God is on Your Side! Part Three

If you have been following this blog for the last few weeks, then you are ready for what I have for you today. If this is your first time to check out the Thought for the Week blog, I encourage you to go back and read the last two weeks' before continuing on.

In the last couple of weeks, we have been reminded that, "The Lord is on my side, I shall not fear..." Psalm 118:6a

We have also been digging into Psalm 37. This week, we will continue on with verses 23 and 24:

The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord,
And He delights in his way.
Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down;
For the Lord upholds him with His hand.

The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord - First, pay attention that it is 'the steps' that are ordered. As we found out the last two weeks, this again makes reference to the fact that we must put action to what we are doing. It does not say that the 'standing still' is ordered but rather 'the steps'. If you are taking steps then you are moving forward.

It is important to remember that we are responsible to take the steps, or in other words, to take action in our weight loss journey! It also references that those steps are ordered or established by the Lord. He establishes our way, praise God!

And He delights in his way - Notice that He (the Lord) delights in his (the good man's) way. When we take action and make the steps forward in our journey, God is delighted. That should excite you to know that because of your action, you have delighted the heart of God!

Though he fall... - We may stumble and mess up but look what it says next...

For the Lord upholds him with His hand - Even though we may stumble and fall, the Lord is there to pick us up! All we have to do is look to Him and trust Him and know that we can continue on. Brush off the dust and keep on taking the steps that He has established!

Next week, we will finish up this series but for now go back and meditate on the Words we have looked at the last three weeks. Let them settle in your mind and know that you are a delight to the Father and He has made the way to satisfy your every desire - you just have to take the steps to continue on to reaching your goals!

God REALLY IS on your side!!

God is on Your Side! Part Two

This week, we are going to continue in what we started last week.  If you haven't read last week's Thought for the Week, you may want to read it before continuing on.

We discovered that you are not alone in your journey to weight loss!  Psalm 118:6 tells us..."The Lord is on my side, I shall not fear..."  In order for someone to be 'on your side' that means that you are not alone.  That person is there with you!

Continuing in Psalm 37, let's look at verses 5-7a

Commit your way to the Lord,

Trust also in Him,

And He shall bring it to pass.

He shall bring forth your righteousness as the light,

And your justice as the noonday.

Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for Him;

Commit your way to the Lord - The word 'commit' here literally means to "roll off onto".  We are told to roll our way off onto the Lord and to also trust in Him.  When we do, He will bring our way to pass!

Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for Him - This does not mean 'rest in the Lord and do nothing' or 'to sit back with your arms folded and your feet up and wait for Him to move'!  No, remember our God is a God of action - we wants us to "do" and to "take steps". 

I love The Message translation of this.  It says, "Quiet down before God, be prayerful before Him."  This translation shows us that there is still something we must do.  We must decide to quiet down and we must decide to be prayerful before Him.  It is important that we be quiet long enough to hear what He wants us to do next.  There is always another step to take!

Let me ask you something...

• What do you need to commit or 'roll off onto' the Lord this week?  
• Are you carrying guilt, anxiety or cares for things you have or have not done in regards to your weight loss journey (or "your ways")? 
• Are you putting your trust in Him?  
  

This is what He desires!  He wants you to give Him your ways and to trust Him with them so that He can bring your desires to past.  After all...God is on your side!

God is on Your Side! Part One

Psalm 118: 6 - The Lord is on my side; I will not fear...

For those of us who have weight issues, we are not just on a journey that leads to a destination but it is a journey to a new life. We will never arrive at a place where we can say, "I'm done! Now I have reached my weight loss goal and therefore I can go back to living (and eating) the way I did before."

No! If you do that you will end up right back where you started from. It is a constant path and we must remain mindful, always, of taking the action necessary to not only reach but to remain at our destination.

With a lifelong journey, it is easy to feel alone in our ways. But I have great news for you. Look at what the above scripture says...the Lord is on your side!

Let's also look at Psalm 37 in the New King James version...

Verses 1-4 says:
Trust in the Lord, and do good;
Dwell in the land, and feed on His faithfulness.
Delight yourself also in the Lord,
And He shall give you the desires of your heart.

Trust in the Lord and DO good - "Do" is an action word. We have to put action to doing good (making right choices) and trusting in the Lord.

Feed on His faithfulness - I love just how the Lord uses food references to describe a point. If we would just feed more on His faithfulness, we would be less likely to feed on the things we do not need in our bodies!

Delight yourself also in the Lord - Do you notice it doesn't say "be lowly in countenance and mindset"? No, it says "delight yourself". It also doesn't say "the Lord will delight you" but rather "delight YOURSELF!" Again, it is something you must decide to take action for.

And He shall give you the desires of your heart - God wants to please you and give you your heart's desires! And He says if you DO these things, then He will do just that - give you those desires. Everything you need and/or desire has already been done for you through Christ! However, you must put action to it in order to get the result!

There is much more from this chapter that we will look at in the next few weeks but for now...take this word and meditate on it - let it run over and over in your mind until it becomes a part of you.

