08-08-2007, 02:26 AM
Manna Issue 23
Romans 5: 3 "And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation works patience; 4 And patience, experience; and experience, hope: 5 And hope makes not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us."
Hebrews 10 36 "You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised. 37 For in just a very little while, "He who is coming will come and will not delay. 38 But my righteous one will live by faith. And if he shrinks back, I will not be pleased with him." 39 But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who believe and are saved."
I decided to write about patience for dieters for the following reason. Just this week I took a health quiz that said professional clinical guidelines recommend that you lose no more than 10% of your body weight within a six month times period. That even surprised me. How many would be happy if that was the guideline that was given to them? How many would join a weight loss program with this type of results? I realized that it would take a healthy dose of patience to follow a plan where we did not see the instant results that we long for. And then I realized what a perfect opportunity for God to teach us about the patience that He desires us to have. At this recommended rate, a 180-pound person would lose about 18 pounds in six months, or 3/4 pound a week. A 250-pound individual would lose about 25 pounds, or about 1 pound a week. Losses much faster than this are difficult to maintain over the course of a year. After six months, most people will reach a plateau and will need to cut calories even more, or increase physical activity, in order to continue to lose. Each pound of fat is equivalent to 3,500 calories. If you cut back by 500 calories a day, that's 3,500 calories in a week (500 x 7 days) -- for a loss of one pound.
What does it take at this recommended rate to lose what you would need to be at a healthy weight again? It would take patience. I dieted for one full year exactly and lost 85 pounds which is good, but perhaps not as dramatic or as easy as ads would love you to believe. And certainly with the above suggestion far over the weight loss that is recommended by profession clinicians. The unexpected does happen when we diet, and that is hitting a plateau, more than one if you are dieting for an extended period. This is certainly a test of our patience when that occurs. So our food sermon today will be on the fine art of patience.
I am sure that we have many readers today that feel they are not losing fast enough, and to those I want to send an encouraging word your way. God may have a greater purpose for you. I have a poll on God's Grace For Dieter's that asks visitors to state how much weight they need to lose. How do you stack up with our statistics?
under 10#-4%
10-20#-10%
20-50#-30%
50-75#-17%
75-100#-15%
100-150#-15%
150-200#-4%
over 200#-1%
I will never look at these growing stats the same again. I pray for our dieters, but when I do now, I will see people that need prayer for the gift of patience. Clearly a large number of our dieters has a significant amount of weight to be lost. I ran a very special post each day on eDiets that I called Fat Busters, as well as our current one called The Bathroom Scale, with little traffic, on Grace Today. It was a highly supportive thread and we encouraged dieters to bring their weekly weigh in announcements to be applauded. No matter if the person gained, lost ,or drew even on the scale it was dedicated to encouragement and positive support. Many times people failed to recognize that any loss is certainly something to shout for joy over. Even when they stayed the same for the week, after all it wasn't a gain as the past was that placed them at a diet site. I set the example and the pace, or so I thought. And yet weekly we had posters who began like this: "I only lost 1/2 pound this week." "I am discouraged because I only lost a pound." "I did everything right this week and still only lost 2 pounds". And yes, on occasion we had people bemoan the fact that they only lost 3, 4 or 5 pounds the first week when they were expecting more. It seemed so strange to me to not have people recognize what a blessing no gain or any loss is. Why were there some who could not simply rejoice and thank the good Lord?
Lack of patience is the answer. Let's take a look at that word patience right now through an Oswald Chambers devotion. The Patience To Wait for the Vision "Though it tarries, wait for it . . . —Habakkuk 2:3 "Patience is not the same as indifference; patience conveys the idea of someone who is tremendously strong and able to withstand all assaults. Having the vision of God is the source of patience because it gives us God’s true and proper inspiration. Moses endured, not because of his devotion to his principles of what was right, nor because of his sense of duty to God, but because he had a vision of God. ". . . he endured as seeing Him who is invisible" ( Hebrews 11:27 ). A person who has the vision of God is not devoted to a cause or to any particular issue—he is devoted to God Himself. You always know when the vision is of God because of the inspiration that comes with it. Things come to you with greatness and add vitality to your life because everything is energized by God. He may give you a time spiritually, with no word from Himself at all, just as His Son experienced during His time of temptation in the wilderness. When God does that, simply endure, and the power to endure will be there because you see God. "Though it tarries, wait for it . . . ." The proof that we have the vision is that we are reaching out for more than we have already grasped. It is a bad thing to be satisfied spiritually. The psalmist said, "What shall I render to the Lord . . . ? I will take up the cup of salvation . . ." ( Psalm 116:12-13 ). We are apt to look for satisfaction within ourselves and say, "Now I’ve got it! Now I am completely sanctified. Now I can endure." Instantly we are on the road to ruin. Our reach must exceed our grasp. Paul said, "Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on . . ." ( Philippians 3:12 ). If we have only what we have experienced, we have nothing. But if we have the inspiration of the vision of God, we have more than we can experience."
