Endurance race athletes will sometimes experience something called “bonking.” Another way of saying it is that they “hit the wall.” Dr. William Apollo describes it as a “sensation of sudden and overwhelming weakness and fatigue that is typically caused by dehydration and/or depletion of energy stores from the muscles and liver. That effect is basically the endurance athlete’s kryptonite – when it hits us, we’re toast.” Having participated in races without proper training and eating discipline I can confirm the accuracy of his description. I have been miles away from any support and wanted to curl up on a mountainside trail and go to sleep. It’s awful. And what’s more, it’s avoidable!
Christians can experience similar effects when they are not fueling and training properly. In his letter to the much younger Timothy, Paul tells him that physical exercise is good, but conditioning himself for righteousness is much more important.
If you put these things before the brothers, you will be a good servant of Christ Jesus, being trained in the words of the faith and of the good doctrine that you have followed. Have nothing to do with irreverent, silly myths. Rather train yourself for godliness; for while bodily training is of some value, godliness is of value in every way, as it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come. The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance. For to this end we toil and strive, because we have our hope set on the living God, who is the Savior of all people, especially of those who believe. (1 Timothy 4:6-10)
Being tutored by words of faith and living a life consistent with good doctrine is how to produce the fruit of godliness. Just as there is no magic pill that can replicate the positive benefits of responsible eating habits and exercise, so there is no shortcut to producing the fruit of the Spirit. It requires consistent, steadfast intake of God’s word and consistent, steadfast exercise of faith.
The Bible speaks to those that remain spiritual weaklings. Proverbs 24:10 reads, “If you faint in the day of adversity, your strength is small.” Persecution for our faith takes many forms, and you don’t have to be a Christian long to endure some level of it. Are you preparing for it? Do you know why you believe what you believe? To use biblical language, are you “prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope this in you”? Are you training for your next conflict with the world?
If you have been weak in the past or even fainted in the day of adversity, don’t allow that to become a source of discouragement. In Acts 13 Paul and Barnabus set out on a missionary journey to the island of Cyprus. They were accompanied by a guy named John who, for reasons we do not know, abandoned them and returned to Jerusalem. This upset Paul so much that he later got into a “sharp disagreement” with Barnabus when John wanted to join them on a future mission. The man’s full name is John Mark, and he went on to author the Gospel of Mark! Obviously God can transform spiritual sissies into spiritual warriors.
After his early failure, John Mark did, in fact, participate in missionary journeys. In Paul’s final letter he described how he had largely been abandoned. In the closing words of that letter he wrote, “Luke alone is with me. Get Mark and bring him with you, for he is very useful to me for ministry” (2 Timothy 4:11). John Mark had proven his worth on the mission field and was clearly reconciled to his brother in Christ.
Regardless of our past failures or current spiritual health, we must forget about what lies behind and strain forward to what lies ahead, pressing on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. Straining toward the goal isn’t achieved with good intentions. It requires discipline and training. If you don’t have a training regimen, start today. If you do, evaluate its effectiveness and tune it up so you don’t bonk in the day of adversity.