Wouldn’t weight loss be SO MUCH easier if you could JUST focus on what you’re supposed to do instead of what you want to do? Or what you want to eat? Or even HOW you secretly want it all to just be easier? I get it. I sometimes STILL feel this way! I want ALL the things to just be easier. I want to be able to go to ANY restaurant and eat WHATEVER I want without regard to how it makes me physically feel or look.
I miss those days! But now, I’m in a place where IF I allow my feelings to lead, if I’m led in my flesh, I am spiritually weak. Doesn’t that sound crazy? It’s true. I have figured out HOW to stop being MASTERED by my flesh to the point where I am now able to be LED in the Spirit and weight loss has just been a byproduct. It hasn’t always been easy and sometimes I really miss EASY. But there’s so much growth in doing the hard things. Spiritual growth. Spiritual Maturity. Growth in the Spirit has given me what I need to override what my body feels. I want to share with you how YOU TOO can experience this for yourself and apply it to your weight loss journey. What I’m going to share with you today isn’t easy to do; but it is pretty simple. (If it’s too hard at first; enroll in TSM and I’ll walk you through it!)
You see, the answer lies in God’s free gift of Grace. Grace is what can empower you to do what you can’t naturally do on your own. Who knew that Grace applies to us…EVEN IN WEIGHT LOSS!? We already have within us everything we’ve ever needed (that reminds me of a chat Glinda had with Dorothy!) to do what we think we can’t DO! We just need to transfer our trust from a diet to our Father! It’s IN AND THROUGH CHRIST that we can do all things. And His word even teaches us that HIS POWER is made PERFECT in our weakness because HIS GRACE is sufficient! (…even in weight loss!) 2 Corinthians 12:9. Do you see it? But do you believe it? The way to begin TRUSTING and BELIEVING this is by marinating in God’s word and trusting HIM over marinating in the world and trusting in the Gym! I promise you; He is faithful, and He will help you. He hears the prayers of the righteous and he listens to us! But we must be seeking Him with ALL of our heart, in all areas of life! (John 9:31, 1 Peter 3:12, 1 John 5:15, Jeremiah 29:12-13).
All through the Bible, we can see examples of SO many who have lived and taught about abiding in God’s grace. In 2 Timothy 2:1, Paul tells Timothy to ‘Be strong through the GRACE that God gives you in Christ Jesus.’ He says be STRONG THROUGH IT. To Live BY and through grace. To be strong THROUGH it! But wait. What is God’s Grace and How do we live BY/IN/THROUGH IT?
What GRACE IS: is God’s unmerited, undeserved favor; his gracious kindness. We are saved THROUGH God’s grace, through our faith in Jesus Christ.
What GRACE DOES: His grace is His inexhaustible supply of goodness, by which He does FOR US what we could NEVER do for ourselves. Grace divinely enables us to LIVE a new life in Christ.
Grace is the freedom to OBEY out of LOVE not necessity, and thru God’s Power; not our own.
In 2 Tim 2:1, Paul is encouraging Timothy to LIVE by grace and to be strong through it by giving him examples of where and how to apply grace in life. If you look up and read 2 Timothy 2:1-13 you will see that Paul teaches Timothy to endure the difficult things through grace in the way a soldier, a farmer and an athlete endure difficult things daily. THIS APPLIES TO US…even in weight loss. See how these tips make you feel as you listen…
HOW to endure: Suffer as a Soldier for Christ Jesus: give up worldly security & endure rigorous discipline. (What could that mean YOU must give up? Where must YOU endure discipline more?)
HOW to endure: Expect that you MUST discipline yourself & be WILLING to sacrifice like a farmer & an athlete.
Like a farmer: Work hard & be patient. (do hard things and trust God’ timing…even in weight loss!)
Like an athlete: Train hard & follow the rules. (See yourself in this? Follow the rules…even in weight loss!)
Paul taught this to Timothy because Paul had become WELL VERSED (no pun intended) at living life through God’s strength to do what He couldn’t do on his own. Paul TEACHES us so much and it applies even to weight loss.
After studying Paul, I could see that he FOCUSED in 3 main areas that are CORE PRINCIPLES that I teach in TSM. PAUL endured because he focused on: God’s PERSPECTIVE: PRIORITIES: POWER
From this place, Paul focused on what He was SUPPOSED TO DO, not what He FELT He SHOULD HAVE. Paul had his PRIORITIES straight and he was grateful for everything that God had given him. Paul had DETACHED himself from the NON-ESSENTIALS so that he could concentrate on the ETERNAL.
As you step through the narrow path and begin to invite God into your weight loss journey and find yourself struggling in different ways, you may find the need to step into a power greater than your own to overcome the struggle. And that comes as you assess your perspective, priorities and your source of power. The power we receive IN UNION with Christ IS sufficient to do his will and to face the challenges that arise from our COMMITMENT to doing it.
I ENCOURAGE you to evaluate your priorities.
What are you prioritizing?
How does God see these priorities?
And do your priorities need realignment?
If they do, does the thought of changing things make you nervous?
What if you were to step into the power of God’s grace as your source of strength?
Would you still be nervous?
I mean, is there anything He can’t do?
Your new priorities might be scary, but that’s only because you’re seeing them through the lens of what you can do in the flesh, on your own, without God’s help. You’re weak in those areas because you’ve not yet been made strong! Whose power is made perfect in your weakness? I encourage you to step away from trying to lose weight and instead, adjust your perspective, priorities and the source of your power to do all things. Be strong through the grace that GOD gives you in Christ Jesus…even in weight loss!
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A little about Sherrie Kapala, Christian Life Coach for weight loss.
Sherrie is a 48 year old woman who had a call on her life. God told her to SEEK HIM and not a number on the scale; and she listened!
Since answering that call, she has stepped BOLDLY out of the world and into God's work for her life. As a Christian Life Coach for Weight Loss, Sherrie leads women through the program that God guided her to write. The weight loss program is called, The Seeker's Method for weight loss, and it's a group coaching program that currently opens 3x a year. Sherrie PERSONALLY walks each 'class' through the 90 day cycle of TSM and guides them to their weight loss success as she helps them TO STOP conforming to the patterns of this world, but instead helps them to renew their minds as God's grace strengthens them to TRANSFORM their bodies. Sherrie is famous for her tagline, "Even in weight loss" and has a podcast named as such. She also teaches her clients that most of them don't have a "weight loss problem; but rather, an obedience problem!" Her weight loss program is ROOTED in God's word and she best describes it as, "A group coaching program, led by a Christian Life Coach which is rolled out daily like an interactive Bible Study!"
If YOU are interested in joining Sherrie Kapala in The Seeker's Method, follow her on Facebook, Instagram, Youtube or via email on her website. She also has a Podcast and offers quite array of services. Oh, we should add that Sherrie DOES work privately, 1/1, with clients for those looking for a more personalized experience.
Find out more about Sherrie by going to her website: https://www.sherriekapala.com