Beware of the danger of spiritual relaxation." Many times I have heard Christians quote this misconception, "Never pray for patience because God will give it to you." How foolish that we would not want a gift that God desired to give to us. Not wanting that gift would be as Oswald Chamber coined it, "The danger of spiritual relaxation." Not striving toward a virtue that is desirable is going against the command to "Though it tarries, wait for it." We are told in our first Scripture verse today that tribulation works patience; And patience, experience; and experience, hope: And hope makes not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us. Look at the process that will be missed if we do not let patience have her perfect work in us. Having the Holy Spirit given to us and flooding our hearts is a wonderful reason why we want to go through the process of learning patience.
Each reader of Manna has come to Grace Today because they searched for Godly information on dieting, and I pray that I provide that. But would you be surprised if I told you that God may have allowed you to gain this extra weight as a way of catching your attention? Telling you gently that you may need some additional changes in your life? Perhaps saying, "Child, it is needful that I lead you on a path that will give you extraordinary patience that you have not yet acquired?" The Bible has much to say about patience, and so do the people that have acquired this gift.
For example, this short inspiration piece: Praying For Patience "A young man visited an aged Christian and asked him to pray that he might become more patient. He was shocked at what the old brother did. When the two knelt together, the aged saint began to pray: "Lord, send this young man a bunch of problems. Give him tribulation in the morning and send him tribulation in the afternoon." The young man nudged the elder, saying "No, I don’t want tribulation. I asked for patience." "But," said the aged Christian, "it is tribulation that works patience. If you would know patience, you must have tribulation." (Romans 5:3). "--Author Unknown
Time and time again Christian dieters that I have been in contact with have told me that, of course, losing the weight was a blessing, but surprisingly enough the development of a worthier spiritual life was the greatest achievement of all. And perhaps those that have said this, were amazed at the patience they received throughout their diets that spurred them on to victory. Did that make dieting any easier at the time for the Christian rather than the non-Christian. Of course not! It is hard work losing weight and yes, we all find our little tribulations that we go through while we are retraining our bodies to eat healthy once more. If we desire to reach our weight loss goal we must run the race with patience to get there. Patience today, patience tomorrow, and patience for however long it takes. Patience when the scale does not budge and patience with ourselves when we have had a poor choice day. Patience in our faith and prayer life as we await the result of the vision we have prayed for. Perhaps one of the biggest tests of patience for dieters is waiting and waiting for that first person to actually notice our weight loss and give us our first compliment.
A quitter is one that does not have the patience to cross over the finish line. The writer of Hebrews 12:1-2 said, "And let us run with patience the race that is set before us, Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith." Be patient as that weight dissolves itself from your body. God has heard your prayer, has seen your efforts and has sent a day of rejoicing for your deliverance on its way to you already. Dear dieters, I have no doubt at all that throughout your weight loss journey your patience will be tested and tried. Know that God is watching and desires to see the exotic fruit of patience develop in your life. We are told that we didn't put the weight on overnight, and it will not come off overnight. Knowing this, in the meantime, you can turn this process into a time of blessing. Receive a gift of God in stretching your faith and patience, and grab some of that confidence that comes from God to you. Patience will do that for you, and patience is what will see you through to the actual day that your vision of a normal weight will actually come to pass. I cannot even begin to describe the thrill that happens when you reach goal date, credit God and give Him all the glory, and realize that your patience and faith has grown as your body has shrank. Victory indeed, and what we call a spiritual blessing in disguise when we actually only sought a physical blessing.
We are going to conclude today's Manna with an activity for each day of the week until we meet next time. I will give you one quote for each day of the week on patience. When you take time each day to pray and praise, take time to read your positive quote, and before you know it, we will meet again, and perhaps you'll come to accept that patience is not as bad as some people make it out to be!
Monday: Be patient with yourself. Self-growth is tender; it's holy ground. There's no greater investment.
Tuesday: How many a man has thrown up his hands at a time when a little more effort, a little more patience, would have achieved success.
Wednesday: Adopt the pace of nature, her secret is patience.
Thursday: Patience and fortitude conquer all things.
Friday: The delay of our dreams does not mean that they have been denied.
Saturday: How poor are they that have not patience! What wound did ever heal but by degrees?
Sunday: Be patient with everyone, but above all with yourself.
Prayer: Father God, I confess that I am in need of patience so that I may finish the course that You have set before me. Help me with my diet to have the patience to withstand the days that I have my ups and downs. Grant me the same divine patience that You have had for me throughout the times when you did not give up on me. Help me to be all that You envision me to be and grant that I can wait patiently until that vision comes to pass. Amen ©2001-2007 www.gracetoday.com
Romans 5: 3 "And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation works patience; 4 And patience, experience; and experience, hope: 5 And hope makes not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us."
