Are You Waiting On A Miracle?

A lot of people ask me to pray for them and their struggle with their weight. While I know God cares about our health, I just wonder how much time we waste waiting on a miracle, when God is waiting on our obedience.

What do I mean? Well, God made us with free will. We have the choice to do right or wrong, to exercise or be lazy, to spend time with God or to ignore Him, to work on our marriage or hope it gets better on its own. We have the choice – to wait it out or to work it out. One of the things Steve and I realized when we faced marital issues was the realization that God won’t deliver us until we first surrender. The miracle require obedience first – THEN, He could take it from there. And He did!

“We have the choice. To wait it out – or to work it out.” 

Oftentimes, we beg God to help us with something, or take something away, that we refuse to let go of. I’ve got news for you. God probably isn’t going to yank it out of our hands. He’s not going to force His will on us. I doubt we will suddenly get Holy Ghost motivation to exercise and eat clean. He may allow us to get to a place that brings us to posture of readiness for change (more willing to listen, more willing to obey) BUT, he’s not going to do all the work. He’ll require surrender first. We have to learn to lay stuff down.

We hold on to so many things that we have no business holding on to. We hold on to a certain lifestyle, spending habits, food habits, laziness, crutches, etc. God works crazy miracles for those who are willing to lay that stuff down and trust God. He wants us to open our hands up and say “OK, God. I’m ready. You can have it”.  And, what I’ve learned is, He always replaces whatever I was holding on to so tightly, with something SO much better. It’s not always about taking something away, God wants you to trade up.

“Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and YOU WILL FIND REST FOR YOUR SOULS. “For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.” Matthew 11:29-30

Yoke: a wooden bar or frame by which two draft animals (as oxen) are joined at the heads or necks for working together (like plowing a field).

1. Lay it down.

When God says “take my yoke…it’s light, etc”, it implies you are already caring a load which is burdensome. It’s not that he’s wanting to put more on you. He wants you to take your yoke off and put His on – which means you’ll have to lay something down.

If you are unhappy with where you are, whether it’s your weight, job or a relationship, I encourage you, you have to get to a place where you are willing to surrender. Surrender time, surrender your favorite guilty pleasure, surrender effort, surrender fear and surrender your desires. It’s not going to be easy. It will require discipline and obedience, but there is nothing more miserable than the lack of peace that comes from procrastinating and not doing what you are supposed to do. Don’t choose to carry that burden.

2. Take it.

Notice God says “TAKE my yoke”. He doesn’t say “Let me give it to you”. It will require work to even begin doing things right. He’s not going to pull a Star Trek and pick you up where you are and plant you where you need to be. You’ll have to get yourself there first.

Like Joyce Meyer once said (I’m paraphrasing), “people don’t want to be transformed, they want to be translated. They don’t want to have to go through the transformation process – they just want to go from HERE to THERE – NOW.”

3. Expect work.

When He says “take MY yoke (which represents work)”, it’s a trade-off. We are already doing something that isn’t working, but He’s saying “do work MY way. It’s a lighter load”. Notice, it doesn’t say there is no work at all. The yoke is still there – work is still required. It’s just different – and it comes with great peace.

4. It’s light.

His yoke (work) is easy and light. On the contrary, our way can weigh us down and be such a heavy burden. What is burdening you right now? My worst (most burdensome) days are often the days I have my priorities out of order. I get weighed down with guilt and disappointment in myself because I KNOW I am not doing what I should be doing.

5. You will find rest.

There is so much peace in doing what is right. Whether you are eating right or living right – you will be able to rest better at night knowing you are doing what you should be doing during the day.

Don’t make the mistake of wasting another minute waiting on a miracle. Your life, job, marriage, finances, etc are not going to magically get better on their own. You are going to have to dig in and get to work (the right way) – and then trust God that He will step in when He’s needed the most to help you along the way.

No more excuses. No more blame game. No more waiting. It’s time to do some work!

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