“Little by little I will drive them out before you, until you have increased enough to take possession of the land.”
Exodus 23:30 (NIV)
How are you doing on your New Year’s resolution to lose weight? Many people decide to go on a diet for the New Year. Then by February discouragement sets in. Ugh! What happened to all my good intentions?
I’ve been there many times! Even though you might lose weight on a diet, you gain it back after returning to previous habits.
In our key verse, God said, through Moses, “Little by little I will drive them out before you, until you have increased enough to take possession of the land” Exodus 23:30 (NIV).
After God freed the Israelites from slavery, He gave Moses these words to speak to the Israelites at Mt. Sinai, which included the Ten Commandments and instructions for building the tabernacle.
God’s chosen people just witnessed several amazing miracles; escape through the Red Sea, manna and quail from the sky for food, and water from a rock to quench their thirst.
However, the former slaves had a lot of lessons to learn, so God promised to drive out their enemies gradually.
In fact, after forty years of wandering in the wilderness, it took seven years under Joshua’s leadership to conquer the inhabitants and take possession of the Promised Land.
Wellness is a journey, little by little. We are not wandering in the wilderness for forty years, but we do have lessons to learn, just like the Israelites.
Let’s discover some truths to learn to energize your wellness journey.
Direction
On January 2, we go all out—I am going to lose weight this year! After a few weeks of food deprivation and strenuous workouts, we are exhausted and ready to give up.
Instead of trying to change everything at once, start small. Focus on one or two habits. Once those are part of your daily routine, move on to the next. Remember, it takes 66 days on average to create a new habit.
Discernment
Energize your wellness journey by learning from your mistakes. In the past, if I cheated on my eating plan or missed a few workouts, my perfectionist tendencies caused me to give up. Does that sound familiar?
However, sometimes on the journey to wellness, we take one step forward and three steps backwards, and feel like a failure.
But, ask yourself, what can I change to be successful? And then get right back on track.
Dependence
When the Israelites were slaves in Egypt, they depended on their masters for everything. God wanted them to depend only on Him, as His chosen people.
Similarly, we depend on our own strength to change unhealthy habits and start new, healthy ones. However, when we accept Jesus as our Savior, we receive the gift of the Holy Spirit, who guides us to produce fruit of the spirit, including self-control.
Energize your wellness journey by depending on the spirit of God living inside of you instead of your own willpower.
Final words
When the freed Israelites left Egypt, God guided them on the journey with a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night (Exodus 13:21-22). Now the Holy Spirit guides us on the path of the journey to wellness.
Remember, the journey to wellness requires deliberate effort and daily choices. Benefits of a healthy mind and body, fewer chronic diseases, and more healthy years of life are worth it. In contrast to short-term weight loss, the journey to wellness lasts a lifetime.
Would you join me on the journey to wellness? Click below to download my gift to you, the Roadmap to Wellness. This monthly calendar helps you start small and develop healthy habits over time.
Rearrange the items to suit your individual needs, or skip an item if you have already mastered it. See the Suggested Reading at the end of the document for more information on each step.
