Atrophy- at·​ro·​phy | \ ˈa-trə-fē: a wasting away or progressive decline, decrease or decline from disuse

This past President’s Day my son Justin and I had a bachelor weekend. Justin’s 19, works full time at Shady Maple Farmers Market and will be going to university in the fall, so I really treasure any time we can spend together.  Pam and Katelyn took advantage of the 3-day weekend by visiting some friends in Virginia, so we pretty much had the run of the place.  We barbequed pork ribs, ordered pizza, went to the movies, played a game… it was great father-son time.  And since we both had off on Monday, we decided to take advantage of the beautiful weather to go on a hike.  Having pretty much explored all the trails of nearby Welsh Mountain, a family friend recommended Pulpit Rock off the Appalachian trail on Blue Mountain. So, after a bit of research we packed a lunch and drove an hour up to Hamburg to the trail head.  The Pulpit Rock loop trail is a relatively easy 3.8-mile hike that includes a scenic overlook. This was exactly what we were looking for- a nice easy outing.

Well, being the “experienced” hiker that I am, I misread a blaze from the outset and after about an hour, we found ourselves 2 miles into the Pinnacle Loop Trail, not Pulpit Rock. Pinnacle Loop is a much more ambitious hike, which turned out to be just north of 10 miles.    When I discovered the error, I acted like it was part of my plan all along and Justin took it in stride.  We were kind of committed at that point. The pinnacle is the second highest peak in Berks County and was supposed to have a much better overlook anyway.

We hiked the loop, took some pictures of us smiling triumphantly at the Pinnacle and I splashed them all over social media.  What I didn’t mention to anyone was how stinking sore I am. The muscles in my legs feel like they’ve been through a meat grinder.  And my feet? Since I was anticipating a much shorter walk which didn’t include picking your way through a mile long boulder field, I had only worn tennis shoes. OUCH.

The soreness really caught me by surprise.  I mean, after all, a mere 10 months ago I walked the Appalachian Trail from Front Royal, Virginia to the Pennsylvania state line, crossing West Virginia and Maryland with a 38-pound pack on my back.  Why was I so sore? What gives?

One simple word- atrophy. After a winter of inactivity and an extra 10 pounds, the lack of exercise diminished my capacity. Too much time in my office chair, too much time in an easy chair, and too many Shady Maple donut have taken its toll. Over time my muscles weakened, and I became out of shape and soft. There’s no nice way to say it. I was out of shape and didn’t even know it.

I think there’s a spiritual lesson here too. In Hebrews 5, the author contrasts the spiritually weak and the spiritually strong, the mature versus the immature. The immature are like infants who can only drink milk, while the mature are able to take solid food. And about the mature he says,

But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil. Hebrews 5:14

Notice the words I highlighted, “constant use.”  The difference between the mature and the immature, the weak and the strong is that mature Christians train themselves through constant use.  They develop and then continue to exercise their spiritual muscles.  They don’t rely on past successes or distant faith to carry them through current trials. They are currently and presently growing in Christ. They are currently and continually pursuing the Father. They exercise their faith in real time. So, when a spiritual 10 miler comes along, they’re ready.

How about you?  Are you developing now, the spiritual muscle that will be required for your next trial?  In times of relative ease, it’s easy to slack off, let down our guard or lose focus.  And we find ourselves weakening without even knowing it. And then, when called to exert some spiritual muscle to carry us through a time of extended faith and sacrifice, we discover that we’re internally flabby.

When investing in mutual funds, the SEC requires that the prospectus say, “past performance does not guarantee future results.” The same is true with our faith. Don’t rely on last years training for this years struggles.  The spiritual realm is just like the physical, “if you don’t use it, you lose it.”