Walk like the farmer

“Dear brothers and sisters, be patient as you wait for the Lord’s return. Consider the farmers who patiently wait for the rains in the fall and in the spring. They eagerly look for the valuable harvest to ripen.” James 5:7 NLT

In an article published last week titled, “How to Perform the Farmer’s Walk and Why it’s Beneficial for Runners,” the following was reported regarding the benefits of incorporating this exercise into your running routine. The farmer’s walk works nearly every muscle group in the body but particularly the leg, core, and shoulder muscles. “By focusing on the legs and deep stabilizing muscles of the core, farmer’s walks can help runners stay healthy and prevent injuries, explains Fitzgerald. When we think about how we run, your core is at the center of all the work your arms and legs are doing. “Having that strong foundation is key,” says Meyer. “Working with those heavier weights also simulates that ‘heavy’ feeling we get later in a longer run where our posture and form tend to fail.” If you recreate this feeling and work to strengthen your muscles, you’ll be better able to handle it and run stronger through it. “Farmer’s walks [help runners] prevent injuries by becoming generally stronger with tougher connective tissues,” adds Fitzgerald.

And you know, when it comes to the benefits of walking ‘like a farmer,” the Bible tells us to “consider the farmers who patiently wait for the rains in the fall and in the spring. They eagerly look for the valuable harvest to ripen.” In other words, you and I are to imitate the strength the hardworking farmer has to patiently rely on the Lord while he or she waits “for the Lord's return,” continuing to work hard while doing so to bring in the harvest, not getting discouraged when it doesn’t mature or grow as quickly as expected. Charles Spurgeon said it this way, "A man to whom it is given to wait for a reward keeps up his courage, and when he has to wait, he says, ‘It is no more than I expected. I never reckoned that I was to slay my enemy at the first blow. I never imagined that I was to capture the city as soon as ever I had digged the first trench; I reckoned upon waiting, and now that is come, I find that God gives me the grace to fight on and wrestle on, till the victory shall come.’ And patience saves a man from a great deal of haste and folly.”

So be patient like the farmer my friend. Walk with your eyes to the skies and keep your hands on the plow. And then work with all your might to bring in the "valuable harvest" knowing that Jesus is coming back soon and there is much work to do before He returns. 

Heavenly Father, thank You for reminding us that You are coming back soon and that the harvest is ripe. Knowing that the workers are few, give us the heart, faith, patience and work ethic of a farmer who values the harvest enough to plant the seed, has faith that You will water it, waits patiently for it to grow and works hard to bring the lost to the foot of the Cross. It's in your precious name we pray Jesus. Amen. 

Happy Running!