No Pain No Gain
- Heidi Eva Jones
- Feb 1
- 6 min read
Volume 15 Issue 1
Greeting in His Name,
WOW! We are in 2026. It's the start of a new year, filled with opportunities to try new things or finish projects we have already begun. I don't typically wait for a new year, week, or month to start something—if God places something in my spirit, or if an idea comes to mind, I get started right away. As the saying goes, 'tomorrow is not promised,' so I remind myself, 'don't put off for tomorrow what you can do today.' With that in mind, today's blog is titled No Pain No Gain. I hope you find inspiration, conviction, and food for thought.
shalom and love,
heidi
Mark 8:34-38 (Mark as the active, suffering Servant of God)
34 Then Jesus called the crowd to Him along with His disciples, and He told them, “If anyone wants to come after Me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow Me. 35 For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake and for the gospel will save it. 36 What does it profit a man to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his soul? 37 Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul? 38 If anyone is ashamed of Me and My words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will also be ashamed of him when He comes in His Father’s glory with the holy angels.”
No Pain, No Gain.
Drawing directly from the text, I could say, "Take Up Your Cross."
Take Up Your Cross (Charles W. Everest (1833))
“Take up your cross,” the Savior said,
“if you would my disciple be;
take up your cross with willing heart,
and humbly follow after me.”
Take up your cross; let not its weight
fill your weak spirit with alarm;
Christ’s strength shall bear your spirit up
and brace your heart and nerve your arm.
Take up your cross, heed not the shame,
and let your foolish heart be still;
the Lord for you accepted death
upon a cross, on Calv’ry’s hill.
Take up your cross, then, in Christ’s strength,
and calmly ev’ry danger brave:
it guides you to abundant life
and leads to vict’ry o’er the grave.
"No pain, no gain" (or "No gain without pain") was a proverb used in the 1980s as an exercise motto promising great rewards for the price of hard, and even painful, work. Competitive professionals, such as athletes and artists, were required to endure pain (physical suffering) and stress (mental/emotional suffering) to achieve professional excellence.
So, what’s the Big Idea here? The central message is that spiritual growth and true discipleship require suffering and self-denial, echoing the principle that meaningful gain comes only through pain.
Like lifting weights, building muscle requires progressive resistance, proper nutrition, plenty of sleep, and time for recovery. Our muscles grow through challenge and rest, not just exertion. This concept lies at the heart of our topic: No Pain No Gain.
The motto's popularity soared in 1982 when actress Jane Fonda used both "No pain, no gain" and "Feel the burn" as motivational catchphrases in her aerobics videos, reinforcing the idea of pushing through discomfort. The catchphrase "No Pain, No Gain" expresses the belief that strong, large muscles result from hard training and delayed-onset muscle soreness is often used as a measure of a workout's effectiveness.
So, I thought, what do we use as a measure of effectiveness in our walk with God? What demonstrates that we have painstakingly pursued the Master. What demonstrates that we have challenged ourselves to lift the weight of the Word to the point that we are not sore but sure. To the point that we don’t feel the burn, but we know the blessed burden of carrying the weight of the Word.
We must realize that the path to achievement runs through hardship. Although this can sometimes be difficult, the reward in the end—perhaps even those entry words into heaven, “Well Done, my Good and Faithful servant”—makes it worthwhile.
Let’s look more closely at some of these "weights" mentioned in scripture. Isaiah 40:31 gives us encouragement: "But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint."
The three weights that cause pain, but growth is (verse 34):
34 Then Jesus called the crowd to Him along with His disciples, and He told them, “If anyone wants to come after Me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow Me.
Deny yourself.
Take up your cross.
Follow ME.
To gain spiritual muscle, one must first deny oneself. First, we must replace self-rule with Christ's rule. Paul says to the Galatians, “I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.” This verse explains what happens during salvation: we decide to crucify our old lifestyle for a new one. Like Tye Tribbett's song "NEW," this change signifies rebirth, renewal, and the embrace of transformation. Strengthening your spiritual muscles requires holding onto this mindset of rebirth, renewal, and change. This journey is ongoing—an act of continually lifting yourself up before the King of Glory and the Master.
The verse goes on to say, “And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son.” We can’t get rid of the flesh with its desire to sin, its desire to pursue this material world, its desire to be served instead of serving. The flesh still carries, as my Bishop shared, a dark side. A side filled with hate, deception, betrayal, theft, cruelty, gossip, lies, and so much more. But we must actively pursue the art of denying ourselves daily, if we are to gain the next spiritual muscle; take up your cross.
Remember, the core message is No Pain, No Gain!
To gain spiritual muscle, one must also take up one's cross. SACRIFICE!
Commitment: Taking up your cross means making a commitment. We must practice spiritual disciplines that help our spirit man mature—learning to study, fast, pray, meditate, give, and worship. Practicing what cultivates the soul and subdues the flesh is essential.
Public Faith: Cross-bearing is not just for the church; it is done in public. Christ is not hiding His relationship with you, so why are you hiding your relationship with Him? (Don’t lay down your religion, pick it up and flaunt it.)
Daily Surrender: Cross-bearing is a daily act of surrender. Luke’s Gospel spells it out: “Take up your cross daily.” This is not just a Sunday morning cross or a cross for easy times; it is a cross marked by hardship.
Again, we see the central truth: No Pain, No Gain!
Finally, to gain spiritual muscle, we must follow Him. Following Christ goes beyond belief to imitation—living as He did, adopting His mission to seek and save the lost. Radical commitment is required, as in verse 35: “Whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake and for the gospel will save it.” To follow Jesus means striving for obedience and letting Him lead every area of your life. He is the boss.
Let us hold to the core message: No Pain, No Gain!
A perfect example from scripture of No Pain No Gain is Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane. He toiled, he wrestled, he struggled, he hurt, he feared, but at the end, he said these weighty words, “Father, if it is Your will, take this cup away from Me; nevertheless not My will, but Yours, be done.”
Can you say that? Will you declare that every day? I encourage you: choose today and every day to surrender your will to God. Make it your daily commitment—actively take up your cross and say, 'Not my will, but Yours, be done.' Let this surrender shape your actions and decisions. Commit now to follow Christ fully.
No Pain, No Gain—this is the heart of the message today.
LIFE QUOTE
“Dreams are not easy. Dreams are painful. They force work and commitment. They are challenging and motivating."
-Robert Kiyosaki
Let Us Laugh!
Why did the scarecrow get promoted?
Because he was outstanding in his field.
Hope to see you Next Month....
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