| PLAN AHEAD TO WIN |
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| JoyUs Musing Edition #09-28 |
Since I decided to work on losing weight, I've been in an ongoing battle with food and attitude. I also had to
determine what I was doing to undermine my weight loss. I learned that aside from getting the food out of the
house I don't need to eat, I also operated by instant gratification. When I'm hungry, I want to eat NOW.
If it isn't already fixed, I will gravitate toward what is fast and isn't good for me - such as a peanut butter and
jelly sandwich, with the requisite chips. I will not stop and fix something that is good for me. I go for what I
"feel" will taste good right now. Ever notice what feels good in food is never good for you???
God gave me a brilliant idea (which I'm sure He's give to others before me) - prepare my food in advance.
Plan ahead. That way, when I open the fridge, I will have good choices that are good for me - grilled chicken
breast, grilled salmon and other fish, broccoli that just needs reheating, pre-sliced red, yellow and orange
peppers, and salad. My goal is to take a weekend day and grill up what I need for a week and prepare the
vegetables and salads in advance. Then I can just reach in and grab something healthy.
It is the same way with the devil. If you've been a Christian very long, you know he is going to try and trip you
up. The Bible says he will in Ephesians and warns you to prepare for it. Since you've been warned that your
enemy is going to try to trick you, then it makes sense to plan ahead to be prepared for his tricks.
How do we plan ahead, be prepared? Through faith. The Bible says we are to live by faith and that faith is
given to us when we are saved. How do you get more faith? In His Word (the Bible). That's the way faith
comes - from hearing (reading, meditating in) the Word of God - then acting on what we've heard (doing it).
We don't always want to hear that - that in order to build our faith up, we have to read our Bibles. Yet faith is
like our bodies - if you don't feed your body healthy food, you will be weak, helpless and unhealthy. If you
don't feed your Spirit healthy food, you will be spiritually weak, spiritually helpless and spiritually unhealthy.
That's why the enemy works so hard to steal your time and makes you think it isn't important to read your
Bible every day. He wants to starve your faith out so he can destroy you.
Plan ahead. Make plans to read your Bible every day. Make plans to DO what you read there (apply it to
your life). Then when the enemy comes to steal from, kill and destroy you, you will have your strength built
up, in advance, and can defeat him every time, in God's power. You can't lose and he can't win!
Say it! I will read my Bible every day. I am victorious over all the tricks of the enemy.
Ephesians 6:10-11
Romans 1:17
Galatians 3:11
Hebrews 10:38
Romans 12:3
Romans 10:17 (NJB):
Luke 10:19