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“Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. James 4:8a(ESV)

Exercising is one of those things I just love to do. Rarely do I miss a beat. Lunchtime at the gym has been my norm for years and energizes my afternoon. So one would think I never miss a workout. Not the case. When sickness pops in to visit exercise is definitely not doable. And the tiredness that follows can keep us out of the gym for weeks.

When our bodies are used to exercising there is this weird dynamic that takes place when we halt. It takes about two – three  weeks (depending on your fitness level) of no use for our muscles to atrophy – in other words, they start to shrink. Lack of use causes our bodies to break the muscles down decreasing them in size and strength. Malnutrition, a sedentary lifestyle or sitting at a desk all day can fuel this process. Not exactly where we want to land. Good news is we can recover by resuming exercise and eating a healthy diet. It may take a little longer to rebuild those muscles, but it is absolutely doable.

Sound familiar –  whether you exercise or not, we all can easily get off track with what’s truly important for our physical and spiritual health. Warm weather, fun activities, weekends traveling – I’m sure we’ve all been there when prioritizing time with God slid to the bottom of the list. And if we’re keeping it real here, we’ve even allowed God to not make the list at all.  Crazy thing is slippage happens without a lot of effort and maybe that’s the real point – our efforts took a short break which slowly evolved into a prolonged absence. Not exactly where we planned to land.

What happens when those spiritual muscles are weakened?

• We are vulnerable to the enemy’s attacks
• Our tendency is to rely on self versus turning to God
• Self-control quickly slides out the window
• Doubts resurface
• Excuses multiply

I think we all get the picture – dismissing our connection with God never serves us well.  It leaves us feeling empty even if our life is swirling with the fullness of distractions and activity. We simply can’t satisfy the longing in our souls with anything except God. Good news is we can recover by simply drawing our hearts back to God.

Even if life is totally out of control, we can avoid the disconnect by:

• Seizing moments to focus our thoughts on God
• Breathing prayers throughout our day
• Meditating on one verse – allowing God’s Word to saturate our thoughts
• Listening to worship music as we clean, work, travel, etc.
• Listening to an inspirational podcast while doing dishes, laundry or waiting in the carpool line

Simple little ways to ensure slippage in this season doesn’t create disconnect in the future. God is always near, eager and ready to connect with us. The daily choice is up to us.

“Father, even in the midst of crazy busy and lots of challenges help us to keep our hearts connected and aligned with Yours.”

For His Glory

Janet Martin
TRBC Women’s Life