Awaken The Dawn

AWAKEN THE DAWN!

exercise muscles besides their mouths. I asked myself “Ernest, why should you die before your time?” No rea- son, I concluded, unless it would be for lack of exercise. I have two problems when I go there. First, those disgust- ingly healthy, muscular guys. When I get off a machine where I pushed eighty pounds, they walk over and plug in 180 pounds! At seventy-one years of age, I figure I am doing fairly well. But these people who consistently work out and build up their strength— well, it just intimidates me to see what I might be if I would just work at it. Second, the mirrors. There are mirrors all over the place. The moment you walk in, you watch yourself with a crit- ical eye! You see yourself from every angle. I see myself grimacing as I lift a few pounds over my head. I see the flabby flesh. I say to myself “Ernest, you used to unload boxcars, lifting one-hundred-pound sacks of sugar at a time. What has happened to you?” Sheepishly, I acknowl- edge I do not keep myself in shape by staying on a con- sistent exercise program. Intimidated? Absolutely, but it is for my own good. As Jesus said, if you do not use what you have, even what you have will be taken away from you. 1 This is true for both the physical life and the spiritual life. An hour’s exer- cise does a body good, and an hour’s prayer does your spirit a whole lot of good too. To get the best results at either the spa or prayer closet, a person should work up a routine which will enable him/her to build up systemati- cally towards his/her goal. Follow a routine; be consistent in these important matters. You may not become the world’s strongest man, nor another Praying Hyde or George Mueller, but you will have the satisfaction of being a healthy, productive you! 110