Spiritual Fitness

For a long time, I kept trying to get into exercising. I wasn't sure if I wanted to work out at home or go to a gym or take a class, but I knew I needed to do something. I would try different places, but I didn't do very well because I didn't have much muscle strength in the areas we were working. So I would give up, realizing that I needed to get stronger before I could go work out.

Finally, a friend dragged me to a fit class and, although it was hard and I couldn't do everything, I could almost feel myself getting a little stronger. And then it hit me: I don't go to a fit class to show off my strength that I already have. I go to fit class to get stronger. I'm not supposed to be perfect when I go in. Strength will come in time, but I have to go and work for it.

Now, in case you're thinking, "That's great and all, Jenna; but where exactly are you going with this?"

Just hang in there. I'm getting to the point.

When I was younger (probably close to 10), I was seriously considering joining the church and partaking in the Lord's Supper. I went through not one but two Communicant's Classes (basically, they taught what it meant to be a Christian and what it meant to take communion) and my pastor even came over to talk to me for a while. I can't even tell you how many hours my dad and I talked about it.

But I always came back to the understanding that I wasn't ready. After all, before you can take the Lord's Supper, you have to examine your heart and see if you are unrepentant for any sin. I don't think I ever had this conscious thought, but I always had this mindset that, if I did something wrong, God was going to zap me as soon as I walked out of church. I kept waiting, hoping that one day I would be good enough to take communion.

I was twelve when I stopped short. Wasn't that the entire point of the Lord's Supper? Doesn't it exist BECAUSE I'm not perfect?

It seems so simple, but it took many years for me to reach this point. I'd always known about God, and I've been in church almost every single Sunday of my life. But when it came to understanding grace, no one could just teach me. I had to come to that realization myself.

I officially joined the church not long after I understood this, and I celebrated with my church that day because I had finally discovered the center of Christianity: grace.

I've talked about Ephesians 2:8-9 before, so I won't go into it in too much detail, but this verse summarizes my understanding of grace.

For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.

All my life, I had been trying to figure things out myself, trying to make myself perfect; but it was no different than me not wanting to work out because I wasn't strong enough. It's grace--and only grace--that saved me. There's nothing I can do to save myself. But God will give me strength to be more like Christ as I commune with Him. He doesn't expect me to be perfect now. He expects me to have faith and let Him save me.

Just like going to fit class, partaking in the Lord's Supper doesn't require me to already be strong. All I have to do is come in faith.

And isn't that amazing? Isn't grace amazing?

To an Uncertain Nation

If uncertainty wasn't in the air before the US Presidential primary today, it is certainly here now. Regardless of who you voted for, the next Commander in Chief is still unknown. You might already know if your preferred candidate has won or lost, but maybe you're not happy about the results. Or maybe you are...and now you have to worry about the November election.

Wherever you stand, I know that you must be experiencing at least a little anxiety over the future of our nation. That's understandable.

But it also indicates that our trust is misplaced.

Put not your trust in princes,
    in a son of man, in whom there is no salvation.
When his breath departs, he returns to the earth;
    on that very day his plans perish.

Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob,
    whose hope is in the Lord his God (Psalm 146:3-5)

If your hope is in your favorite candidate, in the next president, or in the next Supreme Court Justice, then it is in the wrong place. Each of those people will live a little while and then die. Sure, their actions will affect us now and down the road, but ultimately, who is in control here?

 The king's heart is a stream of water in the hand of the Lord; he turns it wherever he will. (Proverbs 21:1)

Look: no matter who gets into office, God will still control them as if they were drops of water in His palm. None of these candidates can do anything outside of God's plan.

It's scary sometimes to think about where our nation is headed. And for all I know, we could get wiped out within the next four years. But ultimately, God is on the throne. I know it's very cliche, but it's only cliche because it's true. God reigns sovereign. Nothing is out of His control. And He is the King of kings. Do you think that our country will fall if He ordains it to stand?

Or do you think that our nation will stand when He has determined its downfall? Maybe God will use this election to put into office a president who will destroy us. But even then, will He be less sovereign? Will His plan cease from being carried out? And will He not hear the cries of repentance from the citizens?

Friends, whether or not you live in America, you live in a world that is corrupt and dying. It won't last forever. Jesus is coming back (Hallelujah for that!).

But He's not here yet. So until then, we have to be good stewards of what He's entrusted to us. One of those gifts is the freedom to vote. Even if you didn't vote in this election, plan on voting in the next one (you have several months to get ready for it).

More than that, however, remember that, regardless of the outcome, God is still God. And God loves us and wants what is best for us. All things will work together for our good.

I'll leave you with this reminder, just in case you're still anxious:

Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!” (Psalm 46:10)