Willpower

This morning as I drug myself out of bed at 5:30am, after only 5 hours of sleep, (blasted 2 hour showdown with a stealthy mosquito!) that internal battle began.  In one corner, "You didn't get enough sleep-go back to bed-you won't do well with your run today anyway with the lack of sleep." In the other corner, "You let your pillow win yesterday and then were disappointed in yourself for not getting up and going! So GO!" After a few moments of going back and forth in my head, I just stopped and said a prayer "Lord, please help me to make the right decision and give me the strength I need." Almost instantly I felt at peace and had the motivation to go. I grabbed my SPN energy drink and started getting ready to go. After I got back, I was sitting on the back porch cooling off and I started browsing through the devotional reading plans on my bible app and I came across one that looked interesting called "New Day, New You" by Joyce Meyer. I began reading Day 1 and what do you know, it was about WILLPOWER! Isn't it awesome how God will give us exactly what we need if we just seek Him out through His word?

When I started my weight loss program, I prayed often asking God to give me the strength and willpower I needed each day to be successful at losing weight. I believe that's the only way I was able to stick with it and have the success that I had. I had determination and willpower but it wasn't my own...it was fueled by God's power.

If you've not prayed and asked God to help you on your weight loss, wellness or fitness journey, I encourage you to start! God will give you the desires of your heart when they are in accordance to His will and I believe it IS His will for us to be healthy!

I want to share with you the devotional message from day 1 of New Day, New You by Joyce Meyer:

Willpower: The Fair-weather Friend 

Willpower sure sounds like a great thing. We are led to believe that we have enough of it to fight off every temptation that comes our way. And sometimes it works. But let me tell you a little secret about willpower. Willpower is your best friend when things go well, but it's the first friend to check out when you get weary. I have found that if I really don't want to do something, my mind gives me plenty of reasons why I don't have to. My emotions even join in, saying, "I agree because I don't feel like doing it anyway." 

Our soul (mind, will, emotions) would love to run our lives, but the Bible says we are to be led by God's Spirit. We are never instructed to be willpower-led, we are told to be Spirit-led. Willpower and discipline are important and vitally necessary to a successful life, but willpower alone won't be enough. Determination gets you started and keeps you going for awhile, but it is never enough to bring you across the finish line. Zechariah 4:6 (NKJV) says, "Not by might, nor by power, but by My Spirit, says the Lord of hosts." 

What happens if, instead of turning first to willpower in your time of need, you turn to God instead? God releases His power into your willpower and energizes it to bring you across the finish line. Willpower does not get the credit for our success, God does. Jesus said in John 15:5 (AMP), "Apart from Me [cut off from vital union with Me] you can do nothing." This is one of the most important and most difficult lessons we must learn if we want to enjoy the life Jesus died to give us. 

From the book New Day, New You by Joyce Meyer. Copyright 2007 by Joyce Meyer. Published by FaithWords. All rights reserved.