No Pain No Gain

I don't have a personal trainer but I feel like I do. When I was training for my Canada to Mexico ride in 2008 I bought some DVD's called Spinervals by Coach Troy Jacobson. After riding my bike on my trainer for literally hundreds of hours with Coach Troy directing my training and pushing me harder and harder I felt as though I knew him personally. It was as though he was right there beside my bike egging me on when my strength would fade. He was there pushing me when the pain made me want to stop. He was there to kick up the tempo when I would want to slow down. Riding under Coach Troy's direction was literally painful. I would get off the bike and step into a puddle of my own sweat. The towel that was dry when I started the workout was soaking wet. I literally wanted to collapse in a pile on the floor after a three hour workout.

Why would I subject myself to such a regimen? I wanted to get stronger. I wanted to become a better cyclist. I wanted to be in good enough shape to achieve my objective. It was painful, but I felt it was worth it. And I felt as though I owed my success to Coach Troy, even though I never met him personally.

In John 15 Jesus uses an analogy to describe his relationship with us. "I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing." (v. 5) Jesus also tells us: "every branch that does bear fruit [the gardener] prunes so that it will be even more fruitful." (v. 2)

I liken the pruning of the vine by the gardener to the training that was provided by Coach Troy. I don't know if plants have feelings but if they did, I'm sure the process of pruning would not be pleasant but painful. But it is necessary and valuable, so that the vine can bear even more fruit. Someone once told me that the gardener is never closer to the vine than when he is pruining it. That makes sense. Pruning cannot be done from a distance. It is close up and personal. It requires a careful inspection of each branch to determine which ones need to be cut back or cut off. It requires precision with the pruning shears so it calls for careful attention.

I feel close to Coach Troy even though I've never met him because he was my cycling "gardener," pruning me to become a better cyclist. Sometimes it was painful but it was appreciated.

You may be going through a painful time in your life. Some "pruning" may be taking place, and it's not comfortable or easy. If that's the case you may wonder, "Where is God in all of this pain I'm feeling? Why is he letting this happen? Why doesn't he care about the suffering I'm going through?" As a result it may seem as though God is distant. But that's not the case.

God is never closer to us than when he is loving pruning us so that we can be more fruitful. We need to recognize this so that the painful times in life don't drive us away from God, but draw us closer to him. Just as I felt close to Coach Troy, we should see God as our loving Coach who is training us for success, and realize that he is very close to us when we are growing through our pain.