Tuesday March 7th, 2023
Jeremiah 12:4-5
“If you have raced with men on foot and they have worn you out, how can you compete with horses? If you stumble in safe country, how will you manage in the thickets by[b] the Jordan?
Hebrews 12:1
Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us,
Running your race will require more than reading your Bible. How many of us can say that we feel great every day? No, judgment zone #safeplace it’s a question that needs to be asked from time to time. I know I don’t. But then my next question would be why? Is it because we are tired, not feeling well, or just the natural pains and aches that come from the wear and tear of life?
In a past post called Health is Wealth I spoke about how God had been challenging me to take care of myself because grief has effects that are not seen by the naked eye. But thank God that I serve the God that sees.
Genesis 16:13
And he shall dwell in the presence of all his brethren.”13 Then she called the name of the Lord who spoke to her, You-Are-the-God-Who-Sees; for she said, “Have I also here seen Him who sees me?”
I started working out maybe about 8 months before the passing of Joshua, but it was when he died the Lord spoke to me and advised me that I need to take my health more seriously. As I mentioned before that grief can take a toll on the human body. The human heart among other things is a muscle that we never really think of. We know that it beats but never really stop to think about how it works and keep it healthy so that it can function the way that God intended it to. The heart just like other muscles needs to be strengthened as time goes by, not only to live a long life but to do the work that God has called us to do. God does not want to see any of his children in a hospital bed due to Diabetes, High Blood pressure, and even Heart failure.
This week I am just going to share a few tips on how to get but also maintain a healthy lifestyle with the benefits that I have found to help me during this most difficult time of my life. Working out has not only helped physically, and mentally but also emotionally. There have been days that I feel down, tired, and even like I am carrying a 60-pound weight on each shoulder and through the strength of God I get up and do something active. And once done there is a release, a sense of ease. But this is not solely based on the workout but based on the word of God that he came that I would have life and life more abundantly. The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life and that they may have it more abundantly John 10:10.
Early last year God gave me specific instructions about the changes he wanted me to start incorporating. This was tailored to me, so please pray, and ask God to give you the wisdom needed to live a healthy lifestyle. One of the first things God said to me was that he wanted me to start eating more Fish, Veggies, and Fruits. Was it hard? Yes because I am a foodie but I would say that the frustrating part was the meal preparation part and just not being able to grab what I felt I needed and shove it down my throat. I used to just fry what I want but with fresh fish and veggies, it was a lot of washing oven waiting that took place; but when I was making something that I normally would make using oil I used my Air fryer. I started to see changes instantly in my skin and even my weight and remember one day God said to me He said “For your organs to function the way that I designed them the body needs to be at a certain weight.
When the Heart, lungs, and stomach are stressed due to overeating they do not get to work the way they should. And this is not what God wants for his people, he desires that we will live to the end full of strength. If I can draw your attention to the appearance of Moses at his time of passing.
Deuteronomy 34:7
Moses was one hundred and twenty years old when he died. His eyes were not dim nor his natural vigor diminished.
Wow …. what a description “His eyes were not dim and his nor his natural vigor diminished. The heart is the organ that pumps blood to the rest of the body and when weighed down through reading I have discovered that it can cause serious issues such as High Blood Pressure, Mental health disorders and can even affect the function of your lungs. If you would like to read more about this just head over to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website and type in other diseases caused by heart disease.
HEALTH IS WEALTH
So, I started making small but consistent changes like workout 2-3 times a week, rain, snow, or shine, feeling up or feeling down. I would go to the gym and start with a run or light jog for at least 15 minutes and what this does is warm up the body plus joints to do the rest of my workout. But it also gets the heart pumping and pushing the blood to the rest of the body which is needed when lighting weight to build muscle. Once done I head over to the weights section and grab weights anywhere from 8- 25 pounds and do some jumping jacks mixed with lunges. My goal is to keep my Heart rate elevated while strengthening the rest of my body.
I have never gone to do outreach work but one day hope that the Lord will open a door. And when we ask God to do something there is no guarantee that it will be in the comfort of a city that has access to transportation as we do in my city. So, I am doing the work now just in case I need to get out of a vehicle and hike to carry supplies at the same time. What God has been teaching me over the Last year is that we shouldn’t count ourselves out based on our current circumstances he is the one that makes a way.
Isaiah 43:17-19
I called forth the mighty army of Egypt with all its chariots and horses. I drew them beneath the waves, and they drowned, their lives snuffed out like a smoldering candlewick.18 “But forget all that—it is nothing compared to what I am going to do.19 For I am about to do something new. See, I have already begun! Do you not see it? I will make a pathway through the wilderness. I will create rivers in the dry wasteland.
I feel like when dealing with grief it takes strength to be able to carry on and move forward. God doesn’t want us to stay in a place that only births more hurt and plan. Jeremiah 29:11 For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope (NLT). To have a future we have to keep moving and take care of ourselves because we only get one life and one body, but if for some chance we do get sick? Yes, I believe that God is a healer. But I also believe that a lot of what people suffer from can be prevented if we would just take better care of the internal and not be so fixated on our outer appearance. Just like God, I too truly desire to see all come out of whatever it is that you may be experiencing strong in Mind, Body, and Spirit but we all have to start somewhere and I say the first step is to pray and that is because in Pray is where we hear the Father’s Heart concerning his children.
Will you start? if so come let us pray
Isaiah 53:1-5
Who has believed our message? To whom has the Lord revealed his powerful arm?2 My servant grew up in the Lord’s presence like a tender green shoot, like a root in dry ground. There was nothing beautiful or majestic about his appearance, nothing to attract us to him.3 He was despised and rejected— a man of sorrows, acquainted with deepest grief. We turned our backs on him and looked the other way. He was despised, and we did not care.4 Yet it was our weaknesses he carried; it was our sorrows[a] that weighed him down. And we thought his troubles were a punishment from God, a punishment for his own sins!5 But he was pierced for our rebellion, crushed for our sins. He was beaten so we could be whole. He was whipped so we could be healed.
Lord your word says “Who has believed our message? We believe, I believe your report even when it was hard to start but we thank you for your power supplied by the Holy Spirit. Help us understand that even in our season of hardship life and living abundantly is still an option. In Luke 9:23 we hear Jesus make a statement about following him. He says, “Then he said to the crowd, “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross daily, and follow me. But to pick up that cross we need spiritual and mental but also physical strength. Lord give us the strength to make the necessary changes now so that we can keep choosing the abundant life that your son King Jesus came and died for I seal this prayer in the Matchless Name of Jesus Christ.
It is from the Heart of God that I release this wisdom. I want you to know that He loves us so much and knows what can happen to us if we do not take care of our physical bodies. Please if there is one takeaway from this post it would be that we start to think and see and treat our bodies the way, God does.
The songs of the week are Breathe sung by Maverick City Music and Do it Again by Elevation Worship feat Travis Greene
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