........ IS IT IN YOU.........?

"Is It In You"?  You don't have to think very hard to know what company that slogan belongs to; do you know who it is?  It's not Nike, Not Under Armour...it's....Gatorade!  Gatorade has a series of commercials where athletes are shown going through grueling workouts, pushing themselves to the brink of collapse.  When there is no more energy, no more endurance, they find refreshment, new strength, the ability to rapidly recover and go on, in a bottle of a sports drink called Gatorade. 

As they slam down the contents of the sports bottle, they receive hydration, carbohydrates, potassium, sodium...all the components that are essential for an athlete to function at maximum levels for extended periods of time.  In the commercials Gatorade is depicted as becoming the core of the body, so much so that the sweat coming out of the pores on the athletes bodies is Gatorade itself.  The athlete finishes the drink and returns the same grueling workout they were doing before and as they go the beads of Gatorade sweat fly from their bodies.  This specially formulated sports drink provides a fresh new start, a transformation of an athlete on the brink of collapse, now revitalized, recharged and empowered to compete.  It is depicted as being so powerful, so necessary in order to compete at your best that the Gatorade commercial challenges how effective you're going to be as an athlete by asking you, "Is It In You"?

I have another question for you..."Is He In You"?  Living life is just like training to be an athlete.  It's grueling, it can punish you to the point of collapse and giving up.  It will take as much as it can out of you, take you to the point where you have no more energy, no more endurance.  There is peer pressure, pressure to fit in, do things you don't want to do in order to gain acceptance.  In life, you need something that can come in and provide you new refreshment, new strength, the ability to recover and go on; that something is Jesus.  Jesus has a desire to be to your body and in your body in the same way Gatorade is shown in their commercials.  He wants to live at and be the core of who you are.  He wants to be what comes out of you when you compete, when you train, when you live in front of others and are faced with situations that tempt you to compromise on your values and convictions.  Just like Gatorade, Jesus promises that He will give you new strength, he will refresh you and give you new energy.  How can He do that?  He knows life is hard, that it will wear us down and take everything out of us.  He wants us to Cast our Cares [and anxieties] upon Him (1 Peter 5:7).  When we allow ourselves to get worn down by striving in life, trying to take matters into our own hands, worrying about being accepted or good enough, we cause ourselves anxiety, turmoil and panic.  Jesus wants to take that away from us by us allowing Him to be in control.  He already knows what we are worrying about, striving for or encountering anxiety over; He's Omniscient (he knows everything). 

As a matter of fact, the Bible tells us that we can have an unlimited supply of new strength, endurance and recovery (not grow weary); where? It says so in Isaiah 40:31 "But those who wait upon the Lord will gain new strength, they will mount up with wings like eagles, they will run and not get tired, they will walk and not become weary".  We don't have to strive in life to "to do it right" or obtain acceptance by performance.  The Bible says in Philippians 4:13 that, "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me".  You can trust that He will do what he promises to do.  Is He In You?...