The other night, as I was going to bed, I caught myself scrolling through TikTok (as we’ve all probably found ourselves doing more often than we’d like to admit…), but I came across a video snippet from one of Stephen Furtick’s messages at Elevation Church. The video was an analogy of a bouncy ball and how a bouncy ball only functions if the surface is correct. As Furtick bounces the ball on the concrete floor of the auditorium he says, “For this to do what it is meant to do, the surface that it bounces on has to be hard.” He then goes on to explain that maybe the season we’re going through is hard because we’re being prepared for something else. Now it’s funny how this works; some call it chance, I call it God working in mysterious ways that He would show me this video right after last week’s post about the seasons changing.
For a lot of us, the pandemic and this season we’ve been in, seems never-ending. It’s been hard. But maybe that’s intentional and we have to use the reality of it to propel us to bigger and better things. I started to question if the things we’ve experienced this past year – a lost job, a move, isolation through quarantine, financial troubles, or virtual school just to name a few, haven’t been preparing us to better attack future challenges in life. If we begin to look at the pain, and the struggle as a stepping stone and a notch on the belt of life, are we then able to shift our perspective? In the video, Furtick says, “Maybe you’ve been cut down for a comeback.” He uses the challenging moment and the hard season we’re going through to motivate us to win the next season we’re in.
The saying goes, “God gives his toughest battles to his strongest soldiers” and I feel this fits perfectly with this concept. Just as the bouncy ball can only function properly on the right surface, we as humans can only function properly if we are prepared in the right way. God prepares us in advance and sometimes prepares us through trials to take on the challenges we may face. It’s written God will never leave us or forsake us, So by him giving us battles, it may seem like something we can’t overcome on our own. But it may be in reality, a call to lean on that relationship. Life isn’t easy. As much as we’d like a walk in the park kind of life, it’s not that way. When we live on a mission, striving towards the goals we set for ourselves, there will be opposition. Whether it’s people not understanding why we are living the way we are, external factors like a pandemic, or maybe the devil trying to throw you off course, there is adversity. As we’ve discussed in past blogs, challenges and adversity are an opportunity.
The pain and hardship we’ve endured or are enduring now, like the pandemic, are moments of adversity and challenges we need to view as opportunity. As Furtick mentioned regarding the cutdown, that is a moment of weakness that opens up the opportunity for change. It’s important to recognize and acknowledge that sometimes that’s exactly what we need to hit reset and readjust our path to fight through hardship. When we lean on Faith or surround ourselves with support staff, only then are we able to overcome the hardship. Think of it like being in control of the bouncy ball and making the transition from carpet to concrete. That sudden change allows for the ball to reach full potential, so we too, shall make the change to use adversity as opportunity and allow ourselves to reach full potential. In trusting God’s guidance and relying on the resources and positive influence in our lives, we are then prepared to reach our full potential and perform how we are meant to perform.
I leave you with this. Don’t be afraid of hard times. No one likes hardship, but it’s inevitable. If life was intended to be easy, we wouldn’t be given verses like James 1:12, that just happened to be my “verse of the day” as I wrap this up. James 1:12 says, “Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him.”
Be encouraged that better days are coming. That when life knocks you down, it’s a challenge to get back up and overcome the adversity. Begin to view hardships as on opportunity, as an open door to grow, adapt, overcome, and succeed. Change your surface, be all you’re meant to be. I believe in you.
WORKOUT
Life is hard and that can translate into our workouts too. It’s important that when those moments happen and workouts seem too tough to accomplish or we’re too tired, we view that as a challenge and an opportunity to fight through the pain and succeed at our fitness goals.
To work towards that, we’ve got a workout this week to push the limits and test our strength and resilience.
Block 1:
-Air Squats – 20 reps
-Burpees – 8-10 reps
-Squat hold – 30sec
Block 2:
-Diamond Push-ups – 10-15 reps
-Plank Hold (pushup position) – 1min
-Tricep Dips – 10-15 reps (on chair or bench)
Block 3:
-Lunges – 10 ea. leg
-Squat Step Backs – 15-20 ea. leg
-Mountain Climbers (knee to opposite elbow) – 10-15 ea. side
Block 4:
-Alternating Leg Lifts – 10 ea. leg
-Crunches – 20 reps
-Russian Twists – 40 reps
Hammer and Anvil 