You Don't Need Motivation - You Need SURRENDER

 Galatians 2:20; “I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me.” 

4 Steps For Today:

STEP 1: SURRENDER YOUR BODY DAILY

STEP 2: STOP WAITING TO FEEL READY

STEP 3: LET GOD CHANGE YOUR DESIRES

STEP 4: OBEY FIRST—FEELINGS FOLLOW

Most Holy Lord, I surrender my body, my habits, and my desires to You. Forgive me for waiting on motivation instead of choosing obedience. Help me walk in surrender daily, even when it’s hard. Change my desires and strengthen my spirit Father, I don’t want to do what feels right or what’s easy, I want to walk in step with Your Spirit in the lead. In Jesus’ name, Amen. 

Action Step: Pray a prayer of surrender and take one step towards where He’s leading, just one step of obedience. Pray for strength and let God lead.

Are you sick of trying diet after diet and NOT losing weight?

Hey there friend, I'm Lindy Schlabach, Christian Fitness & Nutrition Coach. I gained 100 pounds in my late twenties and struggled for years to get it off. Seven years ago, I found a basic system that worked and has helped me lose 90 of those pounds. I’ve been working with women in online fitness and nutrition ever since to break chains of diet culture, embrace their bodies and fueling instead of dieting. 

 In this podcast, I'll teach you how to:

• • Lose Weight in a Way that honors God without obsessing about the scale
  • Meal Plan and Prep for Your Family
  • Follow a MACRO based plan that allows you to eat the foods you love.
  • Recognize and pray through triggers keeping you stuck.
  • I’ll help you Plan your week and schedule your self-care time.
  • Cultivate a spirit of self-discipline in your workouts you actually enjoy.
   
  It's time to give God your health journey and watch Him make you new, from the inside, OUT.

Join The Biblical Weight Loss Framework: https://www.herweightlossmindset.com/framework

Join my FREE Community: https://bit.ly/JoinTheChristianWeightLossCommunity

Join my Insiders List with weekly tips for weight loss for Christian women: http://herweightlossmindset.com/herweightlossmindsetinsiders

Transcript

Good morning, sis. Okay, so if you've been waiting to feel motivated, waiting to feel ready, waiting for the right time to finally change, this episode is for you because motivation is not the answer. I know you've heard me say this before.

This is about surrender. Listen, I know it takes me 457 times to hear something before it finally starts to sink in. So we're repeating this thought today.

Motivation is not the answer. Surrender, surrender, surrender. God does not need your strive.

He just needs you to let go. Hey friend, welcome to the podcast where we talk about weight loss a little differently. Not just calories and workouts, but the heart, the habits and the beliefs behind it all.

Because this isn't about just losing weight. It's about becoming the woman God is calling you to be.

So if you're tired of starting over, stuck in cycles with food and ready to invite God into this journey for real change, once and for all, you're in the right place. So let's get into today's episode.

If you apply trying diet after diet and are ready to finally lose weight in a way that not only honors God, but is sustainable, is long lasting, join the biblical weight loss framework and take a Holy Spirit led approach to weight loss God's way.

This is not a diet plan. This is learning to connect with the Holy Spirit in a way that is going to change you from the inside out.

Because if we do not heal what's inside, the broken parts, the trauma, the past mistakes, we are never going to truly be able to walk in the freedom that God provides for us. This is about weight loss, but it's not about weight loss.

This is about learning to let God lead every step of the way. So if you're ready to finally take a step towards lasting change, go to herweightlossmindset.com/framework. You can find the link in the show notes at herweightlossmindset.com/framework.

So today's good word comes from Galatians chapter 2, verse 20. I love the books that Paul wrote. He just has such an intense way of speaking to us.

His teaching methods are so different. Sometimes, usually I have to read his books over and over. So I'll go through Galatians 1 and I'll read chapter 1.

I'll read it twice. I have really started to learn to love to read that way because the first time I know, I just gloss over it, especially if it's phrasing that I don't necessarily understand.

