Most of us want to look great and feel great. We want to be in good health and to enjoy our lives. That is certainly true for me, as I am sure it is for you, but for years I did not go about it the right way. If you can name a diet invented in the past 40 years, chances are I have tried it. I have attempted to lose weight with low-fat diets, low-carb diets, liquid diets, hard-boiled egg diets, and the grapefruit diet. Some of those eating plans even worked—at first. But you may know what happens with a lot of fad diets: A person is excited to get started because of the promise of success, but after a while, even if weight loss happens, the diet becomes inconvenient, boring, or extremely difficult to sustain long term. When people reach this point, they often begin to stray from the diet. They only cheat a little bit at first, but eventually they revert to their old, familiar eating habits and regain the weight they lost. Sometimes they end up weighing even more than they did when they started dieting, wishing they had never tried to lose weight in the first place.
I have been through this scenario countless times. Maybe you have too. When it happens, we feel guilty. We think we are to blame for our failure. If we only had more willpower when we found a diet that “worked,” we reason, we would still be on it and we would still be losing weight and looking great. We criticize ourselves for lack of willpower, but maybe what’s actually happening is that we do not fully understand the principle of willpower. What if we are leaving something out? What if there is something we are not aware of, but must understand, in order for willpower to work? Maybe we just need to know the truth about willpower.
Willpower sounds like a great thing. We have been trained to believe that if we have enough of it, we can fight off every temptation that comes our way. Sometimes, that is true. But let me tell you a little secret about willpower: Willpower is your best friend when things are going well, but when you begin to get weary or stressed, it runs out on you. Willpower looks out the window on a morning you have promised yourself you will go for a jog, and says, “Oh, it’s raining and it’s forty degrees and I’m so warm and toasty in bed. I am going to stay home and read today.”
The problem with willpower is that it is closely related to reasoning. And reason is always open to being “reasoned” with and talked out of things. Reason says to willpower, “You’re right. It’s way too cold and messy for you to go jogging today. You can run twice as far tomorrow.” Or, “Go ahead and eat that extra piece of pie. That way you can put the pie plate in the dishwasher. You can just eat a really small dinner tonight.” It makes sense! But we must know that reason is always willing to take the first step down the slippery slope that leads to failure.
I have found that if I really do not want to do something, my mind gives me plenty of reasons not to do it. My emotions even join in, saying, “You really don’t feel like doing that anyway.” Our souls (remember, the soul comprises the mind, will, and emotions) would love to run our lives, but the Bible says we are to be led by God’s Spirit, not by the human soul. In other words, we are not to be willpower-led; we are to be Spirit-led. God says in Zechariah 4:6, “Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit” (NKJV). This means we can have plenty of willpower and discipline, but those alone are not always enough. Doing things by the Spirit of God and relying on His power are the only ways to find true success. Willpower and determination may get us started on the right path to some worthy goal, but they have a reputation for quitting in the middle. The Spirit of God never quits in the middle; He always gets us all the way across the finish line to the victory He wants us to enjoy. By all means use discipline, self-control, and willpower, but first and foremost depend on God’s power to energize you in all of these areas.
Some people claim to be a “self-made success,” but if we study their lives and follow them through to the end, we see that these people often end up falling apart. This is because they tried to do everything themselves. God has not created us to function well without Him. In fact, Jesus says in John 15:5: “Apart from Me [cut off from vital union with Me] you can do nothing.” The sooner we learn this lesson and invite God to do the heavy lifting in our lives, the better off we will be.
Whether a person’s weakness is overeating, some type of substance addiction, or simply a pattern of poor personal maintenance, he or she is in bondage and unable to lead the life God intends until these things are broken and dealt with. God has an awesome plan for all of us, but it requires us to understand and exercise the amazing power we have as His children. In Him, everyone can break free from old destructive habits and start living the new and exciting life of freedom God has for us, but we need His help.
Freedom is our natural desire. It is also the condition God wants and has provided for us, but if we have fallen into bondage over time, the thought of freedom can be scary. We may prefer the comfort and ease of our familiar bonds to making the effort needed to develop the thoughts and behaviors required for freedom. This is sad, but some people really would rather endure poor diets, low energy, compromised health, self-neglect, and exhaustion than do what is necessary to taste freedom and develop a lifestyle of liberty. This is because these people find change extremely challenging and difficult.
