When I don't pray about making choices that honor God, I tend to forget that my choices have anything to do with Him.
Riding on the success of last week, I became confident. Which is not necessarily a bad thing, except when self-confidence overtakes God-confidence. Too much self-confidence leads to "I" thinking. I did great this week! Look how well I am managing my eating! I worked out hard. I lost weight. I did it! I, I, I... All that "I" thinking left no room for God - no room for His glory and no room for Him to work.
It's risky to say that my eating (and thus my weight) is tied to my spiritual walk. Because if I fail at getting my eating under control, I am essentially failing God. At least that's how some people may view it. But I know that I cannot fail God. Whether I have success or not, whether I lose weight or not, whether I learn to manage my anger or not, whether I use swear words or not... I cannot fail Him.
The only way I fail is if I give up. If I give up my efforts to know Him better, to understand Him more clearly, to honor Him in more areas of my life - then I will have failed.
So this week, though I did not lose weight (I didn't gain either, and I did lose 1% body fat), I neither failed myself nor God. I had a momentary distraction and lost my purpose. I got to thinking that this was all about me, forgetting that it's truly about Him and me - our relationship.
Today, my prayer is that what I put in my mouth will be beneficial for my body, for my calling, and for those I'm called to serve. I pray that I will remember to come to Him for help when I face temptation. Mostly I pray that I will feel more intimately acquainted with Him and His love as each day passes.
“Everything is permissible” - but not everything is beneficial. “Everything is permissible” - but not everything is constructive.~ 1 Corinthians 10:23 (NIV, 1984)
Is there something you feel called to do - something that is permissible, but not beneficial (whether change your eating habits, give up TV, start a daily quiet time, get organized, etc.) - that you were distracted from this week? It would be an honor to pray for you this week; how can I pray?
Tyler -- This was a beautiful, honest post. I have been there a hundred times -- trying to decide what failure might mean. Thanks for the challenging thoughts.
ReplyDeleteI linked back to your post in my own blog (will go live later tonight). I have been trying to get to know other bloggers who are part of the High Calling and let their thoughts be the basis for mine. I call it "There and Back Again." Hope you can stop by and see where your writing led me.
You might want to go "There and Back Again" yourself with another blogger you have come into contact with.
Great to "meet" you!
You came back to where you needed to be...focus off self and back onto God Himself.
ReplyDeleteI'm so glad to swing by thanks to Charity's There & Back Again!
Hello Tyler, found your blog through Charity Singleton's There and Back Again link.
ReplyDeleteYep, I agree. It's easy to tell when my spiritual walk is lacking. I fall behind on little things like balancing the checkbook, helping my wife tidy up around the house, and yes, eating habits. Was just thinking yesterday how crappy I've been eating and how that affects my mind, body, and even seeps into my soul.
Thanks for the reminder!