As I prepare to start the Daniel Plan, I continue to increase my faith by reading scriptures & devotionals that will help me during my journey! Today, my reading was one that I will come back to throughout my journey & I wanted to share it with you..ENJOY!
FORWARD MOTION
One thing I have learned in my Christian weight loss journey is this: God is a forward thinking and acting God.
I meditated on this fact recently when a scripture from Jeremiah 7:23-24 hit me right between the eyes during my morning bible study time:
“But this is what I commanded them, saying, ‘Obey My voice, and I will be your God, and you shall be My people. And walk in all the ways that I have commanded you, that it may be well with you.’ Yet they did not obey or incline their ear, but followed the counsels and the dictates of their evil hearts, and went backward and not forward.” Jeremiah 7:23-24 (NKJV)
Even though God led the Israelites out of Egypt, a place of oppression, wickedness, and idolatry, in their hearts they never left.
Their bodies might have been free in the Promised Land but their hearts and minds were still in bondage back in Egypt.
Too often, we allow fear, emotional pain, and habitual sins to keep us chained to the past. But God sent Jesus to set us free from all that so we can move forward in Him.
A wonderful blessing to celebrate!
I heard a motivational speaker once who said that we want the new thing, but still want to hang on to the old stuff! But that just does not work: To experience change, we must change.
When I wanted to be delivered from emotional eating and food addiction, I had a vision: I saw myself huddled in a dark corner, cold, scared, and lonely. And I saw God bathed in light just behind me. I sensed Him calling me to come to Him and give Him my emotional burdens. And yet, voices were whispering to me that it was safer in the darkness.
Imagine that: I actually felt safe in my misery!
But God’s love was so strong that it compelled me to turn around and look at Him. I saw beauty, gentleness, and strength. I trusted Him, took His hand, and haven’t been the same.
In order to receive real comfort and move forward, you have to let the false comforts go. Simple as that.
Yes, it takes courage. It can be scary and hard.
But say to yourself that you are willing to go to the other side of hard.
That is where your reward is. It is waiting for you. All it takes is a commitment to forward motion, step by step. And you will get there!
• Philippians 3:13 •
~No, dear brothers and sisters, I have not achieved it, but I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead,
I just finished day 4 of the YouVersion Plan The Weight Loss Scriptures Devotional. Check it out here!
