Keep Moving. Keep Running.

Friday I was sitting at my desk eating lunch thinking over the patient I had just seen. I was a little irritated as the patient began talking about how every time they worked out they were sore and sometimes it was easier not to do any exercises. Unfortunately I see that mind set a lot. Moving hurts so they just sit still and limit their activity. The problem with that is this- the less people move the less they are able to move. It's an unfortunate cycle. The less we move the harder it is for our bodies to move and the more painful it gets when we try to.  I get it, when we're in pain the last thing we want to do is get up and move around. But sometimes, that exercise, that activity is the best thing for us. I know that seems a little counter intuitive  but sometimes, the only way to work that soreness out is to get up and move.

So as I was sitting at my desk thinking about how I wish I could just get my patients to understand that concept, I realized, our faith, my daily walk is exactly the same.  Sometimes it's hard to keep moving and to keep pursuing the Father but that's what we have to do. Life is hard and there will most certainly be hard times. Times when it isn't comfortable to get up and move or times when I don't like the path that the race of life is taking. But when those hard times come, I have a choice. I can sit back, complain and question God for the difficult times OR I can get up and pursue him. I can dig into the word, spend time in prayer, and run after him, exercising my faith and working out the pains and soreness.

This idea isn't easy. It's hard in our physical lives and it's hard in our spiritual lives at times. But we never grow stronger physically or spiritually sitting on the couch doing nothing. Numerous times in scripture our faith is referred to as a race that we must run with perseverance. This life we live is not a sprint but rather a marathon. For the believer,  the ultimate prize is glorifying God at each step of the race and ultimately spending eternity with him. For me that's not always easy. I absolutely despise running so it's really easy for me to understanding the idea of sitting down and quitting when it gets tough because believe me, that's what I'd rather do! But then the physical therapist side of me takes over and I have to keep my patients moving. I have to encourage them  to keep going. Maybe they need to take a little rest break, refocus their eyes on the ultimate goal they are working towards, and remember that sometimes we just have to work through the pain and soreness.

The same is true in my spiritual life. At times, I don't like the race laid out for me. At times, I want to sit down in the middle of the race and tell God that I'm done. That its too hard and I just can't do it any more. That the pain and soreness associated with pursing him and following his will is just to much and not worth it. But if I give into that today, it's a lot harder to get my feet moving again tomorrow. If I sit down and stop running that race, if I stop spending time in the word, in prayer, and listening to his direction in my life today, its easier not to listen tomorrow as well. 

Sometimes, I have to stop momentarily, take a deep breath, look up towards the prize, refocus on the ultimate goal of Christ, and then put one foot in front of the other and start moving again. Soon, that side stitch has worked itself out, the soreness in my legs begins to ease up, and the race doesn't seem as hard as it previously did. I'm able to run after that ultimate prize of glorifying God and spending eternity with him. It's in those moments that I don't have to run the race by my own strength because I'm running the race on the strength of the one who's already run it. 

The race wont always be easy, there will be times when it seems that exercising your faith is just to much the bear. Times when the last thing you want to do is pursue the Father and his will but please remember this...

Keep moving. Keep pursuing. Keep fixing your eyes on Jesus, the author and perfector of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning it's shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart. (Hebrews 12: 2-3)

However, I consider my life worth nothing to me; my only aim is to finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me--the task of testifying to the good news of God's grace. -Acts 20:24

Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last, but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. - 1 Corinthians 9:25