I’ve been in a constant battle for the past 25 plus years. It’s been a struggle because at times I’ve
experienced brief successes only to retreat because it has been hard to sustain
the effort. I’m talking about weight
gain (or loss). I’m talking about the battle
of the bulge. I’ve been generally
committed to the Sanford Profile Program
of losing weight. I say generally
because my problem is the level of motivation that I attribute to the program…
yeah, generally I’m committed to it. And
that is my problem. I haven’t been fully committed to it. I lose a few, gain a few back. It’s been tough.
I have high hopes, though – not ready to throw in the towel
just yet. Because I know what the root
of the problem is: my motivation. I
haven’t been successful at zeroing in on the primary motivation for losing weight. If motivation is the process that initiates,
guides, and maintains goal-oriented behaviors – if motivation is what causes
one to act with a goal in mind to reach that goal, then no. I haven’t been able to focus on that
motivation. (This entry is supposed to
be about the devotional from “Embracing
the Uncertain” for today – trust me, I’ll get there – just a few more
thoughts.)
Chapter 1 in the Profile Workbook is all about creating your
motivation. I listed three top reasons I
want to achieve my goal: 1) To be healthier, 2) To look better, and 3) To feel
better. You’d think that those would be
three pretty solid reasons in being motivated enough to stick with the
plan. But there are barriers (why are
there always barriers?) that get in the way and threaten to derail any progress
I might have made. Right now, I’m drowning in the barrier reef of weight loss.
Ok, enough about my issues… how does the devotion deal with motivation? The story is about a short interchange
between Jesus, his disciples, and the Samaritans (from Luke
9:51-56). Working backward, the
Samaritans are motivated to despise Jews because they have differences of
opinion with respect to their faith heritage.
The Samaritans believe they are the true remnant of Israel. They oppose anyone who is going to
Jerusalem. The disciples are motivated
to claim to rain down fire upon these Samaritans who reject Jesus. And Jesus is “resolutely” motivated to head
to Jerusalem – nothing was going to deter him from his ultimate mission – not his
disciples’ desire to rain fire down on the Samaritans and not the Samaritans
who rejected him. Nothing would get in
his way. He was motivated.
It matters to me that Jesus was so driven in his motivation
because he knew exactly what he was heading for in Jerusalem. He chose the nails. Because he was so motivated, I can live a
life forgiven and freed – even if I struggle with the barrier reefs of weight
loss.
So can you – live forgiven and freed. All you need to do is to get motivated and
accept Jesus as Lord and Savior. If you’ve
done that, you’re on your way!
If you
haven’t, what is your motivation? Better yet, what barrier reefs are holding you down?
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