Training for the Future

7 Do not waste time arguing over godless ideas and old wives’ tales. Instead, train yourself to be godly.8 “Physical training is good, but training for godliness is much better, promising benefits in this life and in the life to come.”9 This is a trustworthy saying, and everyone should accept it.10 This is why we work hard and continue to struggle, for our hope is in the living God, who is the Savior of all people and particularly of all believers.

1 Tim 4:7-10 (NLT)

In my life time I have spent several hours of my life in a gym trying to stay physically fit. When I served in the Army it was part of my normal routine to work out we did physical training everyday often spending as much as two hours in running and calisthenics. We did this to be ready for the demands of combat so when the time came we would be better prepared and more of us would come home. When you get to looking at how different units train you will see the higher the stress they work under; the more intense their style of physical fitness usually is. I promise you Green Berets and Navy Seals do extensive physical training in preparing for the future missions. Yet the real training comes in the mental preparedness that they go through as they work their way through training in whatever area they have been called to serve in. This is really were the rubber meets the road. Being mentally prepared knowing all the possible situations and how best to respond to issues along the way is often what makes the real difference in coming home alive or dead. The physical training makes it possible to reason in times of stress the mental training allows you to make the right decision.

Paul explained this to Timothy; there was value in the physical training of his body and he should not allow himself to become weak in the flesh; but all the might he may gain from it was folly if he was not mentally prepared for what lay ahead. He was to focus on God in all things in this he would find direction and answers for his life. The understanding of this one idea that he was to live a godly life was the key to his future success. Today we need to understand this very same principal and apply it to our walks as Christians. Consider it training for the war we fight every day. The best trained soldiers go not only physically prepared for battle but mentally prepared to face what lay ahead.  When our bodies become weak we can be driven on to complete the mission we have been called to perform. You see if we are walking in godliness than we have tapped into a power that can carry us through all of the obstacles the world will throw at us. I pray today you begin training for what lies ahead because each day brings its own battles. Walking in the light of God’s Word will help better prepare you for them.