"Is your body controlling your spirit or is your spirit controlling your body?" Even though God asked me this question on Monday, I feel like He has asked it to me before--but I never really wanted to give Him an answer until now. I used to be controlled by my body to restrict certain foods, exercise obsessively, and find the nearest mirror to make sure I was thin. I suffered from vanity insanity (a term God gave me yesterday). My body also controlled how I approached running. I'll admit that I was jealous when my cross-country teammates went on a 10-mile long run, while I was stuck with a 3-mile run. I remember telling myself, "They are so lucky they can run that far! I wish I could do that." In Galatians 5:7, Paul asked the churches in Galatia, "You were running a good race. Who cut in on you and kept you from obeying the truth?" By consuming myself with my body's desires, I was detaching myself from my spirit, making it impossible to continue running my race.
I always knew how to run with my body. My arms would be bent at 90 degrees, pumping along the sides of my waist as if I was pulling strings (Thank you, Coach Nugent, for teaching me that efficient technique!). I would land on my mid-foot then spring forward by driving my knees. My hips would rotate to help my legs cover more ground. Pretty basic running form mechanics. But this week, God taught me the importance of running with my spirit instead of my body.
The first verse given for this week's workout was from Acts 20:22-23, "And now, compelled by the spirit, I am going to Jerusalem not knowing what will happen to me there...I only know that in every city the Holy Spirit warns me that prison and hardships are facing me. However I consider my life worth nothing to me if only I may finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me. The task of testifying to the gospel of God's grace." When it's 85 degrees outside, the last thing you would probably think of doing is going for a run. Well that is exactly what I did on Monday--call me crazy all you want. Think about it from a metaphorical perspective. When things become so intense in your life, your body tells you to stop moving forward because it can't stand the heat. At the beginning of my hot run I asked,"Okay, God, how do I run with my spirit?" He responded with, "Be distilled by sweat to be compelled by the spirit." If this sounds confusing, don't worry, I'll explain. According to Dictionary.com, the word "distill" means "to extract the essential elements of; refine, purify." As disgusting as it may feel, sweating can really cleanse you of all your body's impurities. You can sweat away emotions, pain, negative thoughts--and the only thing you are left with is your spirit. So as I became drenched in the afternoon heat, I tried to imagine running with my spirit: Feeling God's Hand as my spirit's steering wheel, filling my mind with verses from this week's study, singing songs of praise, and telling my body straight to it's face, "You have NO control over me!" My spirit is moving me forward in every heated race to share God's grace. It will be the only force that carries me to the finish line.
Another way God taught me to run with my spirit is to focus on my own race (this was the theme for this week's study in the "Run for God" book). During the last two weeks, I've been running on hills and kind of at a fast pace. On Wednesday I started to feel a slight twinge in my right foot--oh no. I was really nervous since I DID NOT want another injury, especially since I haven't even been running that much. But I knew God was telling me to slow down. I am only 3 weeks into running and already want to do hills? Not my smartest idea. I wanted to run hills so my body could get a workout--red flag right there! For a few days, I forgot that God was my pacesetter, and He was reminding me the damaging effects of allowing my body to control my race. Just because other runners around me were running hills, didn't mean I had to. Running for God, means not getting caught up in the pace of the rest of the racers and running the race that God has set before me. So on Friday (much to my body's frustration) I ran around a flat neighborhood at a conversational pace (talking to God, I might add). Although I didn't feel like my body worked extremely hard (I should tell you that I had to still run 90 seconds at a time), I no longer have that twinge in my foot. And my spirit was filled with so much peace since I was able to slow down and spend some quality time talking to God (It's hard to have a conversation running up a hill, right?).
I think people don't realize the power and accessibility of their spirit. It's not as visible as the body, but it's definitely more powerful. In Galatians 5, after Paul asks the church what stopped them from running the race, he continues with the phrase, "A little yeast works through the whole batch of dough." Imagine your spirit as a little spec of yeast, and your body as the batch of dough. Without the yeast, the dough cannot turn into bread--it just becomes a flat pancake when it comes out of the oven. With the yeast, the dough grows and turns into something useful. But in order for the yeast to reveal it's true potential, it needs to spend some time in intense heat (notice the connection from two paragraphs above). Take some time after reading this post to think about what your spirit looks like and how it plays a role in your life. Are you giving it the awareness it deserves, or has your body become a power-hungry tyrant that you bow down to?
