That title is, I believe, a paraphrase of something Nietzsche said. Perhaps a slight exaggeration, but there is truth. We need a certain amount of stressors in our life to make us stronger.
Women of south Asia, Africa, South America who carry loads balanced atop their heads have stronger bones and better posture than other women (and men) who don’t have a physical stressor.
I am about to leave for the gym as soon as I hit “publish” on this post. I will be doing a series of dumbbell and ab exercises after a little cardio. Those weights (a fly, curl, row, squat, plus ab work) will stress the muscles and bones of my body. Sarcopenia is the medical term for muscle loss. The description says it comes with aging. That is not necessary, though. I am over 70 with perhaps more muscle mass than ever. It’s the not having stressors for the muscle and bones that causes problems.
A little bit of stress helps us grow. Sometimes causes us to flex our learning and spiritual muscles. Something happens to us or to someone we know. We learn all about it. If things in life are going smoothly, we may become complacent in our spiritual life. A little stress comes along, and suddenly our spiritual life awakens and becomes quite important.
Not too much stress, though. That could send you to my daughter, the therapist, or to a cardiologist.
Thinking this through brought back memories of times of stress. And how I dealt with them. And how I grew stronger each time. Better able to handle the next one. But those were all random. Nothing to plan or prepare for. One day the owners come in and tell me they are closing the business. I’m out of a job. Well, nothing to do but suck it up and get stronger. And so it goes.
Perhaps that is a message we can get from many stories of people in the Bible who spent time in the wilderness being tempted and growing stronger.
Gary Mintchell
Faith Venture 