My oldest personal training client is 84 years old. Her goal is to gain strength and age healthily. I truly admire her spirit and deeply respect her goals. One of the first things I had to do was assess how she moves. I gave her mobility and flexibility exercises to help prepare her body for movement. She confessed that she had been sitting a lot this past year. And she’s not alone, I’ve read that “sitting is the new smoking.” Our bodies were designed to move, and prolonged inactivity can weaken us physically. And I believe that the same can happen spiritually.
We can go through seasons where our faith, prayer life, joy, or hope become weak. Sometimes we don’t even realize how much we’ve stopped moving until someone helps us assess where we are. But weakness isn’t something God asks us to hide.
Paul writes,
For we are glad when we are weak, and You are strong. Your restoration is what we pray for. 2 Corinthians 13:9 ESV
Restoration
I love that word: restoration. When I work with a client, I don’t see weakness as a reason to give up. I look at where they are, identify what needs attention, and create a path toward gaining strength. And God does the same with us.
Perhaps we’ve been sitting spiritually for too long. Maybe we’re tired, discouraged, or haven’t felt strong in our faith. Let’s not be ashamed of where we are. Bring it to God. He doesn’t ask us to pretend to be strong. He invites us to let Him strengthen us, restore us, and remember that we are designed to move. And restoration is a movement that often begins with one small step. Say one prayer. Read one Scripture. Surrender to one act of obedience. Make one decision to trust Him again.
We may feel weak right now, but weakness is not the end of our story. It is the place where God’s strength and restoration begin.
*For those of you who prayer walk, as you walk, ponder the phrase “Designed to Move.” Take note of what the Holy Spirit reveals along the way.
For your copy of this week’s screensaver, click here. And to access all of my YouVersion Bible App devotional plans, click here.