Life is finally getting into a rhythm here at the Hughes household. I knew that it was time to get back on track and continue my journey of weight loss. I have about 30 more pounds to go and I want to see this thing to completion. I knew that there were two major things that I needed to do. I needed to get my diet back on track and to refocus myself in my walk with God. I knew that I couldn't finish this thing with out God and his strength.
So, I began to pray and ask God to give me the strength to make it through each day and make the wise choices that I needed to make in order to succeed. To be honest, every time I prayed that prayer, something felt off. It was as if, I felt in my heart that I wasn't praying for the right thing.
Then, God gave me this verse and opened my eyes so that I saw it in a way that I had never before. (Don't you just love it when God does that! Takes a verse you have seen a hundred times and teaches you something new.)
I love you, O Lord, my strength. The Lord is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge. He is my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold. Psalm 18:1-2
This is what I noticed: the Lord is my strength. It made me pause and take notice of that one phrase. All this time, I have been praying that the Lord would GIVE ME strength. What if instead, I prayed that the Lord would BE my strength. That strength would go from a futile, human attempt to a perfect God success.
That little shift in understanding has made all the difference these last few days. In praying for the Lord to be my strength, I have taken the pressure off what I can do. I am allowing God to do it for me. He will sustain me and guide me. I don't have to try and do it myself. In the Lord, I have all the strength I need in order to finish this process. In makes this anxious heart rest easier knowing that I can humbly ask and God will be my strength. Day by day and minute by minute. The choices of what to eat and whether to exercise become easier.
So here we go. Let's finish what I started so that God can get the glory of taking me all the way to the finish line.
