Four Things We Learn from Being Sick

I absolutely hate being sick. I hate feeling unproductive. I hate feeling weak, miserable, and generally "icky" (that's a highly technical medical term).

For whatever reason, God has chosen to leave difficult things like sickness in this world, even though He could easily end all sickness. So what might be His good purposes in allowing sickness to continue? I can think of four things I have learned from times of sickness.

1) When I am weak, He is strong. In my pride I may think I can do it all by myself. Sickness reminds me that my own strength has limits. This means I need to rely even more on God, who has no limits to His strength. The Apostle Paul explained this lesson in 2 Corinthians 12:7-10.

2) Rest is a good thing. Our tendency is to drive ourselves 24/7. I have a hard time going to bed at night because I still see so much that needs to be done. I'm not very good at consistently taking a Sabbath, either. But God designed us for rest, and commanded us to observe the Sabbath. God designed us for work and also for rest; we harm ourselves if we neglect either of these.

3) This world is not my home. When I am sick, I cease to be comfortable in this temporary body on this temporal earth. I begin to look past the temporal to the eternal: for me as a Christian, that means eternity in heaven, where there is no more sickness (see Revelation 21:4). Being sick jolts me out of my comfort zone and I begin to long for heaven, my real home.

4) Sin has widespread consequences. I'm not saying that I get sick because of my own sin, but in general terms, sickness is in this world because of sin and its global consequences. Sin is serious, and when we see this, it helps us be more determined to say "No" to sin. We are all touched by the worldwide effects of sin, including sickness, pain, and ultimately physical death. Again, this helps us long even more for heaven and the end of the power and presence of sin. We have a glorious future ahead of us when we have placed our faith in Jesus Christ, who conquered sin and death (see 1 Corinthians 15:53-57).

When I am sick, I try to focus on wonderful truths like these. I encourage you to do the same.

Happy New Day!

I don't get excited about New Year's Day. I don't make New Year's resolutions. That's because, with the Lord, every day is a "New Day." Every New Day offers a fresh start.

We read in Lamentations 3:22-23: "The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness."

We read in 1 John 1:9: "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."

Every day holds new opportunities to choose against sin and choose for God. Every day is a New Day.

* If I didn't spend enough time with my kids yesterday - today is a New Day!
* If I didn't love my wife very well yesterday - today is a New Day!
* If I blew my chance to share the gospel with someone yesterday - today is a New Day!
* If I trashed my diet and ate a bunch of junk yesterday - today is a New Day!

"One thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus" (Philippians 3:12-13).

Happy New Day!

The Secret to Getting Healthy

I was quite overweight for much of my adult life.

Around 1999-2001 I shed 80 pounds, but I didn't do it with the healthiest techniques (skipping meals isn't a good idea). A couple years later I had gained some of that back, and I continued over the years to slowly gain more.

Then in 2010 I started the process of losing 50 pounds to reach my healthiest-ever adult weight. Now as I write this I have kept to that healthy weight range for sixteen months.

People who have observed my recent weight loss have asked about my "secret." Simply put, I decreased my food intake and increased my exercise. Sorry...I couldn't find a good shortcut. I didn't use any medications or health supplements. I didn't use any popular diet or exercise plans.

But in order to finally succeed after spending 20 years of my adult life overweight, I did have to make a big change in my mindset. That, if anything, is my "secret." I decided to really learn how to "honor God with my body" (see 1 Corinthians 6:20). Along with that, I shifted my primary goal away from "losing weight," toward "getting healthy." I focused less on the number I desired to see on the scale, and more on the goal of doing whatever it might take to be healthy. This helped me think more globally about my eating (food choices as well as quantities), my exercise, and other choices that affected my body (drinking water, getting sleep, etc.).

I always knew I needed to follow both of the only tried-and-true methods: eat wisely and exercise regularly. I am not a doctor, but even I understood these two very simple concepts. I knew that if I chose wisely the things I ate, using God-given self-control, I would be healthier. And if I exercised regularly - even a simple walk or bike ride a few days a week - I would be healthier.

But this is so very hard! I am truly a glutton at heart. I spent 20 years of my adult life overweight and hating it.

Now I wish I had followed these basic principles - which I knew all along - from the beginning. I feel so much better now that I am living with a healthy diet and regular exercise. Even more, I feel the joy of obedience as I honor God with my body.

I have hesitated to write a post about this topic because I don't want to sound like I'm boasting, nor do I want to make any fellow weight-strugglers feel bad about themselves. I understand how hard it is for people to make these changes; it was hard for me, too.

Still, for the glory of God, I wanted to write these words to you to encourage you also to honor God with your body.

After I lost the weight and learned all of these life-lessons, someone else wrote a book that covered the same concepts, but much more eloquently and thoroughly than I could have written. I would highly recommend Every Body Matters, by Gary Thomas (author of Sacred Marriage, which I also highly recommend).

Since I reached my goal to "get healthy," I made a new goal to "stay healthy" for the rest of my life. I want to continue to honor God with my body. Will you do the same?

2010

2012