Running to Worship

Theme: Running to Worship

Verse: Romans 12:1

Have you ever watched the movie “Hoosiers”? For those that haven’t, it is a Hollywood-ized telling of the story of a small-town high school basketball team overcoming the odds, and many bigger schools, to win the Indiana state basketball championship. (That small town school, Milan High School (enrollment 160), did win the championship in 1954 over a school more than 10 times its size.)

Anyway, there is a scene in the movie in which the local preacher’s son, nicknamed Strap, one of the bench players finally gets in a game in a critical spot. He proceeds to immediately score a couple of baskets by driving to the basket and making it look easy. When the coach gets to talk to the team during the next timeout he asks his young player, “What’s gotten into you??”  

Strap: “It’s the Lord. I can feel His strength.”

Coach: “Well, feel His strength in the dribble, alright?”

The point is we have a chance to feel God’s presence in all sorts of places. At work, doing household chores, and yes even when we exercise. I often find myself worshiping during my morning workouts. 0500 is generally a time of solitude that gives me ample opportunity to meditate on what God has in store for the day.

Try it. It doesn’t have to by 0500, but the next time you are exercising use it as a time of meditation.

Have a great week!

Under His Wings

Verse: Psalm 91:4

We all need protection in our lives.  It starts when we are Babies when we learn to trust our parents for everything while the parents prepare them for their independent lives down the road.

But even when we are independent, we still need God’s protection.  Our verse highlights that God is our Protector, our Comforter, our Shelter, and our Strength.  That strength might be in our running/exercise life, but more likely it will be in other aspects of our lives; our relationships, our jobs, our riding out storms like we did in Florida last week.

The visual our devotional gives us is a bird, which is perfect. The feathers provide the bird insulation from the cold and in many cases have oil on the feathers to protect the bird from rain and snow.

Like the bird is protected from the elements, if we let him God will protect us from the enemy keeping us in a safe place.

Have a great week!

Hitting the Wall

Theme: Hitting the Wall                                                                                                    

Verse: Psalm 40:1-3

Have you ever “Hit the Wall” in a race? If you haven’t, you will at some point and let me tell you it is the worst feeling. Your body is simply out of energy (glycogens) and there you are out on the course will nothing left and still some race to run.

Our lives can be like that sometimes as well. Maybe we have anxiety or fear about a new job, a new relationship, or a move coming up and that anxiety simply shuts us down.  We feel as if we cannot continue. When those things happen, it is a good idea to put things in God’s hands and let him fill us up to continue the race. Our scripture tells us that He will lift us up and set us on solid ground.

So, whether it is in your run training or in our daily lives, we can be assured that God is there beside us to help us when we Hit the Wall.

Have a great week!