Hebrews 10 36 "You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised. 37 For in just a very little while, "He who is coming will come and will not delay. 38 But my righteous one will live by faith. And if he shrinks back, I will not be pleased with him." 39 But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who believe and are saved."
I decided to write about patience for dieters for the following reason. Just this week I took a health quiz that said professional clinical guidelines recommend that you lose no more than 10% of your body weight within a six month times period. That even surprised me. How many would be happy if that was the guideline that was given to them? How many would join a weight loss program with this type of results? I realized that it would take a healthy dose of patience to follow a plan where we did not see the instant results that we long for. And then I realized what a perfect opportunity for God to teach us about the patience that He desires us to have. At this recommended rate, a 180-pound person would lose about 18 pounds in six months, or 3/4 pound a week. A 250-pound individual would lose about 25 pounds, or about 1 pound a week. Losses much faster than this are difficult to maintain over the course of a year. After six months, most people will reach a plateau and will need to cut calories even more, or increase physical activity, in order to continue to lose. Each pound of fat is equivalent to 3,500 calories. If you cut back by 500 calories a day, that's 3,500 calories in a week (500 x 7 days) -- for a loss of one pound.
What does it take at this recommended rate to lose what you would need to be at a healthy weight again? It would take patience. I dieted for one full year exactly and lost 85 pounds which is good, but perhaps not as dramatic or as easy as ads would love you to believe. And certainly with the above suggestion far over the weight loss that is recommended by profession clinicians. The unexpected does happen when we diet, and that is hitting a plateau, more than one if you are dieting for an extended period. This is certainly a test of our patience when that occurs. So our food sermon today will be on the fine art of patience.
I am sure that we have many readers today that feel they are not losing fast enough, and to those I want to send an encouraging word your way. God may have a greater purpose for you. I have a poll on God's Grace For Dieter's that asks visitors to state how much weight they need to lose. How do you stack up with our statistics?
under 10#-4%
10-20#-10%
20-50#-30%
50-75#-17%
75-100#-15%
100-150#-15%
150-200#-4%
over 200#-1%
I will never look at these growing stats the same again. I pray for our dieters, but when I do now, I will see people that need prayer for the gift of patience. Clearly a large number of our dieters has a significant amount of weight to be lost. I ran a very special post each day on eDiets that I called Fat Busters, as well as our current one called The Bathroom Scale, with little traffic, on Grace Today. It was a highly supportive thread and we encouraged dieters to bring their weekly weigh in announcements to be applauded. No matter if the person gained, lost ,or drew even on the scale it was dedicated to encouragement and positive support. Many times people failed to recognize that any loss is certainly something to shout for joy over. Even when they stayed the same for the week, after all it wasn't a gain as the past was that placed them at a diet site. I set the example and the pace, or so I thought. And yet weekly we had posters who began like this: "I only lost 1/2 pound this week." "I am discouraged because I only lost a pound." "I did everything right this week and still only lost 2 pounds". And yes, on occasion we had people bemoan the fact that they only lost 3, 4 or 5 pounds the first week when they were expecting more. It seemed so strange to me to not have people recognize what a blessing no gain or any loss is. Why were there some who could not simply rejoice and thank the good Lord?
Lack of patience is the answer. Let's take a look at that word patience right now through an Oswald Chambers devotion. The Patience To Wait for the Vision "Though it tarries, wait for it . . . —Habakkuk 2:3 "Patience is not the same as indifference; patience conveys the idea of someone who is tremendously strong and able to withstand all assaults. Having the vision of God is the source of patience because it gives us God’s true and proper inspiration. Moses endured, not because of his devotion to his principles of what was right, nor because of his sense of duty to God, but because he had a vision of God. ". . . he endured as seeing Him who is invisible" ( Hebrews 11:27 ). A person who has the vision of God is not devoted to a cause or to any particular issue—he is devoted to God Himself. You always know when the vision is of God because of the inspiration that comes with it. Things come to you with greatness and add vitality to your life because everything is energized by God. He may give you a time spiritually, with no word from Himself at all, just as His Son experienced during His time of temptation in the wilderness. When God does that, simply endure, and the power to endure will be there because you see God. "Though it tarries, wait for it . . . ." The proof that we have the vision is that we are reaching out for more than we have already grasped. It is a bad thing to be satisfied spiritually. The psalmist said, "What shall I render to the Lord . . . ? I will take up the cup of salvation . . ." ( Psalm 116:12-13 ). We are apt to look for satisfaction within ourselves and say, "Now I’ve got it! Now I am completely sanctified. Now I can endure." Instantly we are on the road to ruin. Our reach must exceed our grasp. Paul said, "Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on . . ." ( Philippians 3:12 ). If we have only what we have experienced, we have nothing. But if we have the inspiration of the vision of God, we have more than we can experience."
