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| Monday's Manna 5; For Dieters | |
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| Tweet Topic Started: Jan 10 2011, 05:07 AM (40 Views) | |
| editor | Jan 10 2011, 05:07 AM Post #1 |
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Manna Issue 5 1 Chronicles 28:20 "Be strong and courageous, and do the work. Do not be afraid or discouraged, for the LORD God, my God, is with you. He will not fail you or forsake you ." Today is another chance. Maybe dieting wasn't so good yesterday. Perhaps we didn't handle a tense situation with a family member, or friend well yesterday, and said and did things we wish we hadn't. All too often overeating is triggered by stress, boredom, loneliness, anger, depression, and other emotions. Perhaps we returned time and time to the refrigerator to eat our way through our anger and discomfort. Do you feel like giving up? Read on instead. We all make mistakes and errors in dieting. Perhaps nothing drove us to overeat yesterday, but we had a craving for something salty or sweet and that led us on the pathway of bingeing. Emotions, or cravings, can overcome us, and we lose our control and perspective. Can we forgive ourselves and start again? If so, we have another chance. The unfortunate episode can be a learning experience, a stepping stone to learning to be courageous, and to finishing the work we have began when we decided to lose some weight. What we can't fix yesterday, can be forgiven today. Each time we start anew, we are actively loving who we are. We believe that God understands and is always willing to give us a different opportunity to overcome. In our Scripture today, King David was encouraging his son Solomon to finish the work of building the temple of the Lord. Our bodies are the temple of the Lord, His dwelling place. Somehow we let the temple get into disarray, and now we have the work before us of rebuilding, repairing and restructuring it. If we look at all the work that has to be done to achieve that, we also might become afraid or discouraged. If we dwell too much on the fact that for a day, or for one binge, we totally blew it, we will also become fearful and discouraged. But we are encouraged by the passage today, that God will not fail us or forsake us. Yes, we might let Him down for a moment, we might feel as if we should abandon our plans, we might throw up our hands in despair and cry out, "I just can't do this", but God has already anticipated our setbacks and made provision for them. He speaks gently, "Be strong and courageous, do the work." See, God understands that it is indeed work to rebuild the temple of our bodies. He does certainly understand that we need encouragement along the way, a glimmer of hope when we are feeling hopeless. A spark to ignite that vision that we have of being at a normal weight, being healthier than we are now, and not having to be embarrassed that the clothes we are wearing has become way too snug lately. I remember when I went from blue jeans and dresses to sweats and oversized clothing. I remember trying to cover, and hide, and disguise my body, and the way I looked. I remember the discouragement I felt when I finally gave away my size 10 clothing "knowing" that there was no turning back--I would never fit into them again. Somewhere along the line, God sparked a desire in me to lose weight. It was after a shock of discouragement. I took a picture for our church directory, and came face to face with an accurate portrait of myself which frightened me. Did I really look like that? I remember thinking, "The camera doesn't lie". It was time to do the work. It was time to restore the temple. It was time to make amends with God, and seek help to overcome what I had let fall into ruin. It was time to remember that I once carried a perfect weight for the body that God had given me. It was time to regret that I gave away all evidence of clothing that was proof that I could wear clothing that would flatter me and be fashionable, rather than to hide in tent-like clothing. It was time for me to find a way to soothe my emotions through something other than food. Sounds like a great deal of work, doesn't it? Yes, I thought so too, but we all have that proverbial straw that breaks the camel's back. It can actually be a divine moment. A God-inspired whisper in our ear, "Be strong and courageous and do the work." In our Scripture reading today, David was encouraging his son. David might have been a failure in some of the attempts he had at life, but his desire was to glorify God, and to have his son follow in those very footprints. We must do the same. We need encouragement also! Both from on High, and from others. Author Anthony Robbins once said, "If you want to be successful, find someone who has achieved the results you want, and copy what they do, and you'll achieve the same results". This is why we gather together around God's Word, and His people, to draw the strength we need after a failure, a disappointment, a relapse, or a particularly stressful and guilty day. We seek solace and comfort, but also to give it. We receive it, knowing that God is there to encourage us, and we give it to others by telling them that God cannot fail or forsake us. We can breakthrough the most difficult day and face tomorrow. And, so it is with the desire to lose weight. You have heard that cute saying, "You can't fly with eagles if you trot with turkeys". Isaiah 40:31 says, "But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint". Have you fainted at the work that lays ahead of you? I know I did at one time. "Too much to lose, to old, and who really cares", were some of my thoughts to why bother dieting. But I learned God cared. I learned that He wanted me to do the work, that He wanted to encourage me, and that He promised not to fail me. How could I then come up with a good excuse for failing Him? You can do it too. Arm yourself with a Scripture today. I have a little banner that says, "Are you hungry? Eat the Bible." Find that Word from God today, and the next day, and however long it takes to find the Word that will encourage you from Him. And then find others who will encourage you to do the work. We are more than overcomers through Christ Jesus. Heavenly Father, we thank you for the food for thought that our spirit so richly desires. Bless Your children that struggle, and encourage them today as they need it. We thank You, Lord, that You cannot let us down. Amen ©2003-2007 www.gracetoday.com |
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