Have you ever strained a muscle? I have. It is not fun, is it? What is the difference between a strain and an actual break? The difference between straining a muscle and breaking a bone is that the muscle is not rendered useless. It causes pain every time it is used, but it is still useable. That’s what I was thinking about when Paul uses the word “straining”. He is not allowing the things that are behind him to weigh him down. He already is having difficulty getting to the goal in the first place! Let’s face it: being a Christian is hard! There is already so much to sway us from living godly lives everyday. Why allow the things that you have already done to weigh you down even more? So, what are some things that cause us to strain? Here are some things that cause our fellowship to be hindered:
Sin- Paul also writes about the thorn in his flesh, the thing that he has asked for relief from, but yet God asks for him to continue to struggle with. Although no one knows for sure what that thorn was, some people have said it is a sin. If it was, I can understand why he talks about straining. If a sin is consuming your life, it is hard to focus on true fellowship with the Lord.
Bad Circumstances- Sometimes things happen through no fault of your own that cause you to “ strain” in daily life: bankruptcy, loss of a job, illness, family turmoil, etc. These things make it so easy to take you eye off the prize and focus on things over which you have no control.
Lack of faith- This is a big one. There have been many times in my life when I have not understood what God was doing in my life. I would question Him, worry, pout, etc. which would cause me to not have fellowship with him. In the beginning of my journey with god, I thought He was a “genie in a bottle”- I asked, he winked and granted. Sounds good right? Except when He didn’t deliver, I stopped believing. I stopped trusting that God was doing what was best for me. I had the wrong perspective on who God was. When I shifted my perspective and realized He didn’t owe me anything, my perspective and outlook on life changed. I stopped expecting from God and started trusting Him. When I worked in spite of my trials in life, I felt closer to God than ever before. When I learned to still press on and not let those things weigh me down, I became good soil. You can, too.
No comments:
Post a Comment