10,000 Steps

Some people wear a pedometer from morning until night.
They may have it attached to their belt.
They may wear it on their wrist.
They keep track of the number of steps they take each day in order to keep fit.

It is said that walking 10,000 steps per day will improve our health.
10,000 steps is roughly the equivalent of 5 miles.
Not many of us walk five miles each day unless we set our minds to do just that.
Having a goal of 10,000 steps per day is a good guideline to follow for health benefits.

By the time I finish my morning walk, I have almost half the number of steps needed.
I make sure that I park my car far away from a store when I am in the parking lot.
I take the stairs instead of an elevator any chance I can.
To insure the 10,000 steps per day, I would really have to take another walk later in the day.

Sometimes, another walk is just not possible.
I am up and down stairs many times throughout the day.
I stand at my laptop when I write.
I stand much more than I sit on any given day.

I do not have a pedometer.
However, I do have an iPhone.
There is a little heart icon on the phone that acts as a fitness tracker.
The number of steps, distance traveled, and the number of floors climbed are recorded.

Simply having my phone with me as I go about my day calculates all of that information.
My husband was the one who told me about it.
I am not dependent on it by any means.
However, it is interesting to see my activity levels each day.

If it is a rainy day, the number of steps I take is much lower than on a sunny day.
It is always surprising when you see the number of steps we actually take each day.
It would be surprising for some to see how few steps they take on any given day.
Sometimes a person’s job keeps them bound to a desk more than they would like.

Having a phone or pedometer to track our activity is a motivator of sorts.
It gives a person an idea of the amount of activity that is needed for health benefits.
It gives a person a benchmark, a goal to attain, and something to work towards.
Some people really need that to stay on track; others just know it is there if they want it.

I set out on my walk the other morning.
I had checked my email and answered a text on my phone before I left.
I realized that I had not turned my phone off for a few days.
I like to do that periodically.

I knew that I had some time before I was leaving for my walk.
I used that time to turn off my phone.
I did a few things in the kitchen.
I got my jacket, grabbed my phone, and left the house.

After I had walked around one time, I knew that I had already walked a mile.
I turned towards the cul-de-sac to begin again.
Halfway around the second time, I took out my phone.
I remembered that I had turned it off in my kitchen but never turned it on again.

When I was almost home, I clicked on the little heart icon.
I expected to see a certain number of steps.
To my surprise, instead of the almost 5,000 steps I usually see, I saw much less.
I had walked only 457 steps.

All the time my phone was off, my steps were not being counted.
All the time my phone was off, I was walking but it was not registering.
I put forth all that work, expecting to see my normal amount of steps but I was mistaken.
I had walked my regular route but my phone did not recognize it.

For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith – and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God – not by works, so that no one can boast. (Ephesians 2:8,9)

That is what our works are to God.
It is a lot of activity but it is not counted.
Our righteousness does not depend on what we do.
Our righteousness depends on what was already done by Jesus alone.

Many people mistakenly think that they can line the path to heaven with their good works.
They keep track of everything they do in the hopes that it will count for something.
The only thing that God counts is what Jesus did on the cross for our salvation.
That is the only work that matters.

Keeping track of our good works is like counting my steps when my phone was turned off.
I put forth a lot of effort but the results showed otherwise.
I walked fast and assumed that I had walked almost 5,000 steps.
However, my power source was turned off; tracking the number of steps was in vain.

I still got the exercise but I could not boast about the number of steps I took that day.
The number of steps I took that day did not get counted.
The effort I put forth was my effort.
The results on my phone did not measure up.

That is how it is with our salvation.
We can do all sorts of good works.
We hope that the good works we do will somehow balance out the sinful things we do.
If we are not connected to the Source of our power, we do those those good works in vain.

Good works will never save us.
Only belief in Jesus’ finished work on the cross assures us of our salvation.
When we are saved, we do good works but not to secure our salvation.
We do good works out of gratitude because we are so thankful for our salvation.

The key is motive.
Why do we do what we do?
Do we do good works in order to be saved?
Or are we saved so that we can do good works for the Kingdom of God?

It seems like a nuance of difference but the contrast is great.
It is DO vs. DONE.
Jesus’ finished work on the cross is the only work necessary for our salvation.
When Jesus said, It is finished, He meant it; there is nothing we can add to our salvation.

Stop walking with your phone turned off.
Walk with the One who has the power to save.
When you walk with Him, your steps are never in vain.
Your path to Heaven is not lined with your good works, rather it is lined with His.

The number of steps you take with Him matters.
Start walking with Jesus now.
No more counting, no more trying to measure up, and no more striving.
Just start walking with Jesus knowing that every step with Him counts.