I Will... Part II
Psalm 34:1-3 (Amplified Bible)
1) I WILL bless the Lord at all times; His praise shall continually be in my mouth. 2) My life makes its boast in the Lord; let the humble and afflicted hear and be glad. 3) O magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt His name together.
One thing I really love to do that relieves stress and gives me a sense of accomplishment is working out. I love free standing weights, it gives you a sense of power and that I am roll'in with the "big boys." I must admit it was a habit and a passion that I do not enjoy on the same level and frequency that I once did but I still do when I can. There is a special dynamic that happens to me at the beginning of any cycle of my working out, which is that pain that inadvertently sets in and that I will hurt. Now for "me," most of the time I look forward to the pain, because it is a signal to me that I am toning and shaping in a way that will become visible to most shortly. But before that pain hits there is the pain of the shock to my body and the exhaustion that usually hits in the initial stages of my work out. It is the time when I can barely life my arms and when I shower water hurts to touch any muscle that has been worked. This is the pain of my challenge. This is the discomfort of external entities that have caused a strain and stress on me in such a way that it has caused me to rethink my decision to follow this course of action. But oddly enough it is in those times that I am able to find an "I Will," stick to this "I Will," go back to the gym.
How many times in life do we experience pain and discomfort that reminds us of the challenges, the external forces that are pressing us and making us experience mental, emotional, spiritual and often physical fatigue? In these times some of us often reflect on the fact that before we made the decision to follow Christ, stuff like this may not have happened. Or for others of us it is when we were walking with the Lord , but we had not made a decision to be sold out, that life seemed so much easier, it lacked the suffering and the challenges that seemed to plagued us as we make our way towards a closeness with Christ. Some of during these times, fall by the way side, some of just begin to live a life where we drift away from Christ, because it seems easier. But then there are some of us that say "I Will" bless the Lord at all times. "I Will," serve the Lord with gladness, "I Will," bring the sacrifice of praise. It is when we mature and determine within us that we will press into praise and worship God regardless of the circumstance, regardless of what we have or do not have, it is in that moment of decision that we become committed in a way that proves our gratitude and our attitude towards God. Pressing through the pain to growth and a place of pleasing God and ministering unto Him, is what God desires and it proves that our love is not circumstantial, but unconditional. This type of "Will" represents a commitment to who He ( God ) is to us and not what He does for us.
It is time that we grow through the pain to the promise. That we make up in our minds that "I Will," honor God with my very life. That "I Will" render service unto God no matter what my circumstance, no matter what it may look like and no matter what I feel. That "I Will," let my light shine, even when it causes my flesh pain to do so. Willing ourselves to move through something painful forces us to realize we hurt but to invoke our spirit over what we feel, and be moved by our love for God and not the discomfort of our circumstance. It is time to lift up those arms in praise even when we are sore. It is time to hit our knees in worship even when it is near impossible to get down or get back up. Push past the pain into the very presence of God, to find His love, His power and His strength to preserve. Let God get the Glory out of You, just because you Will!
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