As a chronic sufferer of anxiety and depression, I am keenly aware of the delicate balance, or imbalance, that can arise within the human psyche. It’s not difficult to understand how each day we are swayed by our circumstances and our emotions to either fall flat into frump or rise up to rejoice. Often, it’s a daily battle happening within us when, with others like me, we are more likely to lose the overwhelming war. It comes down to whether we choose to let this battle, this war, umbrella our lives in sadness, chaos, and confusion, or we choose to delight in the day no matter what our circumstances might be. We are, after all, commanded to rejoice and be glad in it.
I, for one, am weary of repetitive fight where my real enemy is, truly, myself. Why should I spend my time being unhappy about my progress in life, when I could be enjoying how far I have come? Besides, I am not alone on this side of the trenches. I have a Warrior who stands with me, a Benefactor who emblazons the battlefront to motivate day-to-day maneuvers resulting in His own glory. The changes that occur within me only exemplify His power and magnificence all the more, just as it says in 2 Corinthians 3:18:
And so we are transfigured much like the Messiah, our lives gradually becoming brighter and more beautiful as God enters our lives and we become like him. (MSG)
The light in my face is mounting as He makes me more beautiful than yesterday. It’s His work, not mine. His battle, not mine. His glory, not mine. That makes the choice between War or Peace pretty simple and straight forward. Without any obstacles in my way, I can choose His Peace.
Today I saw my dietician who is helping me navigate the road of nutrition with more grace than I could do alone. She was happy with my progress over the last four weeks since I saw her last, but at first, I was not. I have this nagging voice inside that says, Do more, Be more, More, More, More. Yes, I think I could step up my game a notch. But no, it doesn’t have to be a full-frontal, emotion-based attack to be effective. While I can make choices that will encourage my goal, I can also rest in the promises of God, such as Philippians 1:6:
There has never been the slightest doubt in my mind that the God who started this great work in you would keep at it and bring it to a flourishing finish on the very day Christ Jesus appears. (MSG)
I’ve got every resource in God’s arsenal, including all of His angel armies, to accomplish the task at hand and come to a “flourishing finish”! Not just a gasping-for-breath kind of finish. No, no. A flourishing one! While I might have a short-term goal of reaching my ideal weight, God’s got a bigger picture in mind. He means to see me racing across the finish line full of life and breath and beaming with His glory from within!
I remember when I crossed the finish line of my first 10-mile race in 2014. It felt like one of the biggest accomplishments of my adult life—to press on through sweat and tears of training and then complete the race itself, to see my family standing there cheering me on till the end! What a feeling! It felt like anything was possible! So I know there’s a half and a full marathon in my future someday because that’s the kind of victory that happens when God’s promises are “YES!” and “AMEN!”
The Art of Choosing True Life 