Rest in this...we are on this journey for the long haul and He is always there to take it with you. God is on your side and you are not alone.

What if...?

We've all done it. We've all thought it. We've all said it.

What if?

• What if I put all of this effort and time into losing weight, and it just doesn't happen?
  
• What if I work really hard, watch what I eat and start exercising and I don't lose anything?
  
• What if I lose weight and in six months, gain it all back?
  

Romans 3:3 says, "For what if some did not believe? Will their unbelief make the faithfulness of God without effect?"

And we know the answer to that question! The answer is NO! Just because someone does not believe, doesn't mean that God isn't faithful and that His Word isn't true. What it does mean is that the person who doubts is ignorant and will miss out because of their unbelief.

"What if?" is a question than cause you to miss out on the benefits of whatever you are questioning.

So, don't be ignorant! Do not doubt! Instead do as Jesus said...

In Matthew 21:21 - Jesus answered and said to them, "Assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith and do not doubt, you will not only do what was done to the fig tree, but also if you say to this mountain, 'Be removed and be cast into the sea,' it will be done."

In other words, have faith in what it is that you desire and you will do and have even more than what you want!

In summary - do not doubt, only believe! The only "what if" you should ask is, "What if I don't make the attempt; then what will happen?" and I can tell you the answer..."ABSOLUTELY NOTHING!"

Seek and Commit!

This week I want to share with you one of the No More Weighting scriptures from The Message version. Really meditate on it!

It goes along with the one that I shared a couple of weeks ago "Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things shall be added to you. Matthew 6:33.

The scripture is Proverbs 16:3 and in NKJV it says "Commit your works to the Lord, and your thoughts will be established."

In The Message Version it reads, "Put GOD in charge of your work, then what you've planned will take place." Hallelujah!!

By...
1) seeking Him and His righteousness FIRST, He says that all these things will be added to us

and by

2) putting Him in charge of the work we do, He tells us that what we plan will take place. That work (or action) that we commit to Him, will come to pass!!!


So this week, while you SEEK Him first, be sure to COMMIT your works, plans, actions to Him and your goals and visions will take place!!

May you realize that each and every moment of your life is in Him and through Him all of the work has already been done! Praise the Lord!

The Time is Now!
No More Weighting
Proverbs 15:22; 16:3

Lookin' Ahead

Okay, this week I want us to take a journey...a journey to three months from now. Think about it - the weather is warm, there is a smell of cut grass and flowers and everyone is breaking out the shorts and getting ready for the swimsuits to follow shortly.

Now, let's journey back to a year ago. How far have you come? Have you come as far as you wanted or further or just what you hoped for?

Where can you be in three months if you get/stay on track now?

No matter what - no matter what you have done or what you haven't; regardless if you have been doing well or not the past 2 months...today is a new day. You can start right NOW to make a difference in your next three months.

The only regrets will be if you don't make the necessary changes now and in three months when you should be pulling out the summer clothes, you have regrets for what you didn't do. At that point it is too late and you can't go back in time to get different results for the current moment.

However the good news is, that today is the 'now' and you can make huge strides to reaching your goals over the next three months. The question is...will you?

For help in reaching your weight loss goals, contact www.NoMoreWeighting.org today!

Out of the Boat!

I want to share with you this week something that the Lord has been teaching me and felt was beneficial to you all.

He has been teaching and showing me things (for almost two years) on this passage of scripture but last week specifically where our Weight Loss Journeys are concerned.

It is based on Matthew 14:22-33. It is where Jesus sent his disciples out in the boat while He went to pray. And when they got out quite a ways, the winds and the waves picked up and Jesus walked out on the water to meet them. Peter called out "Lord if it is You, command me to come to you!" Jesus did and Peter walked on the water until he SAW that the winds and waves were strong and then he began to sink. He cried out, "Lord, save me" and Jesus picked Him up and took him to safety.

What the Lord showed me through this passage...

1. Peter asked for it! Peter said Lord, tell me to come and Jesus did. We all have asked for this Journey we are on. The word "come" there denotes motion or progress.
2. Peter didn't begin to sink until he SAW the winds and waves.
   a) What are some of your wind and waves? late night eating, lack of exercise, sweets, etc
   b) In order for Peter to SEE the wind and waves, he had to take his eyes off of Jesus! Have you taken your eyes off of Him in your endeavors to lose weight?
3. Of course, when Peter began to sink and he cried out, sure enough the Lord saved him! All we have to do is ask!

All of this to say, we need to be sure and keep our eyes on Jesus first and foremost - even when it comes to our weight loss.

John 1:1 says "In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God". To me the revelation of the fact that the Bible I carry on Sundays is Jesus!!! and all I have to do to keep my eyes on Him is read His Word!! Matthew 6: 31-33 says that we don't have to worry about what to eat or drink or wear if we seek the Lord and His righteousness FIRST, then all these things will be taken care of!! Praise God!!!

So, if you haven't been reading the Word in regards to your weight loss journey, I encourage you to start today!