Mass or Endurance

(Proverbs 31:25 KJV)  Strength and honour are her clothing; and she shall rejoice in time to come.

“Strength” (5795) and “honour” (dignity NASB) (1926) are two qualities that we can admire.  The bad news is that they are too rare.  The good news is that they are available to everyone.  They come through discipline and daily application of attention.  Neither comes through a short term crash course.

Let’s look at the idea of “strength” (5795).  We generally associate this with muscles and the work they can do.  Modern culture is obsessed with how they look.  If you ever get into working with weights to develop your strength you learn there are two basic approaches to the discipline.  You can go for size or endurance.  If you are a body builder getting ready to strut your stuff on the beach you go for heavy resistance and fewer repetitions.  If you are looking for endurance and toning you go with lighter weights and more repetitions.  They produce different results.

So?  Spiritually speaking we need to go for endurance and toning.  That means a more regular and frequent approach to reading, prayer, meditation and study.  There are no overnight wonders when it comes to spiritual maturity.