel good about what little we do when we can see others in their laziness and inconsistency. Instead, we should surround ourselves with those we admire, those in whom we see the perseverance, love and discipline of Jesus.  I have those people in my life.  My responsibility is to be honest with them, to ask for their help.  I admire their discipline, their growth, their application of their faith.  I admire their commitment to working on themselves, to working out, both physically and spiritually. Today is a beginning of living to honor my Savior but also to honor those whom I respect and admire.  Their discipline impacts me.  I want to stop speaking about what I see, what I admire and take on those patterns in my life.  What about you?  Have you been feeling lazy, frustrated, out of shape both physically and spiritually?  Will you join me?  Will you hold me accountable?  Can I do that for you?  Let’s work on it together.  Let’s be consistent. I want to live what I say I desire.  Help me kick my ass.  Help Jesus model discipline for me.  Help Jesus produce endurance in all of us!  

Thanks Jesus for living a life that was consistently loving, prayerful, sinless, focused, selfless, disciplined and committed.  Please produce that character in me so that I can model your life in how I live.  Please help me gain perseverance and endurance so I don’t freak out in the storm and lose hope in you.  Discipline will produce this. Consistency in being with you, reading your Word, will grow this.  Please help me. Thank you so much!