Published by So the other day, I found God on the treadmill.
No, I know he wasn’t missing, and no, it’s not where I became a Christian. You see last week I decided that my body would benefit more from twenty minutes of morning exercise verses twenty more minutes of sleeping in *, so I decided to grab my iPod (loaded with my favorite worship songs) and hit the day “running” so to speak.
Hey, I am probably just like you, I hate exercising. I might be ten pounds overweight (give or take) and I really should be doing this for my health, but if I had to be honest with myself, this is all for my own personal vanity. Each morning I have to remind myself why I am getting up and how much better I am going to feel when it is over. I pull myself from warm blankets and stagger through a hallway towards “the machine.”
We should all exercise; it reduces the affects of depression and heart disease. Exercise helps build and maintain healthy bones, muscles, and joints. It allows us to control our weight, build lean muscle, and reduce fat. Exercise can also prevent or delay the development of high blood pressure. The list goes on for miles and I don’t think anyone would ever argue that you or I should not exercise in one fashion or another.
But I have never seen on a list of benefits to exercise, that it was an avenue to worship. I had never thought that God would be in my spare room with a towel and bottled water.
You see, at some churches worship is really….subdued. At the most we rock back and forth or clap our hands. The church equation during our services is:
Worship = standing up
Learning = sitting down.
There isn’t a lot of energy expelled or created when we worship God on Sunday morning.
So when I get on the treadmill and donned the now infamous white earbuds, a strange and new marriage begins to take place. With exercise, my blood begins to race through my body, my heart gets into an excited tempo and my breath finds a steady rhythm. The morning slumber falls away and my mind awakens to the new day. With the music in my ears, I hear the worship leader (David Crowder in this case) leading me into the presence of the King. My panting voice begins to sing the familiar words and my arms lift away from my sides and go up to the ceiling. I find myself wanting to walk quicker, wanting to climb higher and sing louder.
The workout is creating a physical energy and…
…the worship is generating a spiritual energy.
And once in a while, there is even a point where a spiritual euphoria is created where my workout and my worship convene perfectly together. My physical fatigue turns into renewed strength and drops of sweat on my face become tears.
In 2 Samuel 6, when King David returns the Ark of the Covenant to Jerusalem, the bible records that David dances in what appears to be a shameless manner.
Wearing a linen ephod, David was dancing before the LORD with all his might, while he and the entire house of Israel were bringing up the ark of the LORD with shouts and the sound of trumpets. [v. 14, 15 TNIV]
I don’t know that we always have the right picture when we read this passage. I was taught by a teacher once that David was dancing in his underwear. The passage says that David was wearing a “linen ephod.” The ephod was a priestly garment, but when worn by the Levitical priests, it would have been made out of fine white linen. It is supposed here that David is wearing a common ephod perhaps worn by the everyday person as a worship garment. In other words, in this passage, David has shed his Kingly ornamentation and adorned himself with the clothing of the people and has joined in the loud parade. When David’s wife gets upset at his dancing (v.16) she is not mad because he has shed his clothes, she is mad because David has shed his inhibitions and his status as King.
In service I am wearing my “church clothes” and standing with others who are doing their best to “look spiritual.” Sure, once or twice someone will raise their hands, but I am certainly not breathing heavy, or dancing or sweating. When I exercise, I am wearing my junky oversized clothes, I still have pillow marks on my face and I have not even brushed my teeth. But the music and the tempo of my heart push back all of my guarded inhibitions and I am free to move and to race before the Lord.
David tells his wife, “I will celebrate before the LORD. I will become even more undignified than this, and I will be humiliated in my own eyes.” [v.21,22, TNIV] As the King he doesn’t need to explain himself to his wife, but he assures her, ‘Hey, however you feel about how I choose to worship God, just know that this is only the beginning and on some days I will disgrace myself even more than I did today.’
Maybe I need a treadmill in church, or maybe we should lead worship in Pilates classes? I don’t know, but what I have learned is that “appearances” are not what God is concerned with. My own vanity whether on the treadmill or in church should be cast aside and I should feel free to find the rhythm of my spirit and to dance before the Lord.
