Bible Study Part #9
Health is a Journey & Grace is a Part of It
The journey will be long. The journey will be hard. But NEVER give up!
Now it’s time for a little coach pep talk! It takes a lot of work to get healthy and stay healthy. GET OVER IT. Our bodies are broken at every level due to sin. Suck it up and put the work in.
Let us be clear. There is no magic pill, no quick-fix, no instant formula, and no shortcut that will make you healthy overnight. How long did it take for the bad decisions you made to result in your current situation? It’s going to take time to reverse the effects of those decisions and it’s an uphill battle. You must make wise choices every single day.
What If…?
You will likely have setbacks. We all do! We see setbacks all the time. Then there’s GRACE. For example: we watch an athlete experience a tragic, devastating loss. In her grief, she doesn’t sleep much. That leaves her exhausted, both emotionally and physically. Overwhelmed by sorrow and fatigue, she stops making healthy choices and begins to gain weight. The stress and the poor choices have her hormones all over the place. All the weight she previously lost returns.
But as anyone in recovery will tell you, setbacks are part of the process in a long-term change. And that’s what we’re after. Not a six week fix. Not an ‘eat this way and train that way and then you can go back to what you were doing before’. We’re after lifestyle changes. So rather than beat yourself up, simply ask God and your friends to help you get back on track. This is part of why we here at MissionFiT encourage the small group model. Community, Accountability, Support.
What NOT To Do When You Have A Setback
- Telling yourself another time would be better.
- Blaming it on others.
- Telling yourself that you “can’t handle” the changes to a healthier lifestyle.
- Telling yourself you’re not ready.
- Seeing your setback as an all-or-nothing disaster.
The Better Route
- Take responsibility.
- Learn from the setback.
- Don’t treat yourself as a failure.
- Setbacks can create clarity on what you didn’t see before.
- Get input from others.
- Receive Grace from God and Grace with yourself!
Grace is most needed and best understood in the midst of sin, suffering, and brokenness.
Hebrews 4:16 “Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.”
Remember, we’re not expected to be perfect. We’re humans. We WILL fail. But we are called to give our best. It’s up to us to make the choice to get back on the horse and keep going.
- What are your potential roadblocks as you work toward a healthier lifestyle?
- Can you remember a time when you had a set-back? Describe what happened and how you were affected? What were your thoughts? What were your actions? Were you able to get back on the horse? Why or why not?
Godspeed,
The MissionFiT Team
