Romans 5:5
And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us.
There will be those days when we feel we're never going to lose any weight. No matter what we do, the pounds stick with us, and we begin to feel foolish for ever supposing we could lose weight. We find ourselves ashamed for believing that we can lose weight and ashamed at having such defeatist thoughts. It's a very hard position to be in. Luckily, we never really have to feel ashamed of the things we try to do that are good and right. Even though we sometimes lose heart, we still have the love and support of the Lord, who will strengthen us and guide us through His Spirit.
Today's thought: I'm proud of what I'm trying to do!
1 Peter 1:13
Wherefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and hope to the end for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.
Fighters have to prepare for their bouts in every way possible. They train for a long time, working toward physical perfection. They eat properly, they rest regularly, they follow the instruction of their trainers closely, and they psych themselves up. Psyching entails a preparation of the mind that equals the preparation of the body. Dieters need that kind of mental preparation. As the Scrip-ture says, we must 'gird up the loins' of our minds. We are fighters against fatness, and the only way we can hope to be victorious is to prepare ourselves completely, day by day, in body, spirit, and mind.
Today's thought: I'm ready for a good fight against fat!
Luke 5:12
And it came to pass, when he was in a certain city, behold a man full of leprosy: who seeing Jesus fell on his face, and besought him, saying, 'Lord, if thou wilt, thou canst make me clean.'
Being overweight can sometimes feel like having leprosy. Fatness sets us apart from others and makes us feel different. We feel like outcasts, rejected by our 'thin is in' society. Our greatest hope comes to us through the power of the Lord, who is willing to help us in every way possible in our attempts to lose weight. Like the man full of leprosy, all we need do is stretch out our hands to Jesus, and He will make us clean. We do not have to live as outcasts, but are full members of the glorious family of our Lord, and He is waiting to welcome us.
Today's thought: Fitness, as well as cleanliness, is next to godliness.
1 John 3:3
And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure.
One of the best side effects of dieting is the purging our bodies receive. Interestingly, our bodies function best when we eat less. We don't overload our systems, and therefore they work better. Our bodies get cleaned out, and we feel better. It is easy to forget that we are helping our bodies operate at peak efficiency, and that our dieting cleans our entire system. Few people would mind feeling great, and God wishes for all of us a healthy, happy life. He created our systems to maintain themselves, but they can only do so if we will respect them and care for them properly.
Today's thought: My body's in need of a good spring cleaning!
Matthew 9:28
And when he was come into the house, the blind men came to him: and Jesus saith unto them, 'Believe ye that I am able to do this?' They said unto him, 'Yea, Lord.'
Doubt is a killer. It kills our enthusiasm, our faith, our hope, our initiative, and our dedication. When we begin to doubt that we can succeed in our diet attempts, we lose the most vital ingredient for success. You have to believe. In Scripture, Jesus often asked people if they believed He could do miracles. When they said yes, fantastic things happened, but when they said no, nothing happened. We need to say yes to God and believe He will bless all of our attempts to lose weight. With God on our side, there is absolutely no reason for doubt to affect us at all.
Today's thought: I'll try to believe, so more pounds will leave.
Hebrews 6:11-12
And we desire that every one of you do shew the same diligence to the full assurance of hope unto the end: That ye be not slothful, but followers of them who through faith and patience inherit the promises.
Dr. Davidson always had a policy with his patients who tried to lose weight. If he wanted them to lose twenty pounds, he told them they were to lose thirty. If they were to lose fifty pounds, he told them seventy-five. He knew that people would set their minds toward their goal, but that most of them would tire along the way. To counteract that, he always set a goal that was beyond what was actually necessary. Though people did indeed tire before they reached the goal Dr. Davidson set, they did not give up before they reached the point they really needed to attain. Sustaining our energy for a diet is hard, but with the hand of God guiding us, we can make it.
Today's thought: The only thing I will give up is weight!
1 Peter 1:8
Whom having not seen, ye love; in whom, though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory.
When it's all over, we can hardly belive we struggled so much. The reward of losing weight is so great that it wipes out all the bad memories along the way. We experience such a sense of triumph and joy, accomplishment and goodwill. We feel a power from within that helps us believe that anything is possible to us, if we will only have patience, courage, and commitment. God has made us conquerors, and He empowers us to do those things which we set our minds and hearts too. When we live life in hope of glories to come and pursue those glories with everything we have, the Lord will reward us and bless us richly.
Today's thought: I may not see it yet, but a new me is right around the corner!
Psalm 33:18-19
Behold, the eye of the Lord is upon them that fear him, upon them that hope in his mercy; To deliver their soul from death, and to keep them alive in famine.
