Do you feel like quitting?

Lots of us have moments (ok, years even!) when we feel like “quitting.” What are we talking about when we say that, I wonder?

Are we slipping back into the diet mentality?

The way I see it (in this sane moment!) is that I am on a journey with the Lord Jesus. I can’t quit the journey! That is like quitting life! I just can’t do that! 🙂

I think that what I …or maybe *we*… do is turn one corner or another. If our focus is on weight loss, it feels like we are “on” or “off” a diet…”successful” or a “failure” once again…that old dieting mentality is hard to shake. Maybe *that* is what we “feel like quitting.” Well, good!! 🙂 Let’s quit any and all diets!

BUT…let’s press on to know the Lord Jesus!

You see, this is a journey of walking with the Lord. It will last our lifetimes. It is about being conformed to the image of Christ–I don’t know about you, but it will take my entire life! LOL!

Just as he wants what I say, what I think, where I go, who I hang out with…and every single thing to be honoring to him, my attitude toward food, eating, my body is just one more aspect of my life I offer to Him.

Food isn’t what life is about.

Paul says:
For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. (Romans 14:17)

I think when we seek to live righteously, at peace with God, ourselves, and others, and allow joy in the Spirit to direct our choices, the food really becomes less of an issue…just like cussing like a sailor might not be a temptation or problem for me, I think that offering this aspect of our lives to the Lord also begins to be just an “incidental” in the “giving all of who I am” to Jesus!

That is my hope.

Of course, I think it becomes MORE of an issue, the more I focus on it being THE issue. Does that make sense?

So my theory is, if I keep asking God to give me a tender heart to heed his voice in all things, it affects how I talk to my kids, how fast I drive, how I spend my money *and* it sloshes over into my eating, too…same as with the other stuff.

Of all the emails I get asking me about Thin Within the #1 question asked is: “Why is this so hard for me now and it wasn’t before?”

I think the question points out that we keep comparing ourselves to ourselves…and not just that, but we keep fixating on our bodies…the WEIGHT!

What I think we have to do is cling to God…seek to become more like Jesus, denying ourselves, taking up our crosses DAILY (and moment by moment, too) and following him…over to talk to the lonely person at the back of the church, down to the Union Gospel Mission to serve for 2 hours, to the bible bookstore to buy a bible for a friend without one, to my mom’s house (in spite of the emotions I battle there), to offer forgiveness to my son…and to say no to __________ that I want to eat when I am not hungry.

If we look ONLY at this moment…not backwards at where we were or where we *think* we were 3 years ago (or whatever)…and not ahead at what we *hope* to be…but capture THIS moment for the Lord…I think it will revolutionize things!

Can you give THIS moment to the Lord??? Sure you can! 🙂

Delight and rejoice in the victory of this moment…and now another and another…truly…it is that simple and we miss it. We are so busy thinking in big blocks of time… But what about the miracle of this moment?

I really think this makes all the difference in the world…and beyond!

Let’s drop all comparisons and “time frames” and choose to live in this moment…

If you are like many (me included) and know that it could be a problem, how about surrendering even the scale to God. If we wonder if it holds us back (or know in our heart of hearts it *does) then let’s be done with it!

It is for freedom that Christ has set us free! Let’s spread our wings and fly…in THIS moment!

WHooo HOO! We CAN do it…right NOW! 🙂

Don’t think about tomorrow…it has enough problems of its own…and don’t look back…God wants us to quit camping on that mountain of victory from the past and establish a new victory in THIS moment!

How could we even *think* of quitting? We have barely just gotten started!