Overview:
The concept of tension, often associated with physical exercise, can also be applied to spiritual growth. By embracing the tension that comes with spiritual disciplines such as prayer and fasting, individuals can build endurance and strength, just as they do with physical exercise. The author, Shewanda Riley, shares her experience of completing a 21-day Daniel fast and how leaning into the tension helped her grow spiritually. By practicing these things, individuals can immerse themselves in spiritual disciplines and look forward to moments of tension as opportunities for growth.
“Use tension to your advantage.” Recently, I was doing one of my virtual video workouts and the physical trainer, Jo from Grow with Jo, made this statement. At this point in the video, we were lifting weights and doing exercises like bicep curls. When she said it, I thought “How do you do that?” as I struggled to do the last of the strength exercises.
However, after I put the weights down, I thought about what she said and how profound it was. For example, the tension that comes when you exercise and the impact that it has on your body is designed to improve strength and flexibility. Tension during a physical workout forces your muscles to work harder and, in turn, helps you build endurance and strength. Over time, using tension will help you build muscular strength and improve your overall physical fitness.
So what does tension have to do with spiritual and emotional health? We can apply those same principles to our spiritual growth. For example, when we are faced with a situation that requires spiritual growth like more discipline, more focused time in prayer and more time reading God’s word, do we lean into those things? Or do we complain about how much time those things require and not do them?
Recently, I’ve had that experience of tension helping grow me spiritually. My church just
recently finished our annual 21 day Daniel fast. For the first week, it was exciting pulling
together different combinations of fruits and vegetables. However, by the 3rd week, the meals
were boring. Even though I’ve done fasting for years, during this fast, I found myself
struggling with the tension that came from being hungry. But I also found myself initially struggling with the tension that came from wanting to watch tv as opposed to praying. I also
found myself wanting an extra 10 minutes of rest in the morning instead of spending that time
reading God’s word. Even though I even deleted Facebook and Twitter apps from my phone
and avoided using them during the fast, I still had moments where I was tempted to log on and
see what was happening online.
As it turns out, it became much easier avoiding my favorite sweets as well as my favorite
tv shows. I also enjoyed the time I would have spent scrolling through social media doing other
things like reading. My body began to crave healthy and satisfying fruit and vegetable combinations. Most importantly, I began to seek after those moments where I could spend
additional time in prayer and time reading God’s word. I started the fast hopeful but unsure
that I would be able to complete 21 days. There were moments when I got weak and was
frustrated that I had made the commitment to sacrifice when I saw others doing what they
wanted, eating what they wanted seemingly unbothered.
Even though there were moments of great tension, there have also been moments of
great growth because I leaned into the tension instead of avoiding it. 1 Timothy 4:15 says
“Practice these things, immerse yourself in them, so that all may see your progress.” As I’ve
immersed myself in spiritual disciplines and sacrificed, I’ve grown to look forward to other
moments of tension because I know that’s where my growth comes from.
Shewanda Riley is a Fort Worth, Texas based author of “Love Hangover: Moving From Pain to
Purpose After a Relationship Ends” and “Writing to the Beat of God’s Heart: A Book of Prayers
for Writers.” Email her at preservedbypurpose@gmail.com or follow her on Instagram
@shewandawrites.