A Good Stretch

I love a good stretch. Whether it's while sitting on the edge of bed the first thing in the morning, or during a yawn at the close of the day, they always feel so gratifying to my tired or stiff muscles.
    
    I also learned that stretching one's muscles and joints prior to a work-out is important to a fitness program. Without a warm-up stretch you can pull, damage or even tear body parts, which can set-back fitness routines for days or weeks.
    
    There's also the often painful stretching of physical therapy associated with recovery from surgery or injury. That stretching can make you wince, for it makes you stretch outside your comfort zone.
    
    God has sometimes urged me to share my faith with someone I didn't know very well, or to give an offering that was far beyond what I usually give, or to confront someone about a situation. Most recently God has urged me to "stretch" far greater than what I ever thought was comfotable. He asked Liz and I to leave the comfort and security of family and friends and set out on a journey of faith.
    
    Abraham's life illustrates the importance of faith when God asks us to move beyond our comfort zone. "By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going" (Heb. 11:8).

    While we stretch our spiritual muscles, we may feel discomfort. But God assures us, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness" (2 Cor. 12:9). Our adequacy--our sufficiency--is found in Him (2 Cor. 3:5).

    Let me encourage you to boldly step out in faith and obedience to God, you will be surprised at how a "good stretch" can strengthen your spiritual life! 

    Here's a quote from Dave Dravecky that most accurately states my own experience: "Looking back, [my wife] Jan and I have learned that the wilderness is part of the landscape of faith, and every bit as essential as the mountaintop. On the mountaintop we are overwhelmed by God's presence. In the wilderness we are overwhelmed by His absence. Both places should bring us to our knees; the one, in utter awe; the other, in utter dependence".

Pastor Greg Ells