I have found that the only thing more frightening than change is the thought of never changing. Genuine, permanent change about why we are not caring for ourselves may require some deep soul-searching, and not everyone is willing to do that. Only the truth sets us free (John 8:32), but truth is not always easy to face. In fact, facing the truth about ourselves and about our habits is one of the bravest things we can do, and it is the key to being set free to live a better life. This is what God wants for us, and He will help us in every way.
Sometimes the journey toward long-term good health can seem unbearable. When you are discouraged about the condition of your life or the shape your body is in, the first step toward improvement seems like the most difficult one in the world. A short-term crash diet may appear to be easier than a lifetime of steady movement toward great health, but it will not bring freedom. Temporary relief never equals true freedom. God wants you to be free!
Soul-searching, facing truth, and making necessary changes will indeed be unbearable if you try to bear them alone. The bonds of old habits are too strong and the forces against you are too formidable. Only God is strong enough to accomplish what needs to be done in your life. If you will turn things over to Him, the source of divine strength and enablement, you will find the power you need to break free. If you will draw on the limitless power of the Holy Spirit, rather than relying on your own limited abilities, He will always lead you to victory and freedom.
As you begin your journey toward greater and greater health, I hope you will memorize this verse and gain strength from it: “But those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint” (Isaiah 40:31, NKJV). God is ready and eager to help you become a stronger, healthier person. Let Him do the heavy lifting for you!
1. Ask
You will be amazed at what a huge difference it makes to directly invite God into your life to help solve your problems. Take time to quiet your mind and open it to Him. Then ask Him to be your partner on the journey to personal restoration and holistic health. Ask Him specifically to help you make wise choices and give you the discipline you need to enjoy good health and a good life, for the rest of your life.
2. Attend Church
Studies have shown that people of faith, people who are involved in church, and people who practice prayer and Bible study live longer and are generally healthier than people who do not go to church or live lives of faith. Some people manage to maintain good relationships with God for many years without much support from others, but they are few and far between. Most of us find that a weekly boost of Christian teaching and a community of fellow believers provide a much stronger bond with God than we could maintain on our own. If you are struggling to make contact with God or to grow spiritually and you have not tried church, what are you waiting for? It could improve your life drastically!
3. Participate in a Support Group
Support groups exist for a variety of issues, from alcohol or drug addiction to grief to overeating. They can help you acknowledge that you really cannot break your bondage by yourself and encourage you to turn over your restoration to God. Many people can make better progress and stay more committed to their goals for health and well-being if they have the support of other individuals who are going through the same process. If you are a person who succeeds best when others are on a journey with you, try finding a support group and then maximize the benefits of it. If being in a group is not desirable to you, then perhaps you can find one person to be accountable to, someone you can share with and depend on to pray for you.
4. Begin Each Day with an Affirmation
When you first wake up in the morning, before the busy-ness of the day begins, take a moment to renew your commitment to God and refresh yourself with reminders of the truth of His Word. This will give you the mental and emotional peace that is the foundation for success. You can also write and declare an affirmation that addresses your specific needs or you can use this one that I wrote:
“God, I am free by the power of Your Word. I believe You have given me the strength to break free from the bonds that have been holding me back from all the good things You have planned for me. I thank You that I am free by the blood of Jesus and the sacrifice He made on the cross of Calvary. Thank You for making me free through the truth of Your Word and for empowering me with Your strength and wisdom. Help me to be all You want me to be. In Jesus’ name, amen.”
5. Deal with Your Doubts and Struggles Through Prayer
No matter who you are, you will have moments when your determination weakens, when you are sorely tempted not to do what you have committed to do as a key to lifetime health. When you feel that way, don’t quit, but do not struggle trying to do it on your own either. Instead, acknowledge your struggle, step back, and take a moment to ask God to help you do what you need to do. Let Him renew your strength in that moment of peace, then move forward with new passion, trust, and confidence.
Which of the five actions in this key will you take so you can walk more closely with God and let Him help you on your journey toward greater and greater health? Write them down, commit to them, and start today.