The FAITH portion of our workout was written by Jadi Rodriguez, FAITH RXD Interim Executive Director and member of the Board of Directors. The FITNESS portion was programmed by Anthony Davis, Games Athlete and FAITH RXD Coach.
FITNESS WORKOUT
The Mindset
We are going to finish our self-control/discipline skill month with a workout that has three movements, representative of characteristics of the Spirit in our reading: power, love, and self-control. I recommend you repeat these characteristics in your head over and over when you go start your 2-minute rounds: power, love, and self-control.
The power snatches remind us of God’s power and His completion. It is His perfect love that delivers us the power of self-control.
The 30 double unders are the three virtues at work, and the penalty for failing the double unders keeps us disciplined and focused.
Finally, as you get to the max calories, it would be easy to settle and be timid or unambitious- Don’t! The Lord does not make us timid, fear is not from God, attack! Push yourself to the max, there is built-in rest in the workout, just like God builds in rest for us in Jesus.
The Workout
7 Rounds for Time
2 Minutes per Round
1 Minute Rest between rounds
7 Power Snatches (95/65)
30 Double Unders
Max Cal Row in the remaining time
*1 burpee penalty every time you trip
FAITH WORKOUT
Reading
2 Timothy 1:7
“For God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.”
Message
When I think of timidity I often think about the way people approach a heavy lift. I’m sure it’s applicable to metcons as well, but it really shows up when you start stacking plates and approaching that 1RM territory. We’ve all been there. Come on, admit it! At some point or another, you have found yourself loading up a barbell you already knew you were not even going to give a confident shot at before the clips were even on.
And sure, there is something to be said about discernment. Knowing what your limitations are, and what is a load that you can or cannot handle, but that is not what I am talking about. I am talking about a load that you hit years ago, but have not hit ever since. I am talking about a lift that you hit once in competition and never had to attempt again in your gym. I am talking about lifting a barbell that you have reason to believe you can lift, and yet you fear.
Heck tell me the movement and I know the weight where timidity starts to creep in for me.
Cleans? 225. Snatches? 175.
Why is that? Why is it that fear creeps in and timidity manifests itself in life in very specific areas when we have been there and done that?
There are so many times in my life God has shown up and worked the impossible. I’m not talking about a miracle in the sense of parting the red sea or raising the dead. I’m talking about God’s providential hand lifting me out of the pits of my own despair. Financial situations, relationship challenges, work jams, you name it. I have been driven to my knees and spent sleepless nights in anxiety, and every time God shows up and is faithful, I say the same thing, “I will never doubt Him again!”
Ha! Don’t last long, does it? That sort of faith at the moment is easy to profess, yet so hard to live.
The fact is, in life, I continuously need the Spirit of God in order to approach the barbell with power, love, and self-control. Otherwise, fear manifests itself in timidity, and my faith is shaken over and over again.
Galatians 5:16-24
“But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.”
Man, there is so much to unpack here. And if you find reading this and have more questions than answers, that’s OK. I encourage you to go find an elder at your church and begin having discussions about those questions. If you are part of a local chapter, have those discussions with your chapter leadership as well. Heck, have them in your strength groups (small groups).
Context is key, and Paul is writing his only letter not to contain one single praise. All of Paul’s epistles except the one to the church at Galatia started the same way, praise and encouragement over the things he had heard they had done well.
Not here though, Paul goes scorched earth, and six verses after his greeting tell them he is astonished that they have turned to a different gospel than the one true gospel.
Woof! And my wife says I can be harsh, haha!
The church at Galatia had strayed away from the gospel of grace and good doctrine, and Paul had no time for it.
How often do we stray?
I know I struggle with grace. It’s a hard concept, but it is one rooted in gratitude for forgiveness. Mainly because we lack the appropriate gravity of grief for our sins.
When we lose sight of that grace, we tend to gravitate towards work. When we begin to work for our forgiveness, we are actually professing that the finished work of Jesus Christ on the cross is not actually complete and in need of us.
Do you know who is telling you that? The enemy!
That’s not from God! That fear and timidity at the barbell is the same thing that we live in faith. It’s why working out is so good!
In the words of Guido Trinidad at our True Strength Camp in Miami:
“One of the reasons I love training is that I get to practice in a way that is practical, something that is uncomfortable. Take a moment to think about what are some areas in your life that immediately create fear. This is a practice, this is training but if we see it just as physical training we are missing out. We need to do things that scare us. But guess what? That fear doesn’t come from God. But as a matter of fact, God says that He did not give us a spirit of timidity but of power, love, and a sound mind. He is literally giving us the tools to overcome timidity. But if we do not know the person who is actually giving us these resources then we don’t have access to them. So if you’ve been questioning why you’ve been living in fear, anxiety, and worry, it’s because you don’t know the person that can give you power, love, and a clear sound mind!”
Saints, if you do not know Jesus, how can you know His power? And I’m not talking about cognitive knowledge. I am not talking about knowing that there is no gravity in space or that two plus two is four.
I’m talking ginosko! I am talking about relational knowing. From experiencing your King through His Spirit living in you and in His word! I am talking about knowing your God the way He told us to know Him.
We must walk in the Spirit if we wish to gratify the desires of the Spirit of God in us. Otherwise, it will be the flesh that we walk in and gratify. The list may be tough to read and stomach, but it is clear. The choices are hard to make, but not hard to understand. The difficulty is not in knowing what is wrong or right, but rather in the day-to-day decisions we make. But we have a helper!
John 14:22-26
“Judas (not Iscariot) said to him, “Lord, how is it that you will manifest yourself to us, and not to the world?” Jesus answered him, “If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him. Whoever does not love me does not keep my words. And the word that you hear is not mine but the Father’s who sent me. “These things I have spoken to you while I am still with you. But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.”
There are a lot of things the Holy Spirit does. Of all the persons of the Trinity, however, none have been prostituted as much as the Spirit. There isn’t a shortage of heretical teachings on what the Spirit is and what it does. And admittedly, a lot of that is difficult to discern and some mysterious enough to not really be known.
Here is what I do know though, the word of God tells us in John 14 and 15 what the Spirit’s function in our life will be. “What is His role?” Per se- To bring us a remembrance of all that Jesus said. Immediately before Jesus said that he tells us that if we love Him, we will keep His word.
This is why our FAITH RXD discipline challenge this month is so important. We asked, do you really know the God that you say you believe in, and are you following Him?
Only one way of knowing that really… are you keeping His word?
If you are not, then it should come as no surprise that you are living a life full of fear, anxiety, and timidity.
But if you are, fear not! The Spirit that dwells in you, if you walk in it, is a Spirit of power, love, and self-control!
QUESTIONS FOR GROUP DISCUSSION OR PERSONAL JOURNALING:
- How was the workout for you? Did it reveal something unexpected to you, either mentally, physically, or spiritually?
- What are some areas of your life you approach with timidity? Why do you think that is?
- What are some areas of your life that God has shown up and showed out time and time again? What are some ways you can continue to be reminded of that grace?
- Are you living in the flesh or the Spirit? What are some things that help you overcome the flesh and walk in the Spirit and keep God’s commandments?
