As we embark on the New Year many make resolutions. Not a few will be to lose a few of those
holiday pounds or to begin a new workout program. What we need is God’s Workout Program.
Hebrews 12:11-13 “Now
no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless
afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are
exercised thereby. Wherefore lift up the hands which hang down, and the feeble
knees; And make straight paths for your feet, lest that which is lame be turned
out of the way; but let it rather be healed.”
Over the years, I found out what happens when
you have a heart attack. Oh, I have known a lot of people who had heart
attacks. I have been to hospitals to pray with and for them. I have read about
all symptoms. Before they released you from the hospital, they gave you a
custom-designed workout program to improve my cardiovascular strength and help
prevent another heart attack. I told you that God designs the program
specifically for each believer. It was planned just for them. The cardio
regimen is not a pleasant program. It is rigorous. You do not get up in the
morning and say, “I can’t wait to get down to the gym and get on that
elliptical trainer!” You will get used to one level on the treadmill, and then
they would make it go faster and increase the angle so it was higher and create
more resistance to make you work harder. I might hate that program, but you
must know that it was for your benefit.
Non-Optional Classes.
Then you would do it all over again…and
again…and again. I might have hated gym class. But it was not optional-you
could not quit. You could try not doing the exercises, but I heard of one
trainer having a motivational device in his office called a paddle. So, you did
the leg lifts, and the jumping jacks, and the push-ups, and the sit-ups, and
ran laps just like he told us to do. God has assigned us non-optional
chastening, because He loves us so much. He brings adversity, pressures,
problems and people into our lives as part of His custom workout program
prepared just for us. Let’s look at God’s exercise program, and what it is
designed to do in our lives.
First,
God’s
workout program is designed to strengthen our hands for work.
The hands mentioned in verse twelve are a
metaphor for our work for the Lord. So, God has designed our training to make
us stronger in His work. More than fifty times, the Bible talks about the work
of a man or woman’s hands. Work is not a curse; it is a blessing. Adam had work
assignments even before the “Fall”. There is a work that God has called every
one of us to do. Too many people think that God’s calling is restricted to
preachers and missionaries. If you are doing the work that God has called you
to do, it is sacred work, whether you are a pastor or a plumber; a missionary
or a machinist. For the children of God, there is such thing as sacred and
secular; everything we do is to be done “as
to the Lord.” (Colossians 3:23) Wherever you work, you are working for the
Lord. No obedient Christian serves God part-time.
Secondly,
God’s
workout program is designed to strengthen our hands for prayer.
In 1 Timothy 2:8, Paul wrote, “I will therefore that men pray everywhere,
lifting up holy hands, without wrath and doubting.” What does that mean? In
the Hebrew culture, it was common for people to raise their hands up toward
Heaven while they prayed; in fact, many Jewish people still do that today.
Psalm 28:2 says, “Hear the voice of my
supplications, when I cry unto thee, when I lift up my hands toward the holy
oracle.” God intensifies the burdens and pressures in life, so that I will
develop as a man of prayer.
Thirdly,
God’s
workout program is designed to strengthen our hands for praise.
Psalm 63:4 says, “Thus will I bless thee while I live: I will lift up my hands in thy
name.” Psalm 134:2 says, “Lift up
your hands in the sanctuary, and bless the Lord.” One of the main purposes
for which we were created is to give praise to God. It is easy to praise Him
when you are on top of the mountain. It is easy to lift up your hands in praise
when you have experienced a great blessing, but what about in the hours of
discouragement? What do you do in those times when those burdens are so heavy?
That is when God develops our strength of praise. He says, “Now, I want you to
lift up your hands unto Me. Now, I want to hear your praise.” God puts us in
His workout program to strengthen our hands for work, for prayer, and for
praise.
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