Hey Guys – The title for this week is Stretching it Out – if you’re a runner, athlete of any kind, or spend time in a gym I think you’ll get it.It applies to spiritual fitness as much as it does physical fitness,The bible says.
Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but only one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may win. 1 Corinthians 9:24 (NASB)
The Apostle Paul uses running as an image for living and the idea of winning to illustrate following Jesus.I’ve been running for almost as long as I’ve been following Jesus — 43 years.God has used this verse to inspire me to get up after I’ve been tripped up, to get going after a lazy layoff, and to begin again after an injury.
It was 9 weeks after symptoms of the wicked respiratory bug appeared that I went for a run of one mile.
One mile was all I was planning.One mile to begin again, to regain a lifestyle characterized by daily runs.One slow but steady mile, paying close attention to how my lungs were doing, to my energy, and to my stamina. As Jesse says “Listen to your body.”And I was.
After a quarter of a mile, the hip flexor in my left hip began to tighten up and so I dropped to my knees and stretched it out.As I was stretching I realized I had not stretched before I started.After I worked it out I finished without it acting up.In a sense, it was a winning run in that my body responded well with today’s short, slow but steady run.
It’s been like this in many areas of my life where I have been tripped up, lazy for a season, or wounded in body or soul that getting going again often meant I needed to stretch something out.
This “stretching it out” can be something painful like working through an issue with your spouse, taking a look at your finances, or getting back to basics with God.When we feel these hip flexors acting up, we need to stop, drop, and stretch it out in order to get back to that one slow but steady walk with God which is called “today.”
We can do this.You can do this.
Listen to your body.Listen to your heart.Listen to the voice of the Father calling you home.
Pray
Yes, God, I’ve been feeling some pain and hoping it will go away on it’s own.I’m not sure how to stretch it out.Help me stop, drop, and pray – then get up and finish today strong.Thank You!
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