Day 16 in the Thin Within book by Arthur and Judy Halliday provides opportunity to review the godly goals that were set on Day 3. As I look at how diligently I am pursuing these godly goals–the goals that I am convinced that God led me to establish at the beginning of our study–I am convicted that I am not giving the Lord my best. Not even my second best.

I am tempted to beat myself up over this. But the book reminds me that I can just observe and correct. Adjust things. Make changes:

No self-condemnation or wagging of fingers. No demerits. You can experience forgiveness, freedom, correction, and grace every step of the way. Thin Within, page 161

So here is where I want to call us on our tendency. If you are anything like me, if you are half way through a book or a program and haven’t even begun to realize your goals, it is a HUGE temptation to just scrap the entire thing–to quit, to bail.

“Forget it! I am failing, so why bother trying? I could never accomplish my goals by the end of the book/program/whatever now!”

“This is a waste to keep going!”

Is this godly thinking, though?

No. God IS at work. He IS completing that which He has begun. Physical results aside, he is tilling the soil of our hearts, planting new teaching, reminding us of things that we have known before and so on.

To quit because we haven’t started to make physical progress is to cave in to a dieting mentality.

Let’s remember that God isn’t about our body…he is about something deeper that, when surrendered, will translate into changes in our physical bodies. But for now, perseverance at this important time WILL make a difference! It is part of that marble jar again. The jar fills up with each moment that we return to Him with an “I blew it tonight, Lord, but I offer myself to you afresh. Please take me…make me yours…” He receives that with applause and marbles tossed with joy into the jar!

Remember that His grace was never intended to be merely a pardon for past, present, and future sins. His grace is also a provision for your daily, moment-by-moment needs. Invite Him to infuse your life, enabling you to have insight, wisdom, discernment, and power to live according to His best for you. Thin Within, page 162

The Significant Times Exercise on pages 164-166 may seem extreme. I urge you to prayerfully go through this if you haven’t already. Even though I have done this exercise so many times, God was faithful to give me a new insight, even today. Every one of my four most significant times memories had a direct affect on my body or how I viewed my body at the time. I do believe that these moments in history were where I learned to cope with things inappropriately and resorted to eating for one reason or another.

This certainly encourages me that I am not nuts! There are reasons that I struggle as I do. I don’t use this as an excuse for sin, but as a way of understanding myself and all that I must take to the Lord as I pray through my struggles to give God my eating.

Like Amanda, we too can take hold of God’s hand and experience His grace and healing. He will turn even painful things to purposeful things–in fact He is glorified in doing so. Pray that God will help you to see your part as he sees it–as redeemable. It is so comforting to know that God does not waste anything in our lives. He uses everything to shape and mold us into His likeness. Thin Within, page 168

God is going to show us His redemption of all the years the locusts have eaten. Rather than give up or throwing in the towel, let’s fix our eyes on Him again and look to Him for HIS solution, His will, His way.

If you haven’t been generating your list of God’s attributes and taking time to praise Him for His character, today is a great day to begin that practice again. I know I need to.

If you haven’t yet done the “Perfect Meal” exercise in chapter 15, try to fit that into your life today, too! Tell us about it here!