1 Chronicles 4:10 NIV — Jabez cried out to the God of Israel, “Oh that you would bless me and enlarge my territory! Let your hand be with me and keep me from harm so that I will be free from pain.” 

This week I will discuss “active worship,” which means getting your body moving while worshiping God. After all, our bodies are His Temples. I will also include a song each day that has touched me on my running journey. 

I started running in 2019 after my Dad was diagnosed with terminal stage 4 Pancreatic Cancer in 2018. Not long into my running journey it started to become an idol. God reminded me it was time to start Upward Running, formally known as Run for God at my church. I will tell you that it is easy to let a good thing become an idol. Satan is a prowling lion and would like nothing more than to interfere with God receiving the glory. This gift was given to me, and it was my job to pass the gift of running along to family, friends, and my community. I say community because this program and my journey have brought so many new friends into my life. Once I set the date and time of our first meeting, we had a bigger group than I could have ever imagined. As people signed up, I heard the excuse “I can’t run.” My response would always be don’t ever say, “I can’t” because you never know what you are capable of until you go out, run, and keep trying. Spoiler alert, the last person to join the group – she waited because she was skeptical of the program – placed first in her age group at our local Georgetown’s Bridge to Bridge race after 12 short weeks. 

For years now I have felt the nudge from God to enlarge my territory. Could my Dad’s cancer journey and my running journey be a way for me to reach others? Looking back over the last six years it truly has been a way to reach others through my transparency. How does today’s verse speak to you?

Let’s pray. Dear God, thank You for Your word that is living and active. Open my heart and mind for what enlarging my territory means to me. Direct my steps according to your word and perfect will. In Jesus’ Name I pray. Amen.

A song that puts my passion into place is Set a Fire by Jesus Culture. Some of the lyrics sing, “Set a fire down in my soul that I can’t contain, that I can’t control. I want more of you God.” As my faith and running parallel, so does my passion for God and running.