Shouldn't the Workouts Work Out?

We’ve had our new treadmill – the replacement unit my weight and fitness health demanded for months after I burned out the motor on our previous one – in the living room for 40 days. I’ve been on the machine 37 of those 40 days, producing nearly 28 hours of increasingly vigorous treading, and just more than 100 miles of in-place distance.

Sound impressive? You’d think it would be impressive, but get this: Total calories burned during those 37 workouts? Enough to lose five pounds. Five freaking pounds! More than a day of hard walking to nowhere and I get credit for five pounds – about a pound every five and a-half hours, I figure.

Let’s do the math: Twenty eight hours at the current minimum wage ($5.15) would be $144.20. Given a choice, which would you choose as the payout for 28 hours of labor – five pounds of calories burned or $144?... I thought so.

Full disclosure requires I acknowledge that as a result of those 28 hours I feel stronger, I bound up stairs faster, my resting heart rate has dropped by 15 beats per minute, I can hold notes longer in choir practice, I have more energy during the day, and I feel better about my health.

Fuller disclosure requires I acknowledge that the small, incremental rewards of my exercise routine bear great similarity to the results of the spiritual walk: slow, often imperceptible progress made only after months, many times years of a journey that at times can seem like it’s going nowhere. But after some time on the road, self-examination reveals a stronger will, a more resilient spirit, a more loving heart, and a more settled hope about your well being. It’s just that there’s a price to pay for such spiritual fitness; it comes neither easy nor on its own.

If you’re not sure your efforts to get spiritually fit have paid off, if you wonder whether there aren’t more profitable uses for your time than the hard work of pursuing an unseen Savior and an incomprehensible God, I understand – these days, both spiritually and physically I understand. But hold on. Keep working. Don’t stop. Results are guaranteed; it’s just that terms of the warranty are not negotiable.

There’s a New Testament writer who says he’s “finished the race” and remained faithful, so now awaits a “prize.” However long, tiring, or unproductive your road today, may you keep your eyes on that prize.


Pray with me:
It’s really hard to run hard, yet feel like I'm not getting anywhere, especially when I’m chasing after you, God. Post some kind of road sign to keep me on track. And help me notice and celebrate the strength this chase is growing in me. I confess I am sometimes blind, really blind when I seem to be treading life. Open my eyes, then show me the prize that will fuel my walk, at least for the rest of this day. In the name of Jesus, Amen.