I would really appreciate some feedback (I can handle constructive criticism) on this blog. If there's anything you want me to add, take out, or any questions about the topics I'm covering, you can either post a comment below or e-mail me at jumpingpaws@yahoo.com. Thank you so much for your support. Next week's post is going to be exciting to write about, so stay tuned!
I always knew how to run with my body. My arms would be bent at 90 degrees, pumping along the sides of my waist as if I was pulling strings (Thank you, Coach Nugent, for teaching me that efficient technique!). I would land on my mid-foot then spring forward by driving my knees. My hips would rotate to help my legs cover more ground. Pretty basic running form mechanics. But this week, God taught me the importance of running with my spirit instead of my body.
The first verse given for this week's workout was from Acts 20:22-23, "And now, compelled by the spirit, I am going to Jerusalem not knowing what will happen to me there...I only know that in every city the Holy Spirit warns me that prison and hardships are facing me. However I consider my life worth nothing to me if only I may finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me. The task of testifying to the gospel of God's grace." When it's 85 degrees outside, the last thing you would probably think of doing is going for a run. Well that is exactly what I did on Monday--call me crazy all you want. Think about it from a metaphorical perspective. When things become so intense in your life, your body tells you to stop moving forward because it can't stand the heat. At the beginning of my hot run I asked,"Okay, God, how do I run with my spirit?" He responded with, "Be distilled by sweat to be compelled by the spirit." If this sounds confusing, don't worry, I'll explain. According to Dictionary.com, the word "distill" means "to extract the essential elements of; refine, purify." As disgusting as it may feel, sweating can really cleanse you of all your body's impurities. You can sweat away emotions, pain, negative thoughts--and the only thing you are left with is your spirit. So as I became drenched in the afternoon heat, I tried to imagine running with my spirit: Feeling God's Hand as my spirit's steering wheel, filling my mind with verses from this week's study, singing songs of praise, and telling my body straight to it's face, "You have NO control over me!" My spirit is moving me forward in every heated race to share God's grace. It will be the only force that carries me to the finish line.
Another way God taught me to run with my spirit is to focus on my own race (this was the theme for this week's study in the "Run for God" book). During the last two weeks, I've been running on hills and kind of at a fast pace. On Wednesday I started to feel a slight twinge in my right foot--oh no. I was really nervous since I DID NOT want another injury, especially since I haven't even been running that much. But I knew God was telling me to slow down. I am only 3 weeks into running and already want to do hills? Not my smartest idea. I wanted to run hills so my body could get a workout--red flag right there! For a few days, I forgot that God was my pacesetter, and He was reminding me the damaging effects of allowing my body to control my race. Just because other runners around me were running hills, didn't mean I had to. Running for God, means not getting caught up in the pace of the rest of the racers and running the race that God has set before me. So on Friday (much to my body's frustration) I ran around a flat neighborhood at a conversational pace (talking to God, I might add). Although I didn't feel like my body worked extremely hard (I should tell you that I had to still run 90 seconds at a time), I no longer have that twinge in my foot. And my spirit was filled with so much peace since I was able to slow down and spend some quality time talking to God (It's hard to have a conversation running up a hill, right?).
I think people don't realize the power and accessibility of their spirit. It's not as visible as the body, but it's definitely more powerful. In Galatians 5, after Paul asks the church what stopped them from running the race, he continues with the phrase, "A little yeast works through the whole batch of dough." Imagine your spirit as a little spec of yeast, and your body as the batch of dough. Without the yeast, the dough cannot turn into bread--it just becomes a flat pancake when it comes out of the oven. With the yeast, the dough grows and turns into something useful. But in order for the yeast to reveal it's true potential, it needs to spend some time in intense heat (notice the connection from two paragraphs above). Take some time after reading this post to think about what your spirit looks like and how it plays a role in your life. Are you giving it the awareness it deserves, or has your body become a power-hungry tyrant that you bow down to?
I would really appreciate some feedback (I can handle constructive criticism) on this blog. If there's anything you want me to add, take out, or any questions about the topics I'm covering, you can either post a comment below or e-mail me at jumpingpaws@yahoo.com. Thank you so much for your support. Next week's post is going to be exciting to write about, so stay tuned!
Keep up the great work--in both running and writing!
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