Tim McGraw Commitment

As I’m listening to the podcast, I say to myself out loud …
Who does that?!

And then I respond (to myself out loud) …
Tim McGraw does.

Country music superstar Tim McGraw was being interviewed about his book, “Grit and Grace.”

Y’all, get this. (I used the word “y’all” because Tim is country and it just seemed appropriate to sound like I knew a bit about southern stuff.) Anyway …
When he’s on tour, he and his band and crew have a semi-trailer that hauls only their workout equipment. I get whiny when I have to add an exercise band to my carry-on suitcase.

I can’t even imagine.

I mean, really. A trailer that carries gigantic rubber tires and those big battle ropes, weighted sleds and high boxes to jump on (Have mercy!), kettle bells, rowing machines, and other stuff you’d find in a CrossFit gym. (Not that I’ve ever been in a CrossFit gym, but I’ve seen pictures.)
Tim McGraw said that they exercise three times a day on the road. One of those times is when they open the backdoor of the semi and unload their toys into the back parking lot next to their tour bus. And then they exercise. Fiercely.

This guy is serious. Committed. Consistent.
Why? He knows that the workout makes him better. It’s the right thing for him to do. He leaves the excuses behind. He’s willing to put in the work to get the results he wants. It changes his life.

I’ve been an exercise dabbler all my life. I’m great at starting the “get healthy” commitment, working hard at it, seeing results, and then life happens, and my commitment is no longer committed. Then I’ll start up again later. Sigh.

But.
The area in my life where I do not ever want to dabble is in my faith walk — my commitment to believing God is who He says He is and trusting that He will do what He says He will do. This is a journey that I want to be consistently consistent. (Thank God for mercy and grace when I mess this up.)

I bet we want the same thing:
We want everything God has for us. Everything He put us on this earth to do, we want to do it. Every good thing He has for us, we want to grab it. And when the hard stuff is there, we want to keep learning how to cling to Jesus; we want to see Him even more clearly then.

So, let’s do the work.

It starts and ends with getting in God’s Word. The Bible. Get to know The One Who Loves You Most.

(There’s no shortcut to this. Leaving your Bible on the bookshelf to gather dust is like lying on the couch eating Haagen Dazs ice cream and assuming that because you want to get healthy, it will just happen, and your muscles will miraculously tone because you chose the Mint Chip flavor.)

Perhaps you’re tired. Or you’re wondering if God has taken a nap. Or you’re wishing that your faith was different.
Start, or start again, here …
Read Psalm 23. “The Lord is my Shepherd … I have everything that I need.”
He leads. Guides. Anoints. Restores. Loves.

If you want to know God in a way that will turn your world upside down, start doing the things that help you get to know Him. Fill your own faith trailer with practices that develop your relationship. And then, every day, open the doors to that semi and pull out your faith tools. Use them. Fiercely.

God has really amazing stuff waiting for us. Let’s not miss it! Let’s do the work.

“Let all that I am praise the Lord; with my whole heart, I will praise his holy name … may I never forget the good things he does for me…He fills my life with good things. My youth is renewed like the eagle’s!” (Psalm 103:1,2,5)

P.S. Getting to know God better does not require any burpees. This is a very good thing.