Today during volleyball practice the Holy Spirit began to show me some things.
As an athlete you develop certain motions or actions into muscle memory. For instance, if you threw a ball at me I wouldn't flinch, I wouldn't have to think about it, I'd simply and easily raise my hands and catch the ball.
As our incoming 7th graders enter into our volleyball program and we begin to teach them how to serve the ball over the net we make them serve EVERYDAY and continually remind them the more they do the motion, soon it will become muscle memory. They have to take something their body has never done before and teach it to become the natural, first response.
We all have certain things that we have trained our muscles to do naturally that at one point weren't natural. When you are driving a car and the light turns yellow, you don't have to pause and think, okay now I need to move my foot over to the brake, your body does it by muscle memory. Your body has been trained that when you see the yellow light, it's time to slow down to come to a stop, and your foot needs to move to the brake and stop.
Young athletes have to start out constantly repeating the correct steps in order to serve efficiently and one day they will be able to do it without much thought.
As I was watching varsity practice, I corrected one of our passers on their form, and the Holy Spirit began to speak to me.
Just as we as athletes or people put things into muscle memory, we need to develop not only a muscle memory but also a mouth memory.
I was a defensive specialist in high school, in other words one of the better passers. I can watch an athlete pass a ball and immediately know what was done right or wrong, because passing has become second nature to me. I've done it enough times that my body knows just how to react when a serve is coming at me.
In life many circumstances will arise and we'll have many choices for how to react to it. We need to be in our Word to know exactly how to react when situations arise. We need to not only develop a muscle memory of what to do but also a mouth memory of how and what to say when things come at us.
The Bible is clear that no matter what circumstances come at us we are to praise God.
We are to praise when we have received from the Lord. (Luke17:15-16).
We should rejoice even if things aren't going our way and began to declare God's goodness in spite of what we see or feel. (Habakkuk 3:17-19) (Ps. 42:5) (many more)
We should also remind God of the promises He has given us (Isaiah 43:26). Take scripture and tell Him that He is our protector, our hope, our shield, our present help in times of need.
As circumstances come if we continue to train ourself we can have mouth memory. When the enemy comes in like a roaring lion and comes to steal, kill, or destroy from me, I'm not supposed to mourn and weep, become bitter, or lose faith, but rather be trained to have a mouth memory that begins to declare the Word of God.
What does your muscle memory tell you to do when hard things come our way? What does your mouth memory tell you to do?
Just like my body knows how to pass a volleyball so can my mind, body, and mouth learn to line up with the Word of God in any and all situations. Occasionally I step out on the volleyball court and for one reason or another I mess up. I do something different than what I've been trained to do, but the more I train and the more I fight, the easier it becomes.
I want my actions and mouth to line up with the Word of God in any and all situations, wether it be times of success, failure, hard time, easy time, disappointing circumstances, or exciting moments... in all times praise God and speak the Word.
Be Blessed,
J. Tate
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