"You don't have to be great to start, but you have to start to be great." ~ Zig Ziglar
Except for a few stragglers the weigh in is over! The beginning weights have been logged down and now the game begins. One could feel the excitement in the air as everybody was getting ready to weigh in. A somewhat nervous expectation was present as each BTT contestant took their first step in this eighteen week journey of changing bad habits into good! The Chinese philosopher Lao Tzu said, “A journey of a thousand miles must begin with a single step.” Yesterday evening you, when you stepped up onto the scale, it was a two-fold step. It was the first step out of darkness and at the same time, a step toward toward the light. Last night's first step was a powerful step in your life because more powerful than the will to win is the courage to begin, and you will never 'win' or have a chance of winning if you never begin. W. Clement Stone said it this way, "So many fail because they don't get started - they don't go. They don't overcome inertia. They don't begin.” Therefore, do not count that first step lightly and do not let your mind lightly esteem the power of new beginnings. "Though no one can go back and make a brand new start, anyone can start now and make a brand new ending." ~ Carl Bard With yesterday's weigh in, you are starting a brand new ending. Yes, the road is long! Yes, there will be 'speed bumps' along the way, but the first step towards getting somewhere is to decide that you are not going to stay where you are. And you have decided or should I say, your first step has made a statement that says you refuse to stay where you are! Now THAT is powerful!
2 Corinthians 5:17 says, "Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new." You did not take that first step onto the scale for selfish reasons. You took that step toward the glory of God! If we are to be what God needs us to be, then we know we must bring our bodies back into obedience of the Word of the Lord. If the Word of God commands us to glorify the Lord in our body and in our spirit, then we know (and have known) we must once again dismantle those strongholds that have defiled the temple of God. Living a lethargic sedentary lifestyle does not glorify God. Being overweight to the point where it is difficult to walk up some stairs, let alone lift your hands and praise the Lord, is not conducive to being what God needs you to be. When our minds are filled with processed foods, artificial colors, and additives which pollute our abilities to think clearly, how can God receive the glory for this? Yesterday's first step was not just some meek statement, but it was a powerful sound that rung heaven's bells! That step sprang forth from a longing heart desperate for change, and looking for help to become a vessel of honor in the hands of the Lord. It was the rope of hope that has lassoed the strongholds of defeat, and now you are ready to pull down those imaginations that have kept you bound all these years!
Life is good, but life is going to get better! Why? Because Jesus Christ did not say you could have a good life, but Jesus said, "I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly." (John 10:10) Ayn Rand said, "Throughout the centuries there were men who took first steps down new roads armed with nothing but their own vision." Yet, you are not armed with your own vision but your vision has been hewned out by the Word of God. It is clear your first step was not taken alone, and it is also clear, the steps you continue to take through this eighteen week journey will be ordered of the Lord. It is His will for you to prosper and be in health, even as your soul prospers! It is God's will for you to pull down strongholds, wreak havoc on the carnal mind, and to grow in grace and not in weight. Now with the first step out of the way, and armed with the knowledge that heaven is on your side...it is time to run that you may obtain!
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