I found myself not only laughing because i enjoy the unexpected (especially from a kid) but because I found her answer would actually probably be my own.
At least it was this morning.
More than usual stubborn muscles, stiff and aching without remorse and exhaustion from not sleeping well caused me to commit repeated assault against the snooze button on my phone.Now usually the course of action I take when I don't feel like getting up is to count to 10 in my head & tell myself I'll get up after that. I realize it's not the most elaborate method of motivation but it does prove effective....most of the time....well except this morning.
10 seconds turned into 20 and 20 became 30 after about 40 I realized the approach was proving futile at best. My mind, momentarily uncontrolled due to exhaustion taunted me with the idea of doing my workout. Usually I enjoy doing my yoga and light workout once I can get started. But this morning the very thought haunted me, causing me to sink further into the mattress, if that was even possible.
While it may not take a lot of strength to do yoga, it does take discipline.And discipline was the furthest word from my vocabulary this morning. I knew after my workout it'd be time for the breakfast I've been having since I started this new diet. A smoothie. Doesn't sound too bad right? And it isn't. I've actually gotten used to it& believe it or not, looked forward it. But let's face it, when you don't feel good you want something substantial, comforting. I don't know many people who say "man I've had a rough day, I'd sure like to go home and curl up on the couch with a bowl of carrots."
No this morning I was thinking pancakes, a donut, or at least a muffin! And some coffee. Mmm coffee. I could literally smell the intoxicating aroma so much so that I wondered if Jeremy had skipped work & was chilling in the living room sipping on a cup of Joe. Crazy how the mind can play tricks on us. Even cruel, coffee smelling tricks.
In the moment as my body lay motionless in the bed I'm not going to pretend that the thought of giving up the working out and the diet all together didn't cross my mind. I was in pain & fatigued anyway. So I laid there & did the only thing I felt like I had the energy to do. I prayed.
I prayed for strength hoping that God would equip me with hulk-like muscles & maybe a firm, yet gentle heavenly push to get me out of that bed. And then I realized it wasn't the lack of physical strength that was keeping me there. It was my state of mind. Sure my body hurt and I was physically exhausted but what was keeping me in that bed was my mind telling me it wasn't worth it to do otherwise.Nothing was going to change with my health. Why believe this diet or working out would benefit my health when I wasn't see results. Just go back to sleep & when I was ready to get up minutes (okay maybe hours) later I could go have some breakfast that actually sounded good. Donuts sure did sound a lot better than blueberries. But in the moment I knew what I needed to do & that was Berry my mindset.
You see, I think often times we miss out on God's best because we give up too soon.We constitute the situation as hopeless all the while not realizing how close we are to our victory. Just another few days of believing, another few weeks of doing the right thing, or another few months of staying in faith is all you may need to see His promises come to pass. The truth is we can hold on & fight longer because God is closer than we think.
I've learned that the intensity gets turned up when victory is near, when something good is about to happen.How else could we see God's glory shown or appreciate it the way we should. The enemy would not be fighting so hard if he didn’t already know he was about to lose.Instead of thinking negatively we need to start believing as victors not victims because through Christ that's just what we are!
The Bible is full of people who were closer than they thought...
- David faced impossible odds against Goliath, but he was moments away from victory (1 Samuel 17).
- Elijah was surrounded by 400 false prophets, but the power of God was about to be revealed for everyone to see (1 Kings 18).
- Joseph was forgotten and left in prison, but he was just a dream away from his royal position (Genesis 39–40).
Can you imagine if David dropped his slingshot and ran? What if Elijah had backed down? What if Joseph had stopped dreaming? But they didn’t give up, and God gave them victory!To me these stories reveal that the storm is roughest before the calm.
Maybe you're like me & at times feel like you are facing impossible odds. Maybe you feel overwhelmed by trials or even forgotten. The good news is that our God doesn't need us to have it all figured out before He can act suddenly in our situation. We don't have to earn His mercy, just believe in it. In a moment’s notice, everything can change for the better! So let's Berry the mindset, stop waking up already saying "it's going to be a bad day." It's not always easy, it can be a day by day struggle but we can do it because God can do it. Instead of basing my faith on what I see going on around me I'm anchoring it in a God who is more than capable to not only handle it but to solve it!
Just because something starts off bad doesn't mean it can't end Good:)
"But as for you, be strong and do not give up, for your work will be rewarded."2 Chronicles 15:7
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