A friend posted a great devotional about "if". I don't know where she found the devotional so I'll post the entire thing below, but I wanted to give you my take on part of it. The part that made me think is below:
The enemy always tries to dispute our identity and confidence. He tries to dispute our worth and make us doubt who we are. But Jesus didn't have to prove Himself. Do you know how Jesus resisted the "big If?" By the Word of God! He said, "Man doesn't live by bread alone but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God." He was saying, "No Devil, I don't owe you an explanation. I don't have to prove who I am. I know who I am, and I have been affirmed by Almighty God in heaven!"
Today, know that because Jesus beat the "big If," so can you! The next time the enemy tries to get you to doubt God's Word, the next time he tries to steal your confidence, declare God's Word out loud. Find where that promise is written because with Jesus, it's not a matter of if; it's a matter of when!"
"Now, just before He went out into the wilderness, Jesus was baptized and a booming voice came out of heaven saying, "This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased." He was publicly affirmed and honored by God the Father, and then the Spirit of God lead Him out into the desert. This is where the testing of His faith came in. There's a lot that happened that we aren't told about, but we do know that Jesus was there with no food or water. Along comes the enemy saying, "If you are the Son of God, why don't you take these stones and turn them into bread."
He offered Him a temporary fix, but Jesus wasn't interested in a temporary fix; He was interested in an eternal solution. Jesus had to stand strong against the temptations of the enemy and press past the "big If." The enemy always tries to dispute our identity and confidence. He tries to dispute our worth and make us doubt who we are. But Jesus didn't have to prove Himself. Do you know how Jesus resisted the "big If?" By the Word of God! He said, "Man doesn't live by bread alone but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God." He was saying, "No Devil, I don't owe you an explanation. I don't have to prove who I am. I know who I am, and I have been affirmed by Almighty God in heaven!"
Today, know that because Jesus beat the "big If," so can you! The next time the enemy tries to get you to doubt God's Word, the next time he tries to steal your confidence, declare God's Word out loud. Find where that promise is written because with Jesus, it's not a matter of if; it's a matter of when!"
A lot of people start the new year's off with a resolution to be healthy. But their true mentality is IF I reach my goal weight or IF I'm successful I'll stick around. Or IF I'm able to make it to the gym I'll work out; IF I have time to cook dinner I'll eat something healthy at home, IF I'm able to do it at all.
When you have an IF mentality about your health... You are not going to be healthy. Because you haven't committed to it! Whether that commitment is because you don't want to give something up, you don't want to be uncomfortable exercising or maybe you just don't see that it's even possible to change.
Here's a silly little example, yet it is so true for most people. My daughter and husband decided they love Oreo's so much (and I don't buy them very often because when I do the entire package is gone in less than 24 hours. NO Joke!) So, they came home with 3 PACKAGES of Oreo's!! Count them, 3!! The deal is, I. LOVE. OREO's! And I WILL eat them when they are in the house.
Well, I'm home sick, which means no workouts, no energy, which means my body craves food, especially chocolate, to get some energy. Oreo's are NOT GOOD for you ever, but especially not when you're sick!! Well, I allowed myself only 2 cookies (in the morning and at night, which equals 4) Well, today I said NO WAY! I am NOT going to have more cookies!! I want to get better so I must resist the temptation of these terrible, preservative filled, sugar filled deliciousness!
What I did NOT say was, "If no one else eats them, then I won't eat them either". "If the temptation is not too strong, then I won't eat them." They ARE tempting me! My family WILL eat them tonight! I, however, have made a conscious, stead fast decision to NOT eat them no matter how tempting or how many my family chooses to eat.
I feel like so many do the same thing with their health, their food choices, their workouts. They say, "IF my family will eat it, then I'll make it (healthy)", "IF my workout partner shows up" or "IF my spouse will workout with me, then I'll work out". "IF I don't forget my workout clothes", "IF the parking lot's not too full", "IF I don't forget my snack", "IF I'm not too hungry" (ok, don't really workout when you're hungry. Have a snack packed to last you to the next meal.) IF, IF, IF means it's most likely not going to happen and your probably hoping it won't, too!
The point is, don't deceive yourself into thinking you can do something, like lose 10lbs, without being committed. I, myself, have been under a lot of stress lately and have gained weight :( As a trainer, it's not a good example and everyone notices. But as a real life person, just like the rest of the non-trainers, it CAN be a good example. I am still getting in my workouts in, even if one week is only 3 days, and I am trying to log my food everyday.... uh... did you catch that? I am TRYING ... Trying is not good enough! I need to be committed to logging my food everyday! (pause while I log my food)
The other part of this IF is, IF I'm able to lose weight. Well, why wouldn't you lose weight?
1. You don't change your habits - alcohol at night, snacking in the middle of the day or the middle of the night, not increasing your activity level, increasing your activity level AND increasing your food intake.
2. You "workout", but not really. I mean, taking a walk is a great activity, but if you're not really pushing yourself, getting out of breath, breaking even a small sweat, then you're probably not working hard enough to see much of a change.
3. You make healthy food choices, but you eat too much of it. Quality is just as important as Quantity.
4. You don't keep up these new healthy habits for long.
It takes 4-6 weeks to see any changes, and they may only be slight changes. To see drastic changes, you have to stick with it for the long haul, I'm talking MONTHS. You need to be committed for longer than the month of January. I mean, even being committed January through mid March you will definitely see some kind of improvements.
