By CHRIS FIELDS

 

Made a resolution? Rely on Jesus

 

 

     It’s the New Year — let the resolutions begin! It’s at this time of year we make resolutions to be better for the new year. We are Daniel fasting for 21 days for spiritual breakthroughs. We are resolving to be better in our finances, better in business, better on our jobs, better with our family, and the list goes on.

 

     The main resolve — and the most broken — is to exercise and eat better. Veggies and fruits are flying off the shelves. McDonald’s sells out of drive-thru salads (kidding, but not really). Gyms sell out of memberships. Everyone is rushing to the gym in an effort to melt away excess pounds and burn off that holiday fruitcake (gross) and eggnog (virgin, hopefully).

 

     We enter January with good intentions of losing weight, eating better and living a healthier life. But our intentions often fall short by February — some may make it to March — mostly because we lack the intrinsic motivation to be consistent year-round.

 

     This year I would like to submit to you the only intrinsic motivation we need: Jesus. Only He can give us the motivation to be consistent in living healthier lives. This requires a change in perspective first. As Christians, we must understand our bodies are temples and we are not our own (1 Corinthians 6:19-20). The souped-up dirt we are in is a loaner from our Creator (Genesis 2:7) and is infused with life from our Savior (John 1:1-4). So, we must do everything as unto Him, because we represent Him. Then, when we make resolutions, we are not just making them to and for us, we are making those resolutions to Him.

 

     So, this New Year I’m going to give some simple steps to help you be intrinsically motivated to live healthier lives all year.

 

STEP 1 (most important): Fully commit your life to Him.

     As Christians, we have said the sinner’s prayer to be cleansed and washed in the blood of the Lamb, but we still haven’t perfectly committed our lives to Him. If you are making resolutions and steps to live healthier for the new year, then you are not fully submitted in all areas. He requires a full commitment. His will is to prosper us and for us to be in GOOD HEALTH, and He’s provided us the tools to do so. Now it’s time to acknowledge and honor Him in what He’s already done for us.

 

STEP 2: Find something that works for you.

     We all make the mistake of listening to others and trying something that doesn’t work for us; this causes a decommitment to our resolve. It is a well-known fact that when we enjoy something, we are committed to it. I personally enjoy the soreness and pain of building and stretching muscle. I enjoy my heart racing during bouts of cardio. But a lot of people don’t. A lot of people don’t even like walking in the grocery store, much less walking on a treadmill. So, to

keep our commitment to Christ in taking care of His

temple, we must find some type of exercise we enjoy.

STEP 3: Don’t focus on weight loss.

Weight loss is a tricky thing. We will lose weight one

day and gain it back in full force two days later. Once

we’ve carried a certain weight for so long, our body gets

comfortable operating at that weight, and when a change

in our routine results in weight loss, our body adjusts.

According to science (man’s discovery of God’s

creation), it takes four months of consistent exercise before

an external physiological response takes place. Consistent

exercise is defined as 150 minutes a week for

maintenance/health benefits, and 300 minutes a week

combined with adequate energy (caloric) intake sufficient

for weight loss. So, losing weight is not as cut and dry as

most make it seem.

STEP 4: Consistency is key.

Keep with the routine and develop a discipline for it.

Understand we worship Him and honor Him by taking care

our body. After all, it’s His anyway.

 

Chris Fields is the founder and executive director of H.E.A.L.

Mississippi and a graduate in kinesiology with advance studies in

nutrition. He serves as a clinical exercise physiologist/CPT and is

credentialed in Exercise Is Medicine through American College of

Sports Medicine.