What Core Strength?

When my son was a baby, while on his back, he could hold his legs up at a 30-degree angle for many minutes.

 

Another time, I saw a toddler go from being flat on his back to suddenly sitting straight up. No struggle or anything.

 

My brother used to wrap his arms around a light pole and pull his body up to a 45-degree angle off the side. Amazing to me!

 

Core Strength. Physical therapists stress its need. Gyms make money providing equipment to enhance it. Hard work is necessary to achieve the goal.

I’ve seen pictures of men and women with rock-solid muscular abs. People are not just born with those well-crafted abdomens. It takes years of hard work.

 

There’s another kind of core more important than physical strength which leads my mind to a question.

 

How strong is my Spiritual core?

 

Max Lucado once said that Jesus reached a point of knowing who He was. I’ve always wondered if He knew from birth. Or was there a time in His human life when He thought, “Oh, I know who I am.”

 

Maybe spiritual core strength begins with that moment when we say, “I know who I am.” Perhaps it’s in reaching the point of personal identity knowledge, we will quit wondering, searching, people-pleasing, or fighting within ourselves.

 

Perhaps it’s that one instant we say, “I know who I am.

 

I am God’s child. He is my Father. I was made to walk with Him, to be in relationship with Him. Nothing else matters.”

 

Our spiritual core strength then is based on a deep connection with Him.

 

The devil tries to make a greater priority of other situations or relationships. We seek approval from this person or another. We desire recognition and identity in a job, or a ministry, or in what someone thinks and says about us. Satan tries to convince us that how we look to the outside world is of primary importance.

 

For many believers in God I know, coming to grips with His identity doesn’t pose a problem. Followers of God will come to a place of understanding Him as Creator, Lord, Sovereign, Redeemer, and much more.

 

We learn to trust Him. Put our faith in Christ. Treasure the Father’s love. Accept God’s gift of forgiveness. And we learn to give over control to Him so we can learn to live in relationship with Him.

 

But, knowing individual identity is more problematic.

 

I read a children’s book, again by Max Lucado, where one little character wasn’t bothered by happenings around her while many others were. Why? Because she knew the craftsman who made her and trusted his love for her. She had confidence in belonging to him.

 

When our identity is in God, our spiritual core strength helps us believe God’s words when He said He would never leave us to deal with life alone. (Hebrews 13:5) In trusting our identity in Him, we can take Him at His word when He said nothing would ever take us out of His hand. (John 10:28) We can have confidence because He said nothing can separate us from Him. (Romans 8:38-39)

 

By spending time getting to know who God is through His word, your Spiritual core strength will build as you come to understand who He says you are. Let Him be your foundation so when the devil attempt to skew your priorities,

the faith God gives you will be the core you rest upon.

 

Photo credit: Unsplash-Delany Van

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *