But What About My Jeans?

Those who know me well, know that sometimes the things I let hinder me from doing what I need to do are just downright silly.  Take for instance this past week.  I was walking in obedience with my eating and when I took a sneak peak at my weight on Wednesday, knew I was going to show another loss (it ended up being a 4 pound loss for a total of 10 pounds lost to date).  Then the devil began to prod me with a thought.  You see, a couple months ago I ordered 6 pairs of jeans as rock bottom super clearance prices to wear this next winter.  They fit me perfectly.  I have not had perfectly fitting jeans in years.  As I stepped off the scale, I thought "but what about those jeans?  It would be a total waste if I never wore them."  It really bothered me to think about them never being worn.  After all, God tells us not to foolishly use what He provides for us and here I had spent hard earned money on them!  I mentioned my thoughts to my mom and she readily offered "who cares about the jeans!  It would be far better to lose the weight than to stay the same weight just so you could wear them!"  She was right.  I knew she was right but it still bothered me.  The thought was haunting me.  Yesterday the Lord began working on my heart concerning this matter.  In a discussion on a friend's FB page, I had commented with Micah 6:8 "He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?"  As I read what I had posted, it began to sink in.  The Lord was speaking to ME with this verse.  All He requires of me is to do justice, love kindness, and walk humbly with Him!  He doesn't require me to make sure the jeans I ordered actually get worn.  He requires me to be obedient and be the woman He wants me to be!  Then again this morning I was thinking about everything concerning this issue.  The Lord once again gave me a verse to encourage me along.  This time it was Isaiah 41:10 "fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand."  I began to realize that I am afraid.  I am afraid of letting it all go.  The clothes, the food, the things that I have tried to use in my life to bring comfort.  But mostly I think I have a fear of succeeding.  I heard once, long ago, someone say that fear meant Forever Expecting Awful Results.  You see, I have succeeded many times at losing a LOT of weight only to put it back on again.  I need to always filled with confidence.  Isaiah 41:10 is the confidence that God is upholding me...not just today, but for eternity. I am not going to let fear be the reason I lack confidence in what God can do through me.

What am I expecting today in my weight loss goals? Am I expecting the best results (faith) or am I expecting awful results (fear)? What I am expecting will determine the mindset that I am living in.  Only the mindset of faith will get me the best results!

As the children's song says:

"Faith is just believing what God says He will do!"
He will never fail us His promises are true.
If we but receive Him, His children we become,
Faith is just believing this wondrous thing is done!"

So, I am hoping to wish those jeans goodbye before I ever have to wear them. God can provide more clothes at rock bottom clearance prices. I just need to take one day at a time and leave it all to Him.

**white box taken from Kimberly Taylor, Certified Wellness coach.