Daily Devotional: Blessings on a Bad Day

Read 2 Corinthians 9:8

If we are being completely honest, we’d admit that we’ve all experienced discouragement at one time or another. I have seen this with my personal training clients, my track athletes, and myself. Invariably, when we strive toward a challenging goal we will run into a workout that makes us feel like we fell back to where we were when we started. You know how it is. You feel weak, tired and incapable of doing anything right.  Thoughts seep into your brain that tell you this whole thing isn’t worth it. You fear that all your previous gains have been erased. You feel beat up and defeated. Negative self-talk gets louder and louder as you get more and more miserable.  STOP!

Whether this happens in your athletic life, your work life, or your home life, you must remember this, those thoughts are lies. They do not benefit you in any way. You must grab them, throw them out, and replace them.  Also keep in mind, God does not speak to you like this – so you shouldn’t either. When this happens to you, remember that God loves you so much; He has poured an immeasurable number of blessings on you.  Take a look at this verse again:

God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in ALL THINGS AT ALL TIMES, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work (emphasis mine).

To replace those nasty, negative thoughts, here are just a few blessings to consider during a really bad workout:

1.       You can work out. It may not be your best experience, but you still are able to work out.

2.       God gave you the ability to control your thoughts. Take advantage of that and bring in the good stuff!

3.       God loves you and gave you His amazing grace – no matter how fast or slow you are, how lean or fat you are, and how strong or weak you are. There is nothing you can do that can make Him love you more than He already does. You are loved beyond measure.

4.       This one workout does not define you. This is just one workout. God is so great, He can use a bad workout to make you a better person and a better athlete.

5.       Just as God’s mercies are new every morning, tomorrow is a new day and you likely can expect a much better workout!

Embrace your bad workout. Change your expectations for that workout and thank God for the many blessings He has given you. Tomorrow is a new day with new blessings!