No Pain, No Gain

I love the fact that I have an athletic background, I find that as Paul used the analogy of an athlete (2 Tim 2:5), there are many lessons I learned through swimming that apply to my walk with Christ. One of which is the old saying "no pain, no gain."
I don't know when I truly realized what this means, but it hit me one swim practice that to get good, I mean really good, I had to work my butt off every practice, leaving my all in the pool and dealing with the pain that entails... only to do the same the next day. It wasn't a one-time thing. It was a daily practice of exerting myself to the max. I remember the first practice I did that over winter break, and I definitely remember the results the following spring as my times dropped substantially and I qualified for better meets.
Recently I have been thinking through the personal pain that sin brings and the willingness to look and deal with it. Even though in my swimming days I was willing to deal with the pain a practice caused I knew when it would be over, I knew I could slack if I wanted; it was my choice. I didn't love the pain, but I knew it would bring something good. Dealing with sin is painful and it can be a little more scary as the certainty of the end point is not there. God is the one to be trusted in walking you through it. But the results - the fruit of the Spirit, increased intimacy with God - are so worth it. I have jumped into some areas of growth recently forgetting that there would be pain... and subsequently getting a little mad at God for it. I forget very easily that the pain this has caused me is not bad pain; there is an aspect in this pain that God is training, growing and strengthening me through this. And if it's worth it to put in the work for something as fleeting as a sport, how much more so for having the reality of a closer relationship with God and a deeper and greater intimacy with Him.