When we read the context of the Bible today and the translations that we read, whatever you choose to read, it can be so different than the original Greek or Hebrew or Aramaic or whatever language it was written in.

And so learning to just really discern and be in prayer over what the verse needs to speak to you, what God needs to speak through it to you, really comes through continual prayer and study.

So I know there's the read the Bible in a year, and that's fine. It's great if you want to read the Bible through and through, but don't put a time frame on it.

Like if you want to do that, that's fine, but then go back and read it with intentionality. I remember the first time I read through the entire Bible, it took me almost two years.

And it probably could have taken me 10 if I would have actually spent like real time in it. And one to three verses a day, it doesn't have to be intense. It doesn't have to be a lot.

Less is not more when it comes to studying the Bible. You want to be very intentional about it. And so when we think about Galatians 2.20, Paul's writing this letter to the church in Galatia.

And the verse says, I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And I think I shared this story about a month ago on a previous episode, but I have fallen in love with Pastor Chuck Swindoll.

And if you've never listened to Pastor Chuck, you really need to find him. He has an Insight for Living app. It's free.

You can download on your phone. And I love the way that he teaches. And he said, I think it was Martin Luther, when Martin Luther was saved and somebody came to his door and knocked one day.

And they're like, does Martin Luther live here? And he's like, no, he died. And like, you think how crazy that sounds if somebody were to knock on your door and ask, you know, hey, is Lindy here?

And I'm like, no, she died. But Christ is here, like living through her. You know, people would probably come to me to the nuthouse.

But that is the mindset that we need to walk in and operate in. And we don't, like we just don't live that way. But when we have been crucified with Christ, it is no longer us who lives, but he who lives in us.

And when God sees us, he sees Christ in us. He doesn't see our failings. He doesn't see our shortcomings.

He sees who we are in him. And it's when we start to learn to look at ourselves that way, we realize that it isn't motivation that's going to get us to our goal. It is only surrendering.

Because when we surrender and the voice of God becomes the constant in our head instead of the lies and the mistruths of our past or hurtful things or relationships or the enemy or wherever the lies are coming from, when we stay in the word and

connected to Christ through prayer, through study and time in the Bible, we can remember that in every choice, every decision, it is no longer I who lives but Christ who lives in me. connected to Christ through prayer, through study and time in the

Bible, we can remember that in every choice, every decision, it is no longer I who lives but Christ who lives in me. And if we really think about motivation and what it is, I know you've heard me say like I don't believe it and I don't, but I do know

the thought process behind it. It just applies to other area of our lives better than it does to weight loss because motivation comes with the motion. It stems from the shoulda, coulda, woulda. It stems from our goals.

It stems from wanting to look good for a vacation or a wedding or taking control of your health after a medical diagnosis. But motivation is fleeting. That's why it doesn't stick.

It comes and goes. That's why you can feel so ready one day and completely over it the next day.

But surrender, surrender is the decision to give it to God moment by moment over and over, to not focus on your end goal, to not focus on your 50-pound weight loss, but to focus on one day at a time. Worry not for tomorrow.

Today has enough worries of its own. Surrender is a decision. It's not based on how we feel.

It's based on who we belong to and the realization that motivation hasn't kept you going up to this point. So why would it in the long run? Like it's just not going to.

It may start you or challenge you or encourage you. The only thing that is truly going to help you take one step toward your goal is building biblical discipline.

So a little further in Galatians, we read about the fruits of the spirit and we think of them as separate entities, but they're not.

All of the fruit that we read about love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control are all, as one, make up the character of Jesus.

So if Jesus is in you, his fruit, his character, all of these things are in you as well.

We just probably have areas that we're really good at, and areas that we need to cultivate a little bit more, but that only comes through letting his strength work in us through surrender, not strive, not try, not motivation, surrender.

So we got to be real. Can we be real? Can you just really be real with me?

Because if we're honest, you've had motivation before. You've had those, this is it, I'm done. You've had those moments, but you're still here.

