No Gain without Pain
Photo Credit
As I dragged my left limb out of the car tonight, Bruce looked at me and said, “No pain; no gain.”
I wanted to punch him.
Monday, I decided to start working out again, and now I can barely walk.
Being healthy is painful. In my flesh, I’d rather be trolling Facebook while I am gorging on Hershey’s kisses.
Quitting is not an option, though. It’s not an option because I keep hearing Lysa Terkeurst in my head:
The decisions you make today matter. Every decision points your life in the direction you are about to travel. No decision is an isolated choice.
~The Best Yes, p. 64
I am determined to choose wisely. I want my direction to please Him in every way.
Like the Apostle Paul, I want to pursue Christ with every fiber of my being.
To live is Christ, and to die is gain.
Yeah, that is a hard word. Do I want to know Christ? Then, I must die daily. I must press in to the pain.
Tonight, as I read Paul’s letter to Timothy, I heard the wise warrior Apostle saying to his protegé:
Never forget you are in a battle, soldier.
Here’s our marching orders:
Stand strong in grace: When you are weak, your God is infinitely strong. His grace is sufficient to meet your every need.
Dig in with determination: Stay in the trenches. Persevere. Endure hardship.
Fix your eyes on Jesus: Remember you are on the winning team. God’s Word is never chained.
Tomorrow is a new day, and I’m going to put my big girl pants back on and choose wisely.
I choose Jesus. I want my all to bring him glory no matter what the cost.
No gain without pain.
Something to think about…
I’m sharing “No Gain without Pain” with like-minded friends at Faith-Filled Friday.
Have you written something thought-provoking, challenging, encouraging, or inspiring lately? Link it up here! For best results, write the title of your post in the name box. 
As a courtesy, please link back to 3-D Lessons for Life in your post. Grab and share the Thought-Provoking Thursday button to spread the word. Use #ThoughtProvokingThursday to share your post and connect on Twitter.
Check back later to see what other GREAT posts have been linked up! Visit the post immediately before yours and leave an encouraging comment.
An InLinkz Link-up
The post No Gain without Pain appeared first on 3-D Lessons for Life.
