I don't really want to look like a Greek god, but I know that's what a lot of people desire when they go to the gym. When I go to the gym, I have a few simple goals-
1. Go to the gym. It doesn't matter to me what I do there or how my workout goes. Simply showing up and doing something is 100% better than sitting at home and doing nothing.
2. Stay in the same size pants. I've been in size 40 pants for about 10 years and I don't ever want to go up from there. The motivation is to not have to go up a pants size and loose the dozen or so suits I've acquired over the years.
This morning, I was at the gym with my friend, and we were doing some bench press and some pull-ups. I don't really enjoy the pull up part, but the bench press part, its sort of fun. This morning I was just doing some reps with 225. I know, its not a huge amount of weight, but I'm just getting back into the bench press.
I've got to be honest. This morning I tried to bench 275 and I wasn't able to do it. It was close, the bar was moving very slowly, but it really wasn't a lift that anyone would say that I accomplished. When I got done, after the failure, I thought about how in 2002 I benched 365 for 2 reps. Why am I telling you this? Because every person that has done any sort of weightlifting knows this phrase- muscle memory.
What is muscle memory? Basically its the idea that if your muscles have performed at a certain level of fitness, they will 'remember' and be able to do it again based on past performance. It means that when you don't do an activity for an extended period of time, the next time you do it, the muscle won't have to work as long to get back to the same level of fitness. Hence, muscle memory.
This morning I was wishing that my muscles would have remembered how to lift 275 so I wouldn't have to had eaten the barbell.
But here's what I did think about while I was at the gym- how awesome it is that as much as our muscles have a memory, our past shouldn't have one. What do I mean? Well if you've ever been a part of something, or done something you weren't proud of, more than likely you've thought about it long after that time had passed. If you're anything like me, you probably felt guilt or shame about it and wished that it hadn't happened.
But here's the deal- if you're a follower of Jesus, a person who believes that Jesus died for the stuff in your past you shouldn't have done, you shouldn't be concerned with that past. Why? Because its in the past. Its been covered. Jesus dealt with it on the cross.
Do you allow the devil to torment you? Do you dwell too much on your past sins? The Bible says that God doesn't remember our sins after we ask for forgiveness, and you shouldn't either. Its a downward spiritual spiral that you don't want to be part of.
Let go of the past today. Don't remember it. Don't dwell on it. Don't bring it up. The greatest tool that the devil has in his arsenal is discouragement, and for some reason, he always seems to use our past sins to get at us.
Muscle memory = good. Sin memory = bad.
Be blessed
pastor matt
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