Posted by:
Bible Blogger on
July 18, 2007 at
8:31AM EST
If you've never struggled with your weight then perhaps today's blog won't have the impact it would otherwise have on you.
If you have struggled with your weight then you know that struggle sometimes isn't strong enough a word for the situation.
I was thinking this morning about weight and how hard it can be to lose
weight. I've been on a diet for about sixteen weeks now and I seem to
have hit a really hard stall at the 67 pound mark. It's been about
four weeks since I've lost more than a few pounds and no matter how
much exercise I do I'm still around that same weight loss level. It
can really get discouraging and frustrating to be doing all the work
you need to do along with eating the way you're supposed to eat and yet
not lose a single pound. The temptations come along to be even more
strict in the diet or to eat even less or to work out even more which
can cause more harm than good to your body.
As I looked into the mirror and still saw a big fat guy looking back at
me I had a comforting thought roll around and it even made me laugh at
loud. It took me years to get to the point where I needed to drop all
that weight. It's going to take a lot of time to get down to where I
want to be (although I am the lowest I've been since 1988.) Just like
anything that's worth having it's going to be a while before I get to
where I want to be and during that time period I'll be in a place where
I hold steady for a while.
Our spiritual walk is a lot like that as well. The Bible makes many
references to our walk with Christ as a growing period and those
references make clear that we're not going to jump from not knowing God
to being the best Christian ever in one night.
"Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love." - Ephesians 4:15-16 (ESV)
"Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk,
that by it you may grow up to
salvation..." - 1 Peter 2:2 (ESV)
I know I've said many times when looking at my children that they "grow
up so fast." Yet, is it really fast? We may say it's fast because we
remember when they were first born and about 1/20th the size they are
right now but it can be years until they reach the point we start
making the "grow up so fast" statements. If we're really honest, five
years is a long time even if it seems to have gone by in the blink of
an eye. The growth in that time is really in very small increments
even though years later we look back and are stunned at the overall
growth.
It's important also to have the growth happen in the right way. If we
do not feed our bodies with good, healthy foods we will not grow in the
best way. We won't be as tall or as strong or as smart or as healthy
as if we took care of our bodies. Our spiritual walk is described in
the same manner in the Ephesians passage.."when each part is working
properly." The only way for each part to work properly is to take care
of it and have it grow from the "good food" of the Word of God. Only
then can we really grow within Him and reach maturity.
I've chatted recently with some believers who are struggling in their
walk and feel like they're going nowhere. They've been talking about
what they can do to try and "jump start" their walk with God and get
back to the point where they can actually see growth or great results
happening. I want to encourage them...and you if you're feeling that
way...to keep going on the path God has provided. Just like with my
weight loss efforts, where I know if I keep up the regimen of exercise
and healthy eating I will eventually reach my goal, so too will you
reach your goals spiritually if you stay focused on God's will for you.
Realize that this "stall" you're experiencing might just be a time
where God wants you to rest and build strength for a challenge that's
coming in the future. You might be in a place where you need to shake
some sin out of your life or you need to refocus your efforts in a
place that God is leading. Just because you don't see tremendous
results at this moment doesn't mean you're not exactly where God wants
you to be and that you're not impacting lives for Him. Don't allow
yourself to get caught up in the numbers game...i.e. the number of
converts for the church, the number at Sunday School, the number of
kids in the youth group, the number of people "you've won" for Christ.
It's not about the numbers. It's about serving God and living as He
calls you to live. Sometimes that means a season of stall.
67 pounds is nothing to be ashamed of. Congratulations!!! I think it is a lot like faith in general. Sometimes we believe for years, say for a family member's salvation, and we know we just can't give up because it's too important, but in the old saying "Keep the faith", we have a difficult assignment.
And then, one day it happens. And we are amazed, like the maid who told the news of Peter at the door. "It is his spirit." after weeks of prayer. They did believe, and yet the prayer "plateau" in diet parliance made them lose sight of the fact that it would happen. And there he was, in miraculous reality.
