Training is essential for the Apprentice of Jesus…
Now every athlete who [goes into training and] competes in the games is disciplined and exercises self-control in all things. They do it to win a crown that withers, but we [do it to receive] an imperishable [crown that cannot wither]. -1 Corinthians 9:25 (AMP)
Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord. -Ephesians 6:4 (NIV)
But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil. -Hebrews 5:14 (NIV)
For physical training is of some value, but godliness (spiritual training) is of value in everything and in every way, since it holds promise for the present life and for the life to come. -1 Timothy 4:8 (AMP)
All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness. -2 Timothy 3:16 (NIV)
If you don’t know what you’re doing, pray to the Father. He loves to help. You’ll get his help, and won’t be condescended to when you ask for it. Ask boldly, believingly, without a second thought. -James 1:5 (MSG)
I wonder: how many training moments I have misclassified as inconvenient, punishment, bad luck, my fault or someone else’s? I am convinced that Jesus wants to redeem all such moments. Learning how to get the best out of training moments takes time. One day you don’t know how; the next, you do. All the days leading up to when the old gives way to the new, matter. It is over time that training pays off.
There was a time when I didn’t understand that much of what God is up to in my training journey. I thought it was more about policing me, waiting for me to step out of line so he could dispense the proper punishment. This false belief had great power in my life. It was a false gospel that made sin central and punishment primary. Those two ingredients do not make for intimacy and didn’t make for a very good version of me.
Under that old belief system, when hardships or inconveniences arose in my life, I was certain God was using them to punish me or get even. I see it all as training now.
If you understand the heart of the Father and what he is really up to in your own heart, then you also understand what he is preparing and readying you for: MORE! It is why the art of living curiously is so helpful to the Warrior in training. Asking God questions in prayer puts him in the rightful place of Teacher and us in the safest place, student.
If God is going to be more and do more in your life, then it’s critical that he have greater access to your heart. Living oblivious to the heart and the Larger Story and how it works is a guarantee for being a casualty, not a Warrior.
In order to renovate your heart, Jesus will have you revisit your belief system. What you see, hear and conclude . . . what you believe in any and every situation matters… It has authority in your life!
But that’s okay. Just wait until you see the results!
The Warrior cannot and does not force his way, nor can he make someone change. He only offers who he is and what he knows—a dangerous prospect, because you never know how another image bearer will respond. You never know who is for or who will be against a man with a settled heart. Jesus didn’t win them all, and neither will you.
The question for an oriented man is: How will you live, knowing what you know, among others who don’t?
The answer: Patiently. Kindly. Generously. Lovingly. And Uncompromisingly.
This is what Jesus modeled, and this is the Life in which he invites us to share.
