Training Surpasses Trying

In his message, “Run to Win,” Pastor Craig Rochelle told a packed room of men to “stop trying and start training.”  Scripture does not ask us to try to be godlier. It says to be godly. According to Rochelle, “Trying is an attempt to change with minimal commitment . . . Trying gives you permission to fail.” Conversely, training involves a wholehearted commitment to achieving a goal because you act according to your commitment.

​Meditation
Genesis 14:14--When Abram heard that his relative had been taken prisoner, he assembled his 318 trained men, born in his household, and they went in pursuit as far as Dan.
 
If Abraham’s nephew, Lot, had been taken prisoner along with the rest of his family and town inhabitants and Abraham’s servants had not been trained in battle, there would have been no rescue attempt, for it would have been hopeless.  Instead, Abraham had the confidence to take his small force and go and rout four kings and their warriors to regain the freedom of his relatives and recover all their stolen property.  The trained ability to fight coupled with the will to do what was right, made the difference.
           
Training has applications in many aspects of life. For example, most people fail with resolutions because they make commitments from a platform of trying.  “I will try to lose weight.  I will try to work out three times a week. I will try to spend less time on the internet.”  Nothing is wrong with those statements or the intent, but little is likely to happen without setting up a training regimen with accountability to fulfill the stated goals.
           
People often say, “I know I should read my Bible.” But they rarely do.  As Yoda would say, “Don’t try, do!” Stop making statements that assuage guilt but accomplish nothing. Create, protect, and execute habits that result in faithful training.  Sometimes, this is best accomplished by admitting the need for help and letting someone act as a trainer.

My buddy, Eldon, regularly enters into races, competes, and either wins or places high in his age group.  I’ve known my classmate, Dave, to go out to a Colorado Springs track covered with snow and shovel an entire ¼ lane so he can run. My sister, Barbie, walks her dogs every chance she gets so she can stay in shape. Despite a debilitating stroke, my son, Bryan, goes to physical therapy and works out with weights and stretching exercises to prevent his limbs from atrophying. People succeed when they refuse to compromise the hard work of training.

​Try by training—that is the appropriate application to desire. Anything less is wishful thinking.
 
Inspiration
“We don’t rise to the level of our expectations; we fall to the level of our training.”—Archilochus
 
©2024 Daniel York  ARR.  Reveration is the weekly devotional ministry of First Cause.  To receive these devotionals, go to www.firstcause.org and click the “Click here to receive weekly devotionals” box.  Unlimited permission to copy this devotional without altering text or profiteering is allowed, subject to the inclusion of this copyright notice.     
 
Ecclesiastes 12:10-The Teacher sought to find delightful sayings and to accurately write words of truth.  (Holman CSB)