Cob Webs, Dross, What's Holding You Back? Wellness Wednesday

You’ve had it happen. You were walking outside and without realizing it you walked right through a cobweb. That almost invisible, fine, sticky substance is all over you. Instantly you stop. Your hands fly to your face to clear it of the cobwebs. You go nowhere until you feel free of the stickiness. Those cobwebs don’t hurt you but they stop you for a moment. For a moment or two all you can think about is getting it off of you It’s a distraction from what you set out to do.

Sadly, until our health takes a very dramatic turn. Poor health can be like walking through a cobweb. It feels bad but not life threatening. It’s just “sticky” so unlike the cobweb we ignore it. The problem is that sticky substance on our body can attract things, things we don’t really want clinging to us. Those things eventually cause problems. Those problems can stop us, distracting or even deterring us from what we really want to be doing.

As a Christian, other than a few Bible studies mostly geared toward women to help with losing weight I have not really heard much teaching about how our physical health effects our spiritual health. I understand it to a certain extent. If we start “preaching” about being overweight it sounds like all we are concerned about is our looks. And let’s face it “looks” are emphasized, no, over emphasized in today’s society. What about anorexia and bulemia? Those are real problems and often far less visible. Then there is the whole time factor. If we start telling everyone we need to exercise on a regular basis that is taking time from our already too busy schedules. Time is precious we should be spending it on something “for eternity”, right?  Shame on us. Time is precious. Our lives are precious. If we take care of ourselves we will be fit, “made holy, useful to the Master and prepared to do any good work.” 2 Timothy 2:21b. Don’t get me wrong. God can and does use all of us, in whatever state of health we are in. But wouldn’t you like to be free of your cobwebs, moving about with nothing sticking to you or holding you back? After all, using Gary Thomas’ words, we are instruments, not ornaments. We were created to be vessels used by God. We have a purpose. I keep thinking of that old saying, “work smarter, not harder.”

In the Bible silver and gold are two elements often used to refer to things of worth. Both of these elements go through a refining process to be used in ways we are familiar with. I’m looking at beautiful rings on my hands right now. The gold and silver used for jewelry did not just get discovered somewhere in it’s present condition. It had to be looked for, then laboriously get dug out of the earth. Once unearthed they go through a refining process. Dross is a waste or other chemical element that surrounds silver. It has to be removed for silver to be refined. Silver is not created it is separated through a refining process. Proverbs 25:4 challenges us “Remove the dross from the silver, and a silversmith can produce a vessel.”  God is the ultimate silversmith. All we have to do is be willing to have the dross removed. Make no mistake we cannot do this on our own. How many times have you said, “I’m going to eat healthy starting today. No more ice cream binges” or “I will exercise at least 3 times weekly.” While we need to set goals and be disciplined it is only with God’s help we can actually achieve these goals on a lifetime basis. Why? Because our motivation needs to be right. Our motivation needs to be, to be fully prepared to do any good work our Father in heaven asks us to do. I want to fully live in each and every day, to have life “abundantly” as it says in John 10:10. I feel better when I exercise regularly. It helps to regulate my hormones which reduces hot flashes. It helps me not gain weight and even lose weight if I watch what I eat. Speaking of eating, I’m less foggy brained when I don’t eat processed foods and foods full of sugar all the time.

So do you want to get rid of that dross? What is one thing you can do? I’ve joined some others in a challenge. We are trying to walk, run, jog, limp, skip at least 100 miles by September 30th. We started June 30th. If you want to join us you could do 2/3 of the challenge or 66.6 miles by September 30th. Look for our group on Facebook. Leave a comment here and let us know what you will do.