When Missy and I lived in Memphis we used to do P90 in our apartment. If we ever wondered why the neighbors who lived below us seemed a little unpleasant, we had to look no further than P90. We did so much jumping and punching and kicking that I am sure it drove them crazy!
At the end of that video they had an introduction for P90X where Tony Horton introduced the term “muscle confusion”. He said that when we do the same routine over and over again that our body has diminishing returns as our muscles settle into that rhythm. What we need is to vary up our approach, to work muscles in new ways and from new angles.
That is true with physical exercise but it is also true in our spiritual growth and development. Routine is going to happen but sometimes what we need is to change things up a bit or even a lot. There are times life requires us to make changes and so they are forced upon us. What is more impressive is the person who makes the changes and accepts challenges when they don’t have to…when it is their choice to do so. You could much more easily sit back and be comfortable, avoid the challenge and maintain status quo. Instead, try a little spiritual muscle confusion…vary things up and take on a new challenge that is going to require you to really lean on God more and so choosing to make that change has a lot to do with purposeful spiritual development. How often do we make it our plan, our heart’s desire to grow and mature spiritually? What does it take for that to actually happen? Last, how have you been challenged in the past that very clearly had an impact on your own spiritual development?
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If if that’s the case, God must be training me for an Ironman.