So its not Friday, but I have running related post anyway. If you have read this blog before or if you know me, you probably know that Traci and I are running a marathon next Sunday (oh dear, its getting close!) So last week was my last long run before the marathon (20 miles) and so from then until the marathon I am in the 'taper' part of my training, where I decrease mileage and 'maintain' fitness until the race.
So today was 'just' a 6 mile run. Did you catch the problem? 'Just' is a funny word, and I think it almost never ends in good planning or good things for us. Now before I get going, I have to say that I didn't have a 'good' run today, but it wasn't terrible either. So I am not trying to blow this out of proportion or anything, but I think it illustrates a point and the danger in 'just'.
So as I have been training for the past 3+ months I have gotten into a pretty good and pretty standard routine prior to my runs: good hydration, the right combination of nutrition, and other sorts of preparation. But as this was 'just' a 6 mile run I really didn't pay attention to any of that stuff today - or last night, which is when the hydration part starts.
Again - I din't have a terrible run today, but it certainly wasn't as easy as it should have or could have been. Because I didn't give it the attention it deserved and I was focused on other things.
I think this happens to us all the time in our lives as we try to grow in our faith. It is easy when things go bad or when we know that we are up against long odds to stop and pray: who hasn't said a prayer before a test - even or maybe especially if you haven't properly studied; and the saying that 'there is no such thing as an atheist in a foxhole' exists because in difficult situations it is obvious and natural to turn to God and ask for help.
Where were run into trouble is when we think we have everything under control, all by ourselves. We run into trouble when we think it is 'just' this little thing or 'just' that minor responsibility.
And the more we view something as 'no big deal' or say that it is 'just' whatever the more danger we are in of allowing temptation to get the better of us or of simply not being able to give our best effort to whatever it is that God has put in front of us.
And that is the real point - if we are living our lives for God, really trying to put God first in all that we do everyday then there is no such thing as 'just' whatever and there is no such thing as 'no big deal'.
Because everything that is done for in God's name and for God's glory is a big deal and everything you and I do, even the little the minor and the mundane has eternal significance if if it done for Jesus Christ. And we never know when God is going to use something we do or say (major, minor or barely remembered) to do something amazing for the kingdom of God and to invite others into relationship with him.
My run on Friday is 'just' 8 miles, but I am planning on taking it a little more seriously. What has God put before you that seems minor or insignificant, that God might be waiting to use if you would just see it as a little more seriously?
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