Just Go

I teach aerobics at a local Jazzercise center. One of our favorite sayings is, “The hardest part of the workout is walking through our doors.” Because once you’ve made it through the door, it means you’ve dropped the excuses and you’ve mentally overcome those imaginary obstacles that we like to put in our way of working out. The chances of you walking back out are pretty slim. Once you’re there, you’re in it, focused, and ready to move. And you feel amazing afterwards and you wonder why you ever thought you didn’t want to go in the first place.

I’ve been thinking about my spiritual life recently. I’ve been coming up with excuses to not go to church, to not go to small group, and to not read my Bible. 

I’m too busy. I’m too tired. It’s not the same as it was pre-Covid and I don’t like change. The world is falling apart and I must follow every minute of its destruction in the news and online.

You’ve probably got some excuses you can add to the list. They can be real reasons. They can be made up obstacles. We all have them. 

But just like with exercise, if we can push past those excuses, we come out of church, out of small group, out of quiet time with God, feeling amazing. 

I can’t think of a time where I left church or small group and thought, “What a waste of time.” I always get something out of it. Pausing the world around us and taking just an hour to turn our hearts and minds back to Him is never a bad idea. 

The president of Jazzercise, Inc., Shanna Missett Nelson, recently posted this caption on her Instagram about our excuses to not do something. She is referring to going to class but I see this applying to our church life too. 

“When you’re too tired…just go. When you are sad…just go. When you’re mad…just go. When you’re frustrated…just go. When you’re overwhelmed…just go. When you’re feeling good…just go. When you’re happy…just go. When you’re on top of it…just go. I can find a million reasons to not go to [church] but whether you’re in person or online, [church] always makes me feel better.” (@shanna_jazzercise, 8/12/20)

When you catch yourself making up an excuse, stop yourself and say, “Just go!”