Train How You Race

“Train How You Race”
I don’t always run when the heat index is over 100, at 4 in the afternoon, but occasionally I do. I’ve always been a person that believed that you should train in the elements you will race in. I don’t race anymore, but I do my best to model it for my daughter. She will race and practice when most won’t step outside, and I want her body to be ready. 
This is so true of our spiritual conditioning. We can’t spare ourselves from hard truths, tough situations, difficult scriptures, and possible persecution just to keep ourselves comfortable. The real growth happens when you allow God to push you further than you ever thought possible, reveal His character in scripture you thought was too difficult to tackle, or face people or fears that go against every ounce of your faith. God called us to a life of refinement, not a life of comfort. All of the moments of refinement prepare us for spiritual battles that are bound to happen. 
“For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline.” 2 Tim. 1:7
Isaiah 48:10
“10 See, I have refined you, though not as silver; I have tested you in the furnace of affliction.”
Romans 5:3-5
“3 Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, 4 and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, 5 and hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.”