christ is my spotter

last night i was at the gym lifting weights. it was about 9 pm--the time when only serious lifters remain--and i'm doing the bench press with individual dumbbells. i had already done two sets, so i was pretty tired, but my third and hardest set still remained. i laid back on the bench with the bells on my chest, then lifting them up, i proceeded to bench...1...2...

rep 3 proved too heavy. i lifted maybe 20% of the way up and then hit the glass ceiling. the bells wouldn't go any higher, no matter how much more blood flowed to the already over-capacitated veins in my head. i was at my limit.

then the amazing happened.

a man i had seen earlier doing a similar exercise--but with much heavier weights--grabs my arms and yells "PUSH IT!" adrenaline pumped. i had a new confidence. with his help, up they went...3...4...5...6. he didn't make it easy, mind you. i needed it to be hard. but he added the strength i needed to finish, and finish well.

as the bells finally hit the ground, i looked up and said a simple "thanks". he doesn't know this, but christ made an unexpected visit to the gym last night.

"But he said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.' Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me." 2 corinthians 12:9

in the gym, when you know you're going to be lifting to the point of exhaustion, you grab a partner and you say "spot me". the spotter's job is to make sure you don't kill yourself, and if he's good, he'll push you more--adding strength you don't have. sometimes i see guys lifting without spotters--like i did last night--and i think about how pride keeps us from asking for a spotter. we don't want to admit we need the help. we can do it...wait...no, we can't.

it's the point in our lives when we are pushing as hard as we can, but we've hit the point of complete muscle failure...the glass ceiling. jesus loves it when we hit this point because it's our first realization of our dependence on Him. he is glorified (acknowledged for who He is) when we "can't". beautiful.

spot me, Jesus.