Work Out: Ephesians 5:29-30
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You are supposed to sweat at the gym. It's okay if you have streaks on your shirt, sweat running down your face. It's called a workout. You are supposed to work. If you feel fatigued when you leave, you don't think, "What's wrong with me? Why couldn't I handle that better?" And no one, seeing you, thinks you hate yourself. Instead, they are happy for you. You worked out.
So outside the gym, sometimes there is one challenge after another. You finish tallying up your kid's taxes; then along comes that FAFSA form. You finish that, and then you meet up with a difficult person, and—big surprise—they were difficult. You do your best there, and then you find out your car needs some work. It's one thing after another...and you feel worked out.
Or worse, you hit a major setback, one that changes your year, maybe even your life. You had a goal, and you want to work on it, but you just don't get to achieve it now. You can't get the time. You are busy helping someone else or putting out this fire or that one. Your life changes don't allow for that goal anymore. And then, because you weren't expecting it, you get worried, anxious, frustrated, discouraged, depressed. You’re getting worked out, worn out. And then maybe you even think, "God is punishing me. God is working against me."
If you are naming God, is it because you know his Son Jesus as your Savior? If the answer is yes, then there is a sentence in the Bible just for you: "For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes it and cherishes it, just as Christ does the church, for we are members of his body" (Ephesians 5:29-30 ESV).
You are part of Christ’s body. When you get worn out, he knows it. Christ never works against his people. We are part of him. Maybe what feels like punishment is really more aptly described as a strenuous workout. Maybe Jesus has taken you to the Y! Maybe there is a race to run, an event to register for, and he is making his body—i.e. you and him—ready for it.
But not because he is against you! If you are in him, you are of him. And Christ does not work against you but "nourishes and cherishes" you. Maybe the present circumstances are not turning out as you expected, but that does not mean they are of no value, or moreso, that you are of no value. Maybe you are at his gym, moving from machine to machine to machine. First cardio, then chest, then arms, then legs, then core. Maybe you are tired, but you are getting prepared. Christ is lovingly guiding you through the gym to make you a warrior for some event. You are a part of his body, and he is working with you, not against you, getting you ready for something great that only those who work out can achieve. He loves you, and he is working you out.