- References to both walking and running can be found in the Bible, but walking is more prevalent because it is steady, daily, habitual, regular.
New Year’s resolutions have never been much of a thing for me. All too often, those fresh aspirations to start the year are nowhere close to reality within a few months, weeks…or even days.
One frequently-cited study reveals that 23% of people quit by the end of the first week, 43% by end of the first month. The Forbes Health/OnePoll survey asserts that most people stop their commitment in less than four months and, voila! – a whopping one percent make it to November or December.
So when I proclaimed on January 3 that I was going down to my high school weight of 185 (at the time of that forecast I was a hefty 268), not even I was sure it was achievable. But I put in motion some protocols that have worked. Simply put, there were three things that have helped me shed significant weight:
- Fasting. That is, one nutritionally-dense meal a day of around 1,500 calories. Then, a typically 48- (and up to 72-) hour fast before my weekly weigh-in.
- Weight-bearing exercise. Two to three times a week for 30 minutes, typically Kettlebell swings with other exercises thrown in.
- Walking. I started off with the goal of 15,000 steps daily but have so enjoyed long walks that I quickly started putting in 20,000 steps a day, even using a walking pad during online meetings.
There are other nuances, but that is basically the program. What I have found most interesting is how the human body adapts to the demands placed upon it. When the experts claim that 80% of weight loss is diet, they are spot-on. But for me, it is the walking that has made the whole program feasible.
In Scripture, there is something significant about walking. It is one of the premier discipleship terms in both Old and New Testaments. References to both walking and running can be found in the Bible, but walking is more prevalent because it is steady, daily, habitual, regular. Running is beneficial as well, but walking will be what happens in most cases, most of the time. It is a common human experience, which is perhaps why it is used so often in Scripture:
- God “walking in the garden” in Eden.
- Enoch “walked with God” (Gen. 5:24).
- Noah “walked with God” (Gen. 6:9).
- God says to Abraham, “Walk before me, and be blameless” (Gen. 17:1).
- Israel is repeatedly commanded to “walk in all his ways” (Deut. 10:12; Josh. 22:5).
- “What does the LORD require of you but to…walk humbly with your God?” (Micah 6:8)
- Jesus says “Follow Me” – literally, a walking challenge.
- “Walk in newness of life” (Rom. 6:4).
- “Let us walk properly as in the daytime” (Rom. 13:13)
- “Walk by the Spirit” (Gal. 5:16).
- “Walk in love” (Eph. 5:2).
- “Walk as children of light” (Eph. 5:8).
- “Walk in wisdom” (Col. 4:5).
- “Walk in a manner worthy of the Lord” (Col. 1:10).
- “If we walk in the light…we have fellowship with one another” (1 John 1:7).
Walking holds the Bible together in significant ways. And it has held my own health protocol together in significant ways as well. It has given me a few hours a day to commune with nature, to listen to good content, to pray, to think deeply about my life in God, to make progress toward a life-enhancing goal. It has helped control my appetite, reminded me that the fitness level I once enjoyed was still attainable, and helped me to stay motivated to see my “resolution” through to the end. I am not quite there but am very close, having lost to date some 75 pounds.
More importantly, walking is what we do as Christians. We will run, maybe even fly, occasionally. But largely, we walk with Jesus. Personal protocols will differ, but walking passionately for better fitness seems to be a great habit for a life that seeks a firm foundation, capable of taking on the spiritual challenges ahead.
It will change our hearts, our spiritual health, our length of days.
Matt Friedeman
