Jogging While Working

The morning commute is a wonderful time to spend with God. I've been trying really hard lately to turn off the radio and just spend that time talking with the Lord. Try it sometime. You'll quickly learn that you can pray quite effectively while you're driving. (Just don't close your eyes while praying!) And prayer is not the only thing that you can do... just spend some time observing things around you as you drive. Ask the Lord to teach you things, even on your morning drive.

She was jogging.

I turned right at the light and there she was in the distance, jogging toward me. But something didn't seem quite right about her. As the gap between us narrowed, I realized that she was not alone. She was pushing a stroller in front of her as she ran. I could not help but appreciate her dedication - both to her responsibilities as a mom, and to her physical health. She had found a way to balance both.

So many of us today struggle with balance in our lives. It's summer time, and many Christians struggle to balance recreation and rest (both wonderful things, and needful) with our responsibility to worship God faithfully on the Lord's Day. Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another–and all the more as you see the Day approaching. (Hebrews 10:25 NIV) And any time of the year, we all struggle to balance our work lives, our family lives, and our responsibilities to worship God by regular and personal Bible reading and prayer. I delight in your decrees; I will not neglect your word. (Psalm 119:16 NIV)

First of all, let me say that if we are too busy to read our Bibles, then we are too busy and need to stop doing some things. God never gives us a responsibility and then makes it impossible for us to fulfill it. If you simply don't have time to read, then you are simply doing something God doesn't want you to do. Anyone, then, who knows the good he ought to do and doesn't do it, sins. (James 4:17 NIV) But sometimes, it's not more time we need... it's more efficient use of the time we have.

We need to learn to jog while we work.

Listen to the word of God in your car while you drive. There are CD versions and cassette versions, and even MP3 versions that you can obtain - many for free. Listen to it while you jog, or however you choose to work out. While setting aside some time that is dedicated to God and His Word is important, it's also important to make everything we do "word centered."

We need to learn to jog while we work.