Tedious: too long, slow, or dull; tiresome or monotonous (dictionary.com)
Sometimes our workouts ... and our life ... can seem pretty tedious. We can feel like we're doing the "same old thing" and nothing is happening. Chances are nothing is happening with your workouts, but with your spiritual discipline it could be that you are on the verge of something. Either way, you may need to ramp some things up in both areas of your life. Ramp it up If you're workouts seem tedious and you are doing the same old thing, it's time to change what you are doing. There are so many things that you could do - here are just a few: 1) Superset; 2) Shorter rest periods; 3) Combine an exercise with some cardio; 4) Superset with no rest for one minute; 5) Do HIIT; 6) Change the number of reps you do; 7) Add more weight; 8) Any combination of 1-7. For your spiritual life, you may need to step our of your comfort zone. I am perfectly happy sitting in a room reading and praying, with the occasional meditation while listening to praise music. Those kinds of habits and disciplines are great - for the introvert. I have a hard time "going and doing" (believe it or not). Often times if our spiritual life seems tedious we may be needing to step out and actually do something! Or, God might be nudging us to do something that we've been ignoring. That could be quiet time if your more extroverted, or it could mean going out and serving somewhere and talking to people if you're more introverted. Motivation Sometimes we simply lack the motivation to do things. With fitness and spiritual disciplines, we sometimes need to feel like we have to give ourselves a little pep talk to stir up some kind of passion to do what we feel like we must. This is where I start thinking about all those moments in recent past where I have thought, "If I only had done (such and such) like I thought and planned ...". Usually situations where that thought happens come up for me frequently, and so I get motivated to do the tedious task because I know the pay off will come later. With our spiritual lives, Paul tells us to focus on things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. This guides our life on earth until things are remade and we have new bodies. We focus on heaven and Jesus because we are going into eternal life. Honestly, sometimes that's not motivating for me because I talk about that every week and every day. It makes me understand the wandering in the desert a little more! But that's where we need to start thinking about what we are grateful for and what God has done for us. This stirs me enough to plod along and continue the walk with and toward Christ. "Come Holy Spirit" is the prayer, and then set your mind to the task. And finally - sometimes we just need to get out of our own heads and start getting busy. Comments are closed.
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AuthorSome "weekly" musings from Pastor Dave as he sits on his porch and drinks coffee, thinking about theology and lifting heavy weights. For gymsharks, there is something called "Flex Fridays," where we vainly put up photos of ourselves flexing. So this blog is my attempt to flex my theological muscles through reflection ... get it? Archives
September 2019
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