Our goal in all that we do should be total transformation - spirit, soul and body. The vehicle to get us there is habit change but the enemy loves to try and throw obstacles in our way. One of the biggest obstacles I have faced recently is random health issues that have seemed to come out of nowhere, especially the last two years. For various periods of time, I have had to stop my water exercise because of surgeries, falls and knee issues. I hate it when I cannot exercise in the water because it has become a habit and without it, I feel lost.
Every person wants to change something about themselves but few have any idea how to do that. In my case, I weighed 430 pounds and wanted to lose weight. When I finally got to the point that I surrendered this issue to God, I knew I couldn't go on another diet. Diets had never worked for me because I always went back to the way I had eaten before and gained the weight back. God revealed to me through several different sources that I needed a forever lifestyle change. However, in order to change anything about myself, I realized I had to learn how to change the habits that had gotten me into the mess I was in.
As a child, I don't know how many times during church services I sang the old song, "I Surrender All." I'm not sure what I thought the words meant back then. I probably thought they were defining what I did when I accepted Jesus at age seven and gave up my life of crime as a candy thief. I stole some penny candy from the grocery store and Dad marched me back there to confess to the store manager. That's when I realized I was a sinner. I was like all the bad people the preacher yelled about every Sunday night. I needed salvation because I didn't want to go to hell.
How can we be thankful in the midst of everything going on in the world today? We've been through a lot in the last few years and I just want to stop a minute and thank God, even for the difficulties many of us have gone through. One of my favorite songs is "Through It All," written by Andre Crouch in 1971 after having purchased an engagement ring for a young woman. He was heartbroken when she announced that she was getting married, but not to him. He wrote: "I thank God for the mountains, and I thank Him for the valleys, I thank Him for the storms He brought me through; for if I'd never had a problem, I wouldn't know that He could solve them...I'd never know what faith in God could do.
Why didn't I stop eating foods that contained processed sugar when Jesus told me to stop back in 1977? Because I was stubborn and rebellious and wanted to keep at least one pleasure for myself. "Let me keep sugar, Jesus," I'd say. "It makes me happy." Of course, it also made me super, morbidly obese with a cardiac surgeon declaring I only had five years to live if I didn't lose weight. However, Romans 14:17 (AMP) clearly states, "The kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking [what one likes], but of righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit." Notice that the kingdom is not about eating and drinking what we like. It's about righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. Nothing else matters but allowing God to lead us.
Most Christians want to serve God but many miss this one big key. We can only serve God in the power of the Holy Spirit. Romans 12:1-2 tells us about how we must surrender ourselves to God to be His sacred living sacrifices and then be inwardly transformed by the Holy Spirit. After we have laid down our selfish desires and learn to lean on the Holy Spirit, then we can begin serving God. In order to do this, He starts showering us with His grace gifts so we can do the tasks He has called us to do.
Throughout the Scriptures, we see glimpses of the strategies of how grace works. I didn't really understand that very much until I went on my weight-loss transformation journey. Then I began to see the many facets of grace. God's grace is so vast that we really don't understand it all because it is what God is made of. It cannot be explained in a few words but I see at least seven ways grace strategically operates in our lives. Each one seems to build on the other.
To me, not many people's feet are beautiful but to God, all of the feet of His children are beautiful. How do I know? One of my favorite Scriptures appears in Romans 10:15 (NIV). It says, "How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!" Back in 1989, a friend and I had the opportunity to begin publishing a regional Christian newspaper in our area of Mid-Missouri. God had told me I would publish such a newspaper back when I was in junior high. At that time no such newspapers existed but I knew what God had said and had even gotten a degree in Christian journalism to prepare for it.
I want to be a victorious Christian. I want to be an overcomer. I want to be able to conquer whatever difficulties come my way. I know it is possible because the Bible tells us that it is, but deep down, I'm afraid most of us don't believe it's possible. Romans 8:37 tells us that in all things we are more than conquerors through Christ Jesus, but what does that really mean? First and foremost, we cannot be victorious without God's leadership. That means we have to lean on Him every step of the way.
As we're running this race called life, it's helpful to remember where we are headed. If we are in Christ and are running this race the way He wants us to, then we are bound for glory. In the midst of our daily trials and tribulations, though, we quickly understand that our physical bodies have limitations, aches, pains, diseases and will eventually expire. I'm glad there is part of us that will live on forever. That is the real essence of us, our souls and spirits. It's hard not to focus on the fact that suffering is part of living in our current bodies of flesh, but suffering for Christ is not losing. It is winning. Romans 8:18 (NLT) tell us that "what we suffer now is nothing compared to the glory He will reveal to us later."
Follow Up
