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Writer's pictureTrey Steele

New Power



Spiritual Training Cycle: Unity (wk. 4/13)


In your pursuit to live a fit and active life, you’re going to need some benchmarks. Benchmarks are an essential component of measuring fitness over time. If your goal is to improve your fitness, and I have no doubt it is, you need a way to chart your progress which is where benchmarks come in to play. In CrossFit, we have a number of benchmark workouts, known as “The Girls.” First introduced in 2003, these workouts were designed to test a broad spectrum of fitness as well as function as repeatable workouts for benchmarking. Sometimes, just hearing the word “Fran” is enough to raise an athlete’s heart rate. But no matter how much you love or despise thrusters and pull-ups, every time you complete Fran, your goal is to do better than you did last time. And when you do, congratulations, you’ve got new fitness. And with new fitness comes new power.


Power is simply a function of what you’re moving, how far you’re moving it, and how fast it’s moving. As weight and distance increase so does power. As the amount of time it takes to do a workout like Fran decreases, your power increases. New power comes from moving larger loads longer distances in shorter periods of time. Which is why consistency is so critical to building fitness. Fitness is the biproduct of increased power. And the best way to build power is to be consistent. For some athletes, that’s being disciplined to be in the gym Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. For others, it’s the discipline to push the longer WOD’s, even when you don’t “feel” like it. When it comes to power, the output is the result of the input.


When it comes to power, the output is the result of the input.

Our spiritual lives function in a similar way. In some sense, I think we all want to be able to do more reps in life. By that I mean things like acts of kindness or letting go or learning to say no instead of being over planned. Sometimes we need to move more weight, like dealing with added responsibilities or addressing new difficulties or caring for others who are struggling. All of these require power. They take effort, which can leave you feeling drained or inadequate. You see, the output of living your best life is the result of the input. And the input of spiritual power must come from God.


It is God’s grace that enables us to receive power at all. By His grace we are active and living human beings made in the image of God, created to do great things which God has already prepared for us. This is the power of our Father, the Creator. Jesus prepares our hearts for this power. His resurrection is the ultimate defeat of death, guaranteeing eternal life for all who call on His name. This is the power of the Son, the Restorer. And it is the Holy Spirit who gives us this power. The power to embrace difficulty, to love others, to weather the storms, to live the most satisfying life possible. This is the power of the Spirit, the Sustainer. As you develop the capacity to handle life better, remember the output is a result of the input. You don’t just have new spiritual fitness, you’ve got new power.


Questions for Reflection:

Have you seen the power of the Holy Spirit at work in someone else’s life? What did that look like?


How important is baptism to you?

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