My dieting efforts have come to what seems to be a rubber wall. I have been bouncing around the same three pounds for a month now. Add to that frustration that I have had three very hungry days in a row now. I'm discouraged. I can't see the light. My hope for the future is wavering.
Tomorrow, as I said, is Easter. As a Christian, I know that tomorrow we'll be celebrating the glorious resurrection of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. After the darkness of Good Friday, Easter is a day of almost unspeakable joy! It's my favorite holiday. The celebration of life, of hope, of triumph!
This morning I was thinking about that original Easter, and it occurred to me that the people who had just watched Jesus die on the cross did not know, the day after that happened, that He was going to rise from the dead the next day. They were devastated and discouraged. Their hope was gone. They were not anticipating the unspeakable joy that was to be their tomorrow, because they didn't know it coming.
There have been so many times in my life that I have given up because I couldn't see what might have been unspeakable joy waiting for me just around the corner. I have turned my back on people, opportunities...and trying to lose weight. I have to wonder...how many times have I missed the joy because I turned away from the hope of tomorrow?
So this Resurrection Eve, I will hang onto that hope. I will not turn away from the promise God has given me of new life. And I will trust that He will give me that new life, whether I lose another 50 pounds, or not another ounce.
Amen.
Maybe our goal right now should be just to maintain the loss we have already achieved! It will come, Cindy, it will come!
ReplyDeleteHi Cindy,
ReplyDeleteYes, the disciples had forgotten what Jesus told them...
"He then began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, chief priests and teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and after three days rise again. He spoke plainly about this..." (Mark 8:31-32)
But how could they remember what was so impossible to understand?
I think the same is true with you. He has made an "impossible" promise to you--that you can do this. He has affirmed it over and over with your new attitude, your new discipline, your new dedication. That is all from Him. You have surrendered this to Him. You have let go of everything you have known before and taken His hand, trusting Him to guide you, to show you the way. Right now, the path is dark. It's hard to see where you are and where you are going, but He still has hold of your hand. He is still guiding you to the next part of your new life.
That's what He wants for us! Life! In John 10:10 Jesus says, "I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full." God tells us to "choose life!"
So dear sister, I leave you with the words of Habakkuk.
"The Sovereign Lord is my strength;
he makes my feet like the feet of a deer,
he enables me to go on the heights."
There is no limit to what you can do! Tomorrow morning the tomb will be empty. Jesus will move on to the next part of His life, glorifying the Father. And so will you.
I love you with all my heart and am praying for you!
Love,
Your sister