If you haven’t heard, there are new fitness devices available that you wear on your wrist and they track all sorts of information about you. In fact, they are quite the rage. Our son, Andrew, and numerous friends have all gone out of purchased Fitbits, the aforementioned fitness tracking device.
I have seen these on the wrists of many people, but quite honestly, I didn’t really understand what they were for until Andrew brought us up to speed on the purpose of these rubberized wristbands. Basically, the number of steps you take per day, the distance you walk, sleep patterns and alarm settings are some of the things you can track – oh, and I guess you can also track water intake and calories if you are so inclined. In fact, I am told that if you buy the compatible scale, your weight reading is transferred wirelessly into your personal data so you can’t cheat and record something that isn’t accurate. Of course, the scale is another $130, but such a deal! Who can live without this additional feature – that is, in addition to the $99 you pay for the initial wristband and accessories?
Now Andrew and several others have done a remarkable job losing weight. Whether it is for health reasons or just to look better, fitness seems to be the thing people are focused on these days. So, after some gentle prodding, Andrew finally convinced me to give Fitbit a try. My new “toy”arrived from Amazon today and I have spent part of the evening getting it set up. One of the things that I realize is that if I had enough discipline, I wouldn’t need any sort of external paraphernalia to help hold me accountable. How motivating is it to see some light on your wrist light up when you have walked several thousand steps? Or to receive an email from an anonymous entity sending me a “badge” to let me know I am doing well? Really?
But I am going to give it a fair try. After all, although I have lost some weight, perhaps knowing that my “stats” are being recorded will provide me some additional motivation. Come to think of it, my “stats” are already being recorded – by God. He knows my heart rate, how far I walk each day, how many steps I take, my calorie intake, water consumption and a host of other indicators that are too numerous to mention. Not only that, but God knows the exact moment I was born and already knows the exact moment that I will leave the earth and enter heaven. Every day of mine is numbered and every hair on my head has already been counted. God even knew me before I was conceived – if we can even fathom that concept at all! And He knows the same things about you.
Oh – that’s in addition to knowing every thought in your mind, every sin you have ever committed and every person you have ever loved. He knows how you spent your money, the ministries you support and even whether or not you attended church this week. Let’s face it – that’s quite a bit more than Fitbit is capable of doing – and a relationship with God doesn’t even cost you $99 + tax.
The verse for this evening is from Psalm 139. We are told, in Ps. 139:13, “For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb.” That pretty much says it all, doesn’t it? My encouragement this evening is that God knows you better than anybody – on your good days and your not so good days as well. In fact, there is nothing that you can hide from God – He knows it all. My prayer is that you will take comfort in the fact that you have a relationship with the God of the universe and He doesn’t judge you – He values you as one of His children. So take heart, and have a great day in the Lord, grace and peace…