Beware of the danger of spiritual relaxation." Many times I have heard Christians quote this misconception, "Never pray for patience because God will give it to you." How foolish that we would not want a gift that God desired to give to us. Not wanting that gift would be as Oswald Chamber coined it, "The danger of spiritual relaxation." Not striving toward a virtue that is desirable is going against the command to "Though it tarries, wait for it." We are told in our first Scripture verse today that tribulation works patience; And patience, experience; and experience, hope: And hope makes not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us. Look at the process that will be missed if we do not let patience have her perfect work in us. Having the Holy Spirit given to us and flooding our hearts is a wonderful reason why we want to go through the process of learning patience.
Each reader of Manna has come to Grace Today because they searched for Godly information on dieting, and I pray that I provide that. But would you be surprised if I told you that God may have allowed you to gain this extra weight as a way of catching your attention? Telling you gently that you may need some additional changes in your life? Perhaps saying, "Child, it is needful that I lead you on a path that will give you extraordinary patience that you have not yet acquired?" The Bible has much to say about patience, and so do the people that have acquired this gift.
For example, this short inspiration piece: Praying For Patience "A young man visited an aged Christian and asked him to pray that he might become more patient. He was shocked at what the old brother did. When the two knelt together, the aged saint began to pray: "Lord, send this young man a bunch of problems. Give him tribulation in the morning and send him tribulation in the afternoon." The young man nudged the elder, saying "No, I don’t want tribulation. I asked for patience." "But," said the aged Christian, "it is tribulation that works patience. If you would know patience, you must have tribulation." (Romans 5:3). "--Author Unknown
Time and time again Christian dieters that I have been in contact with have told me that, of course, losing the weight was a blessing, but surprisingly enough the development of a worthier spiritual life was the greatest achievement of all. And perhaps those that have said this, were amazed at the patience they received throughout their diets that spurred them on to victory. Did that make dieting any easier at the time for the Christian rather than the non-Christian. Of course not! It is hard work losing weight and yes, we all find our little tribulations that we go through while we are retraining our bodies to eat healthy once more. If we desire to reach our weight loss goal we must run the race with patience to get there. Patience today, patience tomorrow, and patience for however long it takes. Patience when the scale does not budge and patience with ourselves when we have had a poor choice day. Patience in our faith and prayer life as we await the result of the vision we have prayed for. Perhaps one of the biggest tests of patience for dieters is waiting and waiting for that first person to actually notice our weight loss and give us our first compliment.
A quitter is one that does not have the patience to cross over the finish line. The writer of Hebrews 12:1-2 said, "And let us run with patience the race that is set before us, Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith." Be patient as that weight dissolves itself from your body. God has heard your prayer, has seen your efforts and has sent a day of rejoicing for your deliverance on its way to you already. Dear dieters, I have no doubt at all that throughout your weight loss journey your patience will be tested and tried. Know that God is watching and desires to see the exotic fruit of patience develop in your life. We are told that we didn't put the weight on overnight, and it will not come off overnight. Knowing this, in the meantime, you can turn this process into a time of blessing. Receive a gift of God in stretching your faith and patience, and grab some of that confidence that comes from God to you. Patience will do that for you, and patience is what will see you through to the actual day that your vision of a normal weight will actually come to pass. I cannot even begin to describe the thrill that happens when you reach goal date, credit God and give Him all the glory, and realize that your patience and faith has grown as your body has shrank. Victory indeed, and what we call a spiritual blessing in disguise when we actually only sought a physical blessing.
We are going to conclude today's Manna with an activity for each day of the week until we meet next time. I will give you one quote for each day of the week on patience. When you take time each day to pray and praise, take time to read your positive quote, and before you know it, we will meet again, and perhaps you'll come to accept that patience is not as bad as some people make it out to be!
Monday: Be patient with yourself. Self-growth is tender; it's holy ground. There's no greater investment.
Tuesday: How many a man has thrown up his hands at a time when a little more effort, a little more patience, would have achieved success.
Wednesday: Adopt the pace of nature, her secret is patience.
Thursday: Patience and fortitude conquer all things.
Friday: The delay of our dreams does not mean that they have been denied.
Saturday: How poor are they that have not patience! What wound did ever heal but by degrees?
Sunday: Be patient with everyone, but above all with yourself.
Prayer: Father God, I confess that I am in need of patience so that I may finish the course that You have set before me. Help me with my diet to have the patience to withstand the days that I have my ups and downs. Grant me the same divine patience that You have had for me throughout the times when you did not give up on me. Help me to be all that You envision me to be and grant that I can wait patiently until that vision comes to pass. Amen ©2001-2007 www.gracetoday.com