Hunger can be a terrible, terrible feeling. It is unbelievable that just being hungry can make us feel so sick and weak, but it does. We need to find ways to train our minds to ignore the pleadings of the stomach. We need to engage in activities that will occupy our minds and absorb us, so we won't think of the food we should not have. In days gone by, people used to carry a copy of the Gospels with them, and whenever they felt tempted to do what they knew they should not do, they pulled out the Bible and read Scriptures until the desire passed. God is a wonderful diversion to occupy ourselves with when temptations arise.
Today's thought: I'm not dying of hunger; it just feels that way!
Matthew 12:39
But he answered and said unto them, 'An evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given to it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas.'
Everybody wants guarantees. Everyone wants an escape clause: Money back if not completely satisfied. Unfortunately, the world doesn't work that way all the time. Often, there are no guarantees. Sadly, many people approach their faith in Christ in a similar fashion. They don't want to believe unless there are guarantees. They want to have some sign that will remove all doubts. There are signs of God's goodness and glory all around us, but we ignore them all too often. God does not promise us that He will take all obstacles from our lives. Instead, He promises to stay with us and help us learn to conquer them. We need no sign: God is with us, and His love is forever.
Today's thought: Christ is all the guarantee of success I need!
Revelation 21:3
And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, 'Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God.'
Indeed, there is strength in numbers. When we stand alone, we are very vulnerable, and it is easy to give in to trial and temptation. When we stand with others who can relate to our situation, we find a special strength that allows us to cope. Our Lord put us on earth to live together; to draw upon the strength that comes through fellowship. We have fellowship with one another and with God. He is with us wherever we may be. By His presence, He turns our weakness into strength and helps us hang on through the tough times.
1 Thessalonians 5:8
But let us, who are of the day, be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love; and for an helmet, the hope of salvation.
In battle, the helmet is one of the most important protections. Head wounds can be fatal, and so the helmet must be strong. No soldier would think of entering the fray without proper head protection. Thessalonians says that our Christian helmet is the hope of salvation. Christ gives us that helmet. Through the hope we have in Christ, we are protected and prepared to meet the challenges of our lives. Dieting is just one of those challenges, and without hope of success and completion, we are ill-equipped to meet that challenge. The greater our hope, the better our chance to lose weight.
Today's thought: Lord, give me a helmet which covers my mouth, too!
Romans 5:1-2
. . .Jesus Christ: By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.
Some days we just need to stop and congratulate ourselves on how far we've come. Perhaps there aren't a lot of outward signs of our diet yet. Perhaps we aren't even close to where we hope to be. Perhaps we still have a long way to go. That's okay. Sometimes we need to rejoice in the progress we've made in order to have the energy to keep on going. The Lord created in six days, and on the seventh He rested. In every endeavor, especially the difficult ones, we need a break to sit back and enjoy what we've done so far. Even if the beginnings are humble, we can feel good that we are devoted to doing something good for ourselves.
Today's thought: I'm better than I was yesterday, and I can't wait until tomorrow!
Hebrews 6:18-19
That by two immutable things, in which it was impossible for God to lie, we might have a strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us:Which hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and stedfast, and which entereth into that within the veil.
When waters get choppy and the foul weather blows in, those who sail know enough to drop anchor so they won't be capsized or dashed onto the rocks. We can learn a lesson from that. As we fight to lose weight, we may find the weather a little foul and the waters a little choppy. Thank God that He is our anchor in all situations of stress and turmoil. If we remember to place our hopes in Him, He will protect us from the temptations and desires that threaten to sink our diets. Call upon the Lord, and He will answer you, and you will be saved.
Today's thought: God makes me immovable in my determination to lose weight!
Psalm 42:11
Why are thou cast down, O my soul? and why are thou disquieted within me? hope thou in God: for I shall yet praise him, who is the health of my countenance, and my God.
Our society would have us believe that the person who tries to do something is a failure unless he or she succeeds. Very little honor is awarded the person who gives it her best shot but falls short of the goal. How sad, for it is the person who does her very best who pleases God the most. When we decide to diet and we try to be as faithful to it as we can be, then we are victors in the eyes of the Lord. We need never grow discouraged when we don't lose weight, as long as we are doing the best job we can.
Today's thought: I judge myself harder than God does!
Mark 13:35
'Watch ye therefore: for ye know not when the master of the house cometh, at even, or at midnight, or at the cockcrowing, or in the morning.'
Diets need to be taken one day at a time. Each new day means a new diet. If yesterday's diet didn't work, it doesn't really matter. Whether we diet tomorrow or not doesn't matter, either. What does matter is today. Too often we get caught up thinking about all the things we haven't done or dreaming of all the things we ought to do, and we have no time to actually do the things we have set before us right now. God's people live in the present. They learn from the past and hope for the future, but they make the most of every single moment of every day. Live for today and see the miracles begin.
