Discomfort Vs Damage
Romans 5:2-5 “We have access by faith into this grace in which we stand through him, and we boast in the hope of God’s glory. 3 But not only that! We even take pride in our problems, because we know that trouble produces endurance, 4 endurance produces character, and character produces hope. 5 This hope doesn’t put us to shame, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us” (CEB).
I have always been interested in the idea of running. It always looked to be so cathartic. Feet hitting the ground, pounding out all your issues, breathing in and out, the thrill of the finish line.
My good friend runs a lot of races and she encouraged me to download an app on my phone and put my idea of running into action. This past spring I did just that. As a novice runner I am learning about the art and science of a great run. I get excited about my run days and feel great once I am finished. But that middle part, ah the actual running part, that part is TOUGH and can often be uncomfortable.
When I first started down my running trail I would want to stop anytime I felt discomfort, every twinge, every time I would get a little too winded; I believed this was my bodies signal telling me to slow down or to stop. One of the biggest lessons I had to learn was the difference between discomfort and damage.
Whether you are a novice runner, biker or even power walker, some level of discomfort is par for the course. You are using new muscles and strengthening old worn ones. Without putting some amount of stress on the body it cannot and will not improve. That process is bound to be uncomfortable. Once I was able to understand that I realized that I could not get farther in my running program until I was willing to push myself just a little more through my discomfort. Although I am by far not running any marathons, I have increased my endurance from huffing and puffing after one minute to running at least 20 minutes (still a long way to go but I am getting there).
Damage on the other hand is different; it means we need to stop. Damage can leave lasting harm to our body in a negative way, require medical treatment, healing time, and can set us backwards rather than forward.
Some times in life we are under stress. At times this stress leaves us feeling out of breath, tired, disappointed and brings different levels of discomfort. But not all stress is bad. Sometimes, just like the physical stress on our bodies that is necessary for change, life stress is necessary, necessary for our growth and development.
Romans 5: 2-5 speaks right to that matter. It states,
"We have access by faith into this grace in which we stand through him, and we boast in the hope of God’s glory. 3 But not only that! We even take pride in our problems, because we know that trouble produces endurance, 4 endurance produces character, and character produces hope. 5 This hope doesn’t put us to shame, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us (CEB). "
Paul writes passionately in this passage that as Christians we can stand fixed in the hope Christ gives us. Even during stress, problems and discomfort. Even during time where we want to stop and give up. There is a bigger picture. Christ is using those things to shape our character so that we can carry out our personal assignments from Him with passion and purpose. We can take heart that our discomforts are meaningful and rich in experience.
Friends, I don’t know where you are in your faith journey today but I pray that you are encouraged to let your feet hit the ground and even that in discomfort you would continue with the assignment Christ has called you too.
