Wake Up, Look Up

Hello everyone. Thanks for listening to Wake Up, Look Up, a podcast where we connect events happening in real time to the gospel of Jesus Christ. I'm Zach Weihrauch and in today's episode we're asking the question, does God like long walks? This has prompted by an interesting article I read in the New York Times recently about a study that has come out, a 10 year study actually, that looked over at over 34,000 adults, measuring whether or not getting your steps in, you know, doing enough physical activity to account for a number of steps. Whether it matters how you get those steps, a series of short bursts or one long walk. And what they found is that long walks, a, uh, walk longer than 15 minutes is significantly better for you than just quote unquote getting your steps in. In fact, people who take long walks are 80% less likely to die of cardiovascular disease. 80% less likely. Now look, the people who do this study say, hey, look, our work is ongoing, it's observational, there are a lot of factors that we have to look in. But what they are saying is that uninterrupted movement is, is better for the body and accesses deeper benefits than getting your steps in around a busy and chaotic day. And the reason I find this so interesting is because in our hustle culture, and listen, I am as guilty of this as anyone, we have taken kind of the ideas of God, like the idea of rest, and we have diluted it down to a hustle oriented concept like getting your steps in. When the Bible calls us to meditation, to contemplation, things that tend to happen over long periods of time, we've turned that into, well, I just need to wear my Apple Watch and get my steps in. And I think what the study is butting up against is what the Bible's told us for many, many years, is that we actually need periods of disconnect. We need lengthy periods of meditation, contemplation, and rest, even when we're moving. So let me echo the study and call you towards a long walk, give you a kind of theology going for a longer walk. Let me start here. You, uh, know the Bible does actually call us to care for our bodies. 1 Corinthians 6, 19 and 20 says, Our bodies are temples, we should honor God with our bodies. Now listen, a lot of violence has been done with those verses, arguing all kinds of bizarre things, like he can't get a tattoo. I think what the Bible is saying is that recognizing that part of what it means to be human, part of what it means to be created, is, is that we were given bodies. And just as we're stewards over the financial resources that we have, we're stewards over the physical bodies that we have. We're meant to take care of them, to cultivate what is good for them, to reject what is not good for them. You know, the second thing the Bible calls us to is rhythms of rest, not rush. You know, of course, in Exodus 34:21, we're told, on the seventh day, you shall rest. Now, the Sabbath. Having a Sabbath, I think, in the New Testament, ultimately expressed in the rest we have in Jesus, the Book of Hebrews tells us he is our permanent Sabbath rest. So I'm not as interested in calling you to a single full day of no activity. But I am saying this. The biblical principle here is we need times of disconnect when we're getting our steps in. We're trying to achieve some physical goal to say that we're taking care of ourselves. But taking care of your body and resting is as much about your mental space as it is about your physical space. And I think what this study is probably articulating is that the reason why a long walk of the same amount of steps is better than a series of short walks is because it actually gives us time to unwind, time to reflect, time to get control of our emotions or to get in touch with our emotions. And by the way, that leads me to my third point, which is to say, long walks, I think, actually restore the soul. Psalm 23:2 and 3 says that God leads us by still waters and restores our soul. The idea here is that a long walk can give us time to connect with a God who cares about us, who can minister the Word to us. You know, Jesus says that it's good for us that he goes because the helper will come, the Holy Spirit, and he will help us to remember all that Jesus taught. But how will the Spirit do that if our minds and hands are always full of activity? If even our times of quote, unquote, rest and rejuvenation are short bursts of getting our steps in? Space creates opportunity not for the Spirit to speak. He doesn't need that opportunity. It creates space for me to hear what the Spirit has to say. And isn't it interesting, and this is my fourth point, that long walks actually are emblematic of the life of Jesus. You know, Matthew 6:33 talks about how Jesus and his disciples went everywhere on foot. Jesus got away in the morning. He. He often went by himself with God. Why? Because even he understood the need to be connected to the Father. And you and I both know getting your steps in is not about spiritual connection. It's not about rest. It's not about restoration. It's not about spiritual receptivity. And for those reasons, it's inferior. And, uh, let me just add this. This is my fifth point. You know, the writer of Proverbs says, to guard your heart, Proverbs 4. 23, for from it flow the streams of life. And I just want to, uh, say to this, Guarding your heart is about detaching from hustle culture. What if the walk was an imposition to what you needed to get done that day? And what if that's its whole point? What if a walk is about remembering you're more than what you accomplish? You're more than what you achieve. You're more than what's on your performance evaluation? What if a long walk was so you didn't miss the people in your life that hustle culture would have you miss? Listen, science and the Bible are telling you, go for a walk. Breathe a little. Listen to the Holy Spirit. I think you'll be shocked at not just how your body responds, but how your soul does as well. Hey, thanks for watching this episode of Wake Up, Look Up. If you enjoyed it, please help us get the word out by sharing it with someone you think might benefit from it. And while you're here, make sure to subscribe to our YouTube channel to get further content or even download the CCC app, where you'll find even more resources to help you grow in your faith and relationship with Jesus Christ.

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