Stop the cycle of buying gym memberships and diet plans you never use! Learn how faith can help you overcome procrastination and achieve lasting weight loss success.
There is a huge difference between procrastination and progress. I know it seems like I am stating the obvious, but the reality is that you can appear to be working toward your goal when you are actually at a standstill. Indeed, people often assign themselves busy work to give themselves and the rest of the world the illusion of productivity.
For example, you may work with someone whose desk is constantly cluttered with files, loose paperwork, and other trappings of a person who is hard at work. What you do not know is that the person is actually on a performance improvement plan for missing deadlines and neglecting certain duties entirely. Instead of admitting that they need help, that they do not understand, or that they are afraid they cannot overcome the challenges before them, they hide behind a facade of competence.
People do this same thing in every facet of life whether it is a businesswoman who does not want to fire an employee, so she tells herself she is fixing the problem by creating a paper trail. Two years and 12 warnings later, her productive workers have left because the boss did not deal with the lazy, workplace bully. Now her business is crippled because of high turnover, and she has to take on more responsibilities instead of delegating them.
It is the same with health and fitness, too. How much exercise equipment are you going to buy but never use? Eventually you run out of space and lose money selling the equipment at a yard sale. How many personal trainers are you going to interview before settling on one and beginning the work? They cannot all be bad. How much longer will you pay money for a weight loss membership and do not show up to participate in the program? How many healthy meal delivery services are you going to subscribe to only to leave the food rotting in the refrigerator while you starve yourself to death? It is a mind game that you play with yourself in order to feel like you are doing something, like you are really trying, when actually you are sinking in the sand.
Jesus is our example for making what appears to be slow, yet steady progress to achieve a difficult goal. His entire mission was to leave His Heavenly home, take on and conquer human flesh with its sinful weaknesses, and die for the sins of all mankind. If ever there was a person who had cause to procrastinate, to fail, or to refuse to rise to the challenge, it was our Lord. Instead, He seemed excited to begin, leaving His earthly parents’ side as a child to begin His redemptive mission. Nevertheless, when the time came to pay the ultimate price, Jesus allowed us to see that the same evil spirit of fear that drives procrastination in us also attacked His flesh.
Jesus taught us how to defeat the evil spirit of fear just as He taught us to defeat Satan. Instead of giving in to the feeling, He refused to accept it. On the contrary, He opted to pray. While praying, He reminded Himself of the Father’s will and purpose for sending Him to earth. Love for and obedience to the Father settled the matter, and Jesus declared that the Father’s will would be done. As a result, He resolved to finish what He had been sent to accomplish, and He defeated the principalities of death and the grave at the Cross by resurrecting Himself three (3) days later!
Your obedience to the Father’s will defeats the evil spirit of fear, and consequently, procrastination. For example, if it is your destiny to be a stay-at-home mom who homeschools her children, then pour your heart and spirit into it, first and foremost, out of love and devotion to the Lord, because that is what obedience means. Second, do it because you love your children. On the other hand, if you are overweight, lose weight not to get a husband or have six pack abs. Instead, obey God’s will to honor Him with your body, which is the temple of the Holy Spirit, by eating and drinking for His glory (1 Corinthians 6:19-20, 10:31)!
Just as Jesus had other duties as assigned that seemed to make progress slow or appear nonexistent, so will you. Remember that the race is not given to the swift or to the strong, but to the one who endures to the end (Ecclesiastes 9:11, Hebrews 12:1). The second way to defeat the evil spirit of fear is by moving forward in faith towards your goal in spite of the obstacles, challenges, and curve balls you have to face. Do not let diabetes, hypertension, hypothyroidism, or bulimia nervosa stop you in your tracks ever again. Forget what your natural eyes see, and “press towards the mark of the high calling through God in Jesus Christ” (Philippians 3:14). If you are ready to stop procrastinating and start obeying God’s health and fitness plan for your life, purchase your copies of the Eating as an Act of Worship Workbook and the Eating as an Act of Worship Teacher’s Edition online today at Amazon or Barnes and Noble.com. In the books, you will learn the biblical principles regarding the body, dieting, exercising, and maintaining a healthy body for the glory of God. Read our weekly blog for motivation to stay healthy and fit through Christ. Follow us daily on Facebook, Threads, LinkedIn, and Pinterest for recipes, and diet and exercise tips. Tune in to our syndicated radio show on iTunes, Spotify, The Narrative Matters, StudioW Buzz Radio Station, and Victory KVDW 100.9 FM, 95.3 FM, and 1530 AM in Little Rock, Arkansas for interviews and health and fitness trends. Lastly, make your tax-deductible donation to Eating as an Act of Worship Ministries at www.eatingasanactofworshipministries.org!
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