Check Your Spiritual Posture

“Look to the LORD and his strength; seek his face always.” Psalm 105:4 NIV

In a story published by Runner's World Tuesday regarding the importance of maintaining proper posture, the writer said, "From looking down at your phone every few minutes to working on a laptop to slouching on the couch for hours, everyday life is rife with moments of poor posture. One of the most pronounced these days is kyphosis, also known as “text neck” or “tech neck.” This happens when your head is leaning forward in a way that elongates the back of the neck, which can lead to muscle strain, headaches, and even numbness or tingling in the hands and arms. Over time, text neck can cause exaggerated cervical spine curvature even during non-tech activities like walking, sitting, or running—eventually, that can contribute to chronic neck pain, according to new research in the Proceedings in the National Academy of Sciences." Neel Anand, M.D., director of spine trauma at Cedars-Sinai Spine Center in Los Angeles said, "There’s a wide range of what’s considered normal in terms of spine curvature, including the neck. But signs like tingling, tightness, headaches, etc. are often early indicators that you’re out of alignment."

And, you know, when it comes to proper spiritual posture, the psalmist wisely said that we are to “Look to the LORD and his strength” and to “seek his face always.” You see, when you and I look to the world more than we look to the Lord, we can easily begin to spiritually slouch by compromising our integrity in an attempt to be more like the world—and “over time” find ourselves completely out of alignment with God. Which is the very reason we must be vigilant in spotting any early indicators that we might be backsliding, such as a loss of love for reading the Word and spending time with the Lord and his people—and correct the cause by turning our eyes back to Him. 

So check your spiritual posture and check it often my friend. Getting out of alignment will not only cause you to fall into sin but will lead to chronic pain. 

Heavenly Father, thank You for reminding us that poor spiritual posture is something that happens over time when we let down our guard and take our eyes off You. Help us to then to continually and vigilantly assess our spiritual posture so that we won’t fall into sin or be led astray. It’s in your precious name we pray Jesus. Amen. 

Happy Running!