2 Chronicles 16:9
For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to shew himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward him. Herein thou has done foolishly: therefore from henceforth thou shalt have wars.
My grandfather always said to me, 'You plant your field, you have to harvest it.' We made ourselves overweight, and we either have to live with it or work to change it. It is foolishness to overindulge, but that doesn't stop us from doing it. Anyone who is overweight knows well that we have to pay for our foolishness. True wisdom comes from God. When we decide that enough is enough, that it is time to lose weight, we can know God will help us, especially through the toughest times. All we need do is ask. God is looking for ways to help us, but He always waits until His help is invited. Don't hesitate. Call upon the Lord, and He will hear you.
Today's thought: If we turn from our foolishness, God will bless us!
John 12:46
'I am come a light into the world, that whosoever believeth on me should not abide in darkness.'
When we feel bad about ourselves, we tend to dwell under a dark cloud of depression. Sometimes we can't think of anything else but how much weight we've gained and how much we would like to lose. The good news is that darkness always is replaced by light. We can get out from under the burden of our weight. We can change for the better. Our Lord is a liberator. He frees us from anything that oppresses us. Obesity is oppressing, and God is ready and willing to free us. No darkness is too great for God to dispel. No matter how dark and dismal our physical condition may be, in the light of Christ, we can trim down.
Today's thought: We always look better in God's light than in our own darkness.
Psalm 37:18
The Lord knoweth the days of the upright: and their inheritance shall be for ever.
God honestly does know what we suffer through when we try to lose weight. He sympathizes with us in all our suffering, but He can also see the prize that awaits us. He knows the inheritance that is to come. Even when we have difficulty keeping our eyes focused on the goal, we can turn to God, who will strengthen us by His own strength. He always sees us as what we can potentially be: slim, trim, and healthy. It is important for us to try to see ourselves the same way God sees us. Remember, once weight is lost, the struggle is not completely over, but we need not ever return to obesity. The fruits of our labors, our inheritance, can last forever.
Today's thought: God wants to see us achieve our goal!
"Search me, O God, & know my heart;
Try me & know my anxious thoughts;
And see if there be any hurtful way in me.
And lead me in the everlasting way."
Psalms 139:23-24
1 Samuel 2:30
'. . . Be it far from me; for them that honour me I will honour, and they that despise me shall be lightly esteemed.'
A friend of mine played basketball in high school. He did everything he could to become the best player he could be. He worked with the coach every day. He respected the coach and did everything the coach told him, in order to please him. His hard work paid off. He starred on the team, and when he graduated, the coach told him he was the finest player he had ever had the privilege of coaching. Are we doing everything we can to please God by being the best people we can be? When we diet, we do God honor, and He will be faithful to honor us in return. If we ignore our bodies, the gift that God gave us, then we show contempt for God, and He will lose respect for us.
Today's thought: Today I will do everything I can to please God!
1 Peter 2:21, 24
. . .because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow his steps. . .Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness. . .
It is good for us to remember, as we sit feeling sorry for ourselves because we may not indulge in tasty pleasures, that our sacrifice is not really so great when we compare it to the many sacrifices Christ made. What we are doing is indeed a sacrifice, but for self rather than for others. Christ sacrificed for us in order that we might enjoy life to the fullest. Let us learn from the sacrifice of Christ and remember that He has given us the power to overcome any temptation that might present itself.
Today's thought: Christ has conquered temptation and will be with me!
Romans 10:9
. . .if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.
Talk to Jesus. Seriously, He is waiting to listen to you and help you in your struggle to lose weight. Sometimes we wrestle with the urge to cheat on our diets until we are emotional wrecks. This happens most often when we are alone, with no one to talk to. Don't forget, Christ is always with you, and He is as close as prayer. Tell Him how difficult it is. Let Him know your struggle, and He will indeed comfort you. There is never a time in our lives when Jesus is not interested in everything that is happening to us. Call upon Him, confess Him as Lord, and you will be saved!
1 Corinthians 6:11
. . .but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God.
In many respects, dieting is like a washing away of fat. What greater joy is there than to step up on the scales and see the pointer a few marks to the left of where it was a couple days before. When we lose, we feel cleansed, and the cleansing is not just physical. Emotionally we begin to feel better about ourselves. Our guilt, our poor self-image, our pain all begin to wash away, too. This is the best washing of all. We are renewed both inside and out, and we become a fitting and holy temple; a righteous dwelling place for the Lord!
Today's thought: Each pound lost cleanses me physically, spiritually, and mentally.
2 Corinthians 5:17
Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.
Some people say that what we look like on the outside has nothing to do with what we're like on the inside. This is true to a degree, but how we see ourselves has very much to do with what we think of ourselves. If we see ourselves as overweight, we will tend to think less of ourselves. If we see ourselves as physically fit and trim, then we will feel better. One of the advantages of leaning on Christ when we diet is that He has the power to make the old pass away and to bring about a wonderful newness to our lives. No one wants our transformation more than Christ Jesus. He's there to help.
Today's thought: There's a brand new me on the way!
2 Samuel 22:21
The Lord rewarded me according to my righteousness: according to the cleanness of my hands hath he recompensed me.
Don't expect God to make you thin. You have to do the hard part for yourself. Do know this, however: God will bless you beyond your wildest hopes if you will put forth your best effort and not give up. When we show Him that we really are serious about being better people, He is pleased beyond measure, and He will do all kinds of wonderful things to help us along. When we refuse to give into the temptations, to dirty our hands, then God will reward us and lift us up. All He asks is that we give it our very best effort. If we do that, we will succeed.
Today's thought: God is pleased by my best effort to lose weight.
Psalm 85:13
Righteousness shall go before him; and shall set us in the way of his steps.
Jesus fasted forty days in the wilderness, and He was sustained by His faith. The devil came to Him and tried to tempt Him with bread, but He refused to give in. This is a good image for us to remember when we are dieting. Often we feel we cannot go on when we miss just one meal. Christ proved to us that even after missing meals for forty days, there is still a source of strength other than food. That source is God, and His strength is available to everyone who will ask for it. Let us remember to follow in the steps of Jesus Christ and lean on our heavenly Father whenever we feel weak or tempted.
Today's thought: I am facing nothing that Christ did not face before me.
Proverbs 16:3
Commit thy works unto the Lord, and thy thoughts should be established.
A woman I know carried a pocket New Testament with her wherever she went. Often I would see her pull it out of her pocketbook and begin reading. One day I asked her why she seemed so intent on her reading whenever I saw her. She said, 'I read it whenever I get hungry. I'm trying to control my weight, so whenever I feel a physical hunger, I feed myself spiritually instead. It takes my mind off my hunger and puts it where it should be-on the Lord.' What a wonderful lesson. If we will find new ways to include God in our diet, He will turn our thoughts where they need to be!
Today's thought: There are ways to be fed (spiritually without getting fat!)