The ultimate secret!

This is what the kingdom of God is like. A man scatters seed on the ground. Night and day, whether he sleeps or gets up, the seed sprouts and grows, though he does not know how. - Mark 4:26-27

Watch out that you do not lose what you have worked for, but that you may be rewarded fully. - 2 John 1:8

This Monday, I went to the gym. That in itself is nothing truly exciting... I've been going an average of three times a week for several months now. But on this particular day, I began some new exercises which, throughout the days following, reminded me of the existence of some well insulated and long-forgotten muscles! Although the resulting twinges are unpleasant, they also produce a certain joy- reminding me that I do indeed have the necessary equipment I need to become lean and toned!

I've been thinking about the fact that beneath the unlikeable layers of- shall we say- adipose tissue, I have muscles which are secretly growing and becoming stronger and healthier! But as new fibres knit silently together in the unseen layers of my body, I must be careful that I do not counteract their progress by eating recklessly!

You see, there are two aspects to this 'secret' principle. The first is that when I exercise regularly, although I can't see it for some time, my muscles are growing, and my health is improving! But the second aspect, the flip side, is that all the secret snacks and indulgences I consume are undoing the good work I've achieved during my exercise time!

The first passage, Mark 4:26-27, mentions that man scatters his seed upon the ground, and then it inevitably grows a crop. What I want to know, and what I'm asking myself is... "What seed am I sowing?" If I sow chocolate bars, chips and double-sized meals, guess what I'll be reaping?- Double-sized me!!! But if I sow diligent exercise, with moderate food intake, I will reap the good health and pleasantly shaped body I desire to have!

But what about the predicament I'm in at the moment... I'm exercising virtuously, and my muscles are doing their secret growing thing. (good muscles!) But a war is being waged within me, as I continue to succumb to food temptation frequently; secretly undermining my own efforts! (Excuse me while I ramble off in a despondent Romans 7 tone... "Oh wretched man that I am; what I should do, I don't do; and what I don't wish to do, that I do...etc., etc.")

In Romans 7, Paul talks about the inward battle that he is experiencing as he tries to do what he know is right. Man, I know what he's on about!! But since he's been through the same struggle before me, and because the Bible is God's great instruction manual, I thought I'd go there to see what answers Paul found for his situation. Just after Paul's cries of despair, I found Romans 8:5-6:
'For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. For the mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace.'
Herein lies our ULTIMATE secret! I will continue to have these mental and emotional battles until the day I die, and NEVER see the good fruits of my hard work if I continue to listen to the mind of my flesh. This mind INSISTS and PERSISTS, saying "Go on, have one... you're not getting anywhere anyway... you won't succeed in reaching your weight loss goals!"
I have to choose to IGNORE that voice, that mind; and focus on the Spirit, God's gentle voice that whispers to me "Resist the temptation, Juliet... in due time you will reap a harvest if you don't give up!" Ladies, I know I'm not the only one out there who struggles with this issue! Let's press on together this week, listening to God's voice, and remind ourselves of the good results that are being produced secretly in our bodies as we continue to do what we know is right.

Blessings,