May 22, 2013 - The Punching Bag

I have always been amazed at those folks who workout with that punching bag thing. I would probably have a broken nose within seconds as dodging the bag takes an enormous amount of energy and rhythm. Notice I said dodging. I don't know about you, but that thing seems to fly and certainly doesn't seem to be kind. I don't like round objects flying at my face. I have observed, however, that people who practice with these creatures seem to master a flow and rhythm that allows them to strike the bag with authority. But let's talk about the journey. Punching bags punch back. Brilliant statement, right? I was thinking about how fiercely they strike back and there is no one to defend you, but you. The bag always responds; and the greater you strike the bag, the greater it strikes back. Unfair, especially when learning how to use the devise as a means of working out. I don't imagine tapping the bag works very well, so perhaps I'll stick to water aerobics. But there are some who LOVE the encounter. As I was thinking about the punching bag yesterday, I thought about our lives. When we first commit to a healthy life-style change, we begin punching the bag only to discover it punches back. When I first started, I would pray for an easy meal, easy day, easy anything. The journey was difficult at times and I felt as if I had been punched in the stomach. I never knew how to "work the bag." So there were those trials and attempts at hitting my rhythm on the bag, but slowly and methodically, because I never quit trying, I learning how to strike the bag and keep striking the bag. I finally began to look like one of those boxer dudes at which we all marvel. Here is the moral of the story: in the book of John, chapter 17, Jesus is praying to our Heavenly Father as He knows His time on the earth is short and the disciples are about to "enter the ring with the bag" for themselves. Jesus never asked God to remove them from the punching-bag experience, but to allow them to experience the closeness that He and the Father enjoyed which allowed Jesus to strike the bag effectively every time and gain our freedom. We are never going to escape the punch of life, but with Jesus as our coach and trainer, the voice of the Holy Spirit as our encourager, and God the Father nodding as He knows the outcome, we can learn to punch the bag of life with such God confidence that the rhythm and flow of the experience is effortless. Don't be afraid to punch the bag!