Spiritual Pedometer

The average person has a stride that is 2.5 feet long.
It would take about 2,000 steps to walk a mile.
My two mile walk each morning is about 4,000 steps.

It is suggested that a person walk 10,000 steps each day for maximum health benefits.
That would be the equivalent of walking five miles.

Many of us cannot fit a five mile walk into our schedule…at one time.
We have to break it up during the day.
We must keep moving!

We have to be creative as to how we get in our 10,000 steps each day.
We can park our car in the back of the parking lot.
We can take the stairs instead of using the elevator or escalator.
We can walk whenever possible.

Often, you will see a tiny device attached to the belt of a person.
It is called a pedometer.
It counts the steps each person takes by detecting the motion of the person’s hips.

Each person has a different stride length, so the pedometer is calibrated according to the length of stride the person takes and the corresponding hip movement.

Sounds complicated.
Many people rely on these devices as part of their fitness routine.

I’ve taken 9,000 steps today.
I’m 1,000 steps away from my daily goal.
I wonder if I can walk 500 more steps tomorrow?

In and of itself, a pedometer is a fine thing.
An indicator…a motivator…a health tool.

In and of itself, a pedometer is not enough for our total fitness.
Our physical body is not the only thing in need of care and attention.

Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. 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 9:24-25)

There are two types of training: physical training and spiritual training.
Each is important for different reasons.
Only spiritual training has benefits that will last forever.
There is no pedometer for this kind of training.

But what if there was?
What would a spiritual pedometer look like?

I memorized five Bible verses today.
I read three chapters in my quiet time this morning.
There are thirty-one chapters in the book of Proverbs.
I will read one chapter each day for the next month.

Goals.
Important to make.

Without our heart turned toward the Lord, our spiritual goals can become legalistic.
A “check it off my list” mentality.

Did my devotions…check!
Memorized two verses today…check!
Wrote in my journal…check!
Prayed for fifteen minutes…check!

Spiritual goals, without heart, are not pleasing to God.

These people come near to me with their mouth and honor Me with their lips, but their hearts are far from Me. Their worship of Me is made up only of rules taught by men. (Isaiah 29:13)

We have to be creative in our spiritual training as well.
Many of us cannot walk 10,000 steps at one time.
Why do we expect to walk 10,000 spiritual steps at one time?

We have to work up to our spiritual goals…with God’s help.

Lord, I want to love You more today than I did yesterday.
Lord, help me to understand what I read in Your Word today.
Lord, help me commit this verse to my heart and my memory.
Lord help me make this time with You a pattern for my life.

No one can run a marathon unless they train first.
No one can acquire spiritual knowledge all at once.
We grow into our faith.
It is a process…a journey.
We all know what is said about a journey…it begins with a single step!

It’s alright if you only spend ten minutes in God’s Word today.
It is ten minutes more than you spent with Him yesterday!
It’s alright if you memorize the verse…but have a bit of trouble with the chapter and verse.
You will remember all of it tomorrow.

The important thing is the first step of the journey.
That first step is HIS!
The Holy Spirit gives us the faith to believe…so that we can begin our spiritual workout.

We don’t need a pedometer.
We need Him!
It is not a matter of measurement and calibration.
It is a matter of heart and desire to know Him more…and love Him more.

In his heart a man plans his course, but the Lord determines his steps. (Proverbs 16:9)

God is the best spiritual trainer we could ever have!
The benefits of His workout lasts throughout eternity.
Are you ready to take the first step?