SAMANTHA ELLEY expresses her gratefulness for God patience and mercy…
Northern Rivers, New South Wales, Australia
Personal trainers may be forgiving but it’s Jesus who is the “ultimate trainer”, say Samantha Elley. PICTURE: lawrence wilcox/Unsplash
“The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.” – II Peter 3:9
I think I may have mentioned before that I am involved in a fitness program where we do monthly challenges. I get a coaching email each day which tells me what to eat and what workouts to do. There is also an encouraging word from my online trainer.
“Yes, we will stumble and sin in all ways at different times, but there is always a new day ahead. And Jesus is championing us to reach our goal of being more like Him, little-by-little.”
With this program I have lost 14 kilograms and have a few more to go. I am also much fitter and more agile than I was a couple of years ago. The thing is though, sometimes it is hard to stick to the routine of what the diet requires and I have been plateauing for a while now.
I look at the list of foods for the day as the ultimate target, but there’s nothing like a sneaky pizza and red wine to ruin that. Or chocolate. Or cheesecake…you get the idea. Don’t get me wrong, some of the food I really enjoy and have changed my diet around amazingly. I much prefer to have whole foods over processed foods with most meals, but sometimes fat and sugar call me.
One email I received from my trainer, obviously very aware that her clients would falter, was very encouraging. Effectively, she said: “Don’t worry if you have eaten badly today. There is always tomorrow to start again, because you are made strong not by your successes but how many times you come back from your failures.”
How much more does God show us mercy when we falter? He knows we can’t keep to the laws or strict diet perfectly. That’s why, through Jesus, the ultimate trainer, we have this gift of mercy, to keep striving to be more like the example He is.
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Yes, we will stumble and sin in all ways at different times, but there is always a new day ahead. And Jesus is championing us to reach our goal of being more like Him, little-by-little. And we will enjoy living a life with him, and the sin that keeps tripping us up will lose its grip and lustre.
Now, here’s to cheesecake losing that lustre.