But ultimately, if you go back to your old habits, you will gain all of that weight back and then some. So, really, your goal should be to live a healthy lifestyle-for life!
I say this because people get so discouraged so soon. Learning to be healthy/lose weight is a lesson in patience and perseverance (the devil does not like us to learn these things. He likes to see us suffer.) You must be patient in seeing the weight come off AND you must persevere: keep going even though you may not see the changes you want to see... or see the changes as quickly as you had hoped you'd see them. (The Biggest Loser is NOT REAL people! You cannot expect to see drastic changes like that. Plus you don't see those people months later. Most of them have gained it all back once they leave the show and get back to their normal environment.)
"The enemy always tries to dispute our identity and confidence. He tries to dispute our worth and make us doubt who we are. But Jesus didn't have to prove Himself"
Don't let your size or your past determine who you are. Decide to take care of yourself. Be confident in your decision, be confident in who you are. Make the changes you need to and make them last. BE an example to those around you-family, co-workers, even acquaintances. I know a few people who have lost over 100lbs. I've never had to lose that much (50lbs after my kids were born), but boy are they an inspiration to me. They were patient, they persevered, and they made the habit a life style and have kept that 100lbs off (I'm talking about at least 5 people I can think of right now.) Do the math, 2lbs/week is a normal weight loss. The means it could take 50 weeks (that's 1 year) to lose 100lbs. And that's talking about the fast route. So don't be discouraged when you see small changes over a small period of time. Instead, rejoice in the fact that you have made a change at all!! Celebrate it and keep on working!!
The entire devotional is below:
The Big "If"
Anytime we step out to believe God for something, the enemy tries to throw us off course with thoughts of doubt and discouragement. I believe one of the main ways he comes at us is with the word "if."
Think about the word "if" for a minute. "If" implies uncertainty. It implies doubt. That's exactly what the enemy wants to instill in you—uncertainty and doubt! One of the main keys to overcoming in life is to overcome the big "if" in our minds.
...
Anytime we step out to believe God for something, the enemy tries to throw us off course with thoughts of doubt and discouragement. I believe one of the main ways he comes at us is with the word "if."
Think about the word "if" for a minute. "If" implies uncertainty. It implies doubt. That's exactly what the enemy wants to instill in you—uncertainty and doubt! One of the main keys to overcoming in life is to overcome the big "if" in our minds.
...
In scripture, there was a time when Jesus went out into the wilderness. It says He hadn't eaten for 40 days. He was obviously alone, so guess who showed up? The "big If" himself! The tempter, the accuser, the enemy, the devil came and tried to tempt Him.
Now, just before He went out into the wilderness, Jesus was baptized and a booming voice came out of heaven saying, "This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased." He was publicly affirmed and honored by God the Father, and then the Spirit of God lead Him out into the desert. This is where the testing of His faith came in. There's a lot that happened that we aren't told about, but we do know that Jesus was there with no food or water. Along comes the enemy saying, "If you are the Son of God, why don't you take these stones and turn them into bread."
He offered Him a temporary fix, but Jesus wasn't interested in a temporary fix; He was interested in an eternal solution. Jesus had to stand strong against the temptations of the enemy and press past the "big If."
The enemy always tries to dispute our identity and confidence. He tries to dispute our worth and make us doubt who we are. But Jesus didn't have to prove Himself. Do you know how Jesus resisted the "big If?" By the Word of God! He said, "Man doesn't live by bread alone but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God." He was saying, "No Devil, I don't owe you an explanation. I don't have to prove who I am. I know who I am, and I have been affirmed by Almighty God in heaven!"
Today, know that because Jesus beat the "big If," so can you! The next time the enemy tries to get you to doubt God's Word, the next time he tries to steal your confidence, declare God's Word out loud. Find where that promise is written because with Jesus, it's not a matter of if; it's a matter of when!
Now, just before He went out into the wilderness, Jesus was baptized and a booming voice came out of heaven saying, "This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased." He was publicly affirmed and honored by God the Father, and then the Spirit of God lead Him out into the desert. This is where the testing of His faith came in. There's a lot that happened that we aren't told about, but we do know that Jesus was there with no food or water. Along comes the enemy saying, "If you are the Son of God, why don't you take these stones and turn them into bread."
He offered Him a temporary fix, but Jesus wasn't interested in a temporary fix; He was interested in an eternal solution. Jesus had to stand strong against the temptations of the enemy and press past the "big If."
The enemy always tries to dispute our identity and confidence. He tries to dispute our worth and make us doubt who we are. But Jesus didn't have to prove Himself. Do you know how Jesus resisted the "big If?" By the Word of God! He said, "Man doesn't live by bread alone but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God." He was saying, "No Devil, I don't owe you an explanation. I don't have to prove who I am. I know who I am, and I have been affirmed by Almighty God in heaven!"
Today, know that because Jesus beat the "big If," so can you! The next time the enemy tries to get you to doubt God's Word, the next time he tries to steal your confidence, declare God's Word out loud. Find where that promise is written because with Jesus, it's not a matter of if; it's a matter of when!
