It’s been nearly two years since I had a heart-to-heart talk with my doctor. Things were starting to get out of control. It’s not that I was in any immediate danger, but I was going in the wrong direction and picking up speed. At the end of 2013, I was forty-pounds overweight and most of my numbers were well into the red zone (it’s a little unnerving when you see a skull and crossbones on your medical report!).
I will never forget my doctor looking me in the eye and saying with conviction, “Only you can change it!” It’s amazing how five words can change your life.
I decided then and there to take control of the situation. Along with a modified diet, I began a regular fitness program of running, weight-lifting, swimming, and biking. As the months passed by, the potential health issues disappeared with the unwanted pounds. My energy and overall wellbeing increased. Today my doctor is happy, I am healthier, and life is good.
So why did it take me that long (I was 52 at the time) to start eating right and working out? There are many possible answers which I hate to admit: laziness, procrastination, busy-ness, or a general lack of concern, to name a few. But somehow the doctor’s words got my attention. He convinced me change was needed, and it was up to me to make it happen.
My issue was deteriorating health due to poor lifestyle choices. What is your issue? Do a quick assessment of your life. Are there any weak areas? Are there any broken places? Maybe you need to get off the couch and hit the treadmill. Just a thought! Maybe instead of coming home at the end of the day and turning on the television you could take a walk with your family. And how about those credit cards? Enough said!
Consider your spiritual wellbeing. Is there any malfunction there? A broken devotional life isn’t going to fix itself. Christian disciplines that have fallen on hard times are not going to miraculously correct themselves. As my doctor told me, “Only you can change it!”
Paul challenged the believers in Rome, “Be transformed by the renewing of your mind” (Romans 12:2). It all starts with a changed mind. A made-up mind is a powerful thing! As Paul told the Romans, a renewed mind leads to transformation. While we cannot transform ourselves, we can decide to do the things that will bring about transformation.
In 1988, the Nike shoe company coined the slogan, “Just Do It!” That sums up what my doctor told me, and that’s the message I want to pass on to you. Don’t waste another minute sitting around singing, “Somewhere over the rainbow…” waiting for God to do in your life what He expects you to do. Transformation is possible now! Discern the will of God and know the mind of God as revealed in the Bible. Then make up your mind and just do it.
Pastor Todd Weston
I will never forget my doctor looking me in the eye and saying with conviction, “Only you can change it!” It’s amazing how five words can change your life.
I decided then and there to take control of the situation. Along with a modified diet, I began a regular fitness program of running, weight-lifting, swimming, and biking. As the months passed by, the potential health issues disappeared with the unwanted pounds. My energy and overall wellbeing increased. Today my doctor is happy, I am healthier, and life is good.
So why did it take me that long (I was 52 at the time) to start eating right and working out? There are many possible answers which I hate to admit: laziness, procrastination, busy-ness, or a general lack of concern, to name a few. But somehow the doctor’s words got my attention. He convinced me change was needed, and it was up to me to make it happen.
My issue was deteriorating health due to poor lifestyle choices. What is your issue? Do a quick assessment of your life. Are there any weak areas? Are there any broken places? Maybe you need to get off the couch and hit the treadmill. Just a thought! Maybe instead of coming home at the end of the day and turning on the television you could take a walk with your family. And how about those credit cards? Enough said!
Consider your spiritual wellbeing. Is there any malfunction there? A broken devotional life isn’t going to fix itself. Christian disciplines that have fallen on hard times are not going to miraculously correct themselves. As my doctor told me, “Only you can change it!”
Paul challenged the believers in Rome, “Be transformed by the renewing of your mind” (Romans 12:2). It all starts with a changed mind. A made-up mind is a powerful thing! As Paul told the Romans, a renewed mind leads to transformation. While we cannot transform ourselves, we can decide to do the things that will bring about transformation.
In 1988, the Nike shoe company coined the slogan, “Just Do It!” That sums up what my doctor told me, and that’s the message I want to pass on to you. Don’t waste another minute sitting around singing, “Somewhere over the rainbow…” waiting for God to do in your life what He expects you to do. Transformation is possible now! Discern the will of God and know the mind of God as revealed in the Bible. Then make up your mind and just do it.
Pastor Todd Weston