And listen, it's not because you're incapable. It's not because you're a failure. It's because motivation isn't strong enough to sustain lasting change.

That happens from the inside out, regardless of your waist size, what the scale says. But surrender changes everything, my friends. It changes everything because it becomes so much more about weight loss.

It becomes obedience to the Holy Spirit regardless of the outcome. It's about listening to the voice of the living God who is inside you and knows what's best for you and wants best for you.

But how do we actually take the next step forward and do the next right thing?

So grab your pen if you haven't already. I'm going to share with you four things right now that you can do to move to surrender. Okay, so this is a daily choice.

We have to take steps to surrender our body daily, not once, not occasionally, not when you feel like it, like daily, sometimes a thousand times a day.

Wake up every day with intention, giving God the first fruits of your time, giving God the first fruits of your attention before you ever even think about reaching for your phone.

Romans 12.1 says, Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God. This is your true and proper worship.

God's mercy grants us something that we didn't earn or deserve.

And so when we think about the body that he has blessed us with, the body that we have, maybe as hurt and broken and unhealthy as you may feel she is, we can still lead a holy and pleasing life to God. That's how we worship him.

We worship him by the way we spend our time with him in the morning. We worship him by putting our phone down at night and getting a good night's sleep.

We worship him by the way that we exercise, by the way that we fuel, by the way that we food prep and hydrate and think and speak about ourselves. Every day we say, God, my body is yours today. My choices are yours.

Lead me, Lord. Tell me what to eat and when, how to move and when, and give me the strength to obey in all that I do. Not for abs, not for weight loss, but just because this is my true and proper worship.

Step 2, listen to me. Don't check out step 2. Stop waiting to feel ready.

You will never feel ready. Never, you won't. Obedience has to come first.

Listen, y'all, I've lost over 90 pounds. I've gained and lost and gained and lost and I never feel ready, but the Holy Spirit conviction in me is too strong to ignore.

So if you don't hear God prompting you, you really need to lean in because he isn't absent in your struggle.

But maybe he's told you what to do over and over and over and you're not listening, so he's waiting for you to take the first step so that he can show you what's next so that he knows that you're serious about this. Joshua 24, 15, listen to me.

But if serving the Lord seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourself this day whom you will serve.

Whether the gods of your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living, but it's for me and my house, we will serve the Lord. Does the Lord feel undesirable to you?

I highly doubt it or you wouldn't be here listening. But we have to choose this day right now whom we're going to serve. It doesn't matter how unhealthy our family is.

We can't use the excuses of diabetes in our family to walk in that for the rest of our lives. You can change that. We have to stop worrying about tomorrow.

We have to start worrying about the past, what you've done or what you haven't, and focus on what you can do today through the power of the Holy Spirit in you and not when you feel like it, but right now in this moment.

Ask yourself, does serving the Lord feel undesirable to you?

Because if you're not being obedient in the things that he's telling you, if you're living in gluttony, if sugar is your first thought or caffeine or food before him, you're living in disobedience. You're living in sin.

It's time to repent and turn your face towards the Lord. He's there. He's listening.

He wants to help heal this area of your life. Step 3, let God change your desires. Listen, you don't have to force yourself forever.

God will actually change what you want. When you start to eat healthy food, your body is going to start to crave healthy food. When you start to move more, your body is going to crave that movement.

When you start to drink water, your body is going to crave that more. Garbage in, garbage out. Goodness in, goodness out.

It's going to take time, three to four weeks to even get a good handle on it. 264 days is the average time it takes to build and sustain a healthy habit. So be patient.

Philippians 2.13 says, For it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good purpose. But that happens after surrender, my friends.

He cannot work with an unwilling heart and you're not truly willing until you've laid it all at his feet and let it go. Step four, obey first. Your feelings will follow obedience over outcome.

But we've been taught the opposite. We live in an Amazon Prime free world, man, and I'm telling you what, I Amazon Prime something probably every week that drives my husband insane. Our feelings are a terrible leader.

Luke 11 28 says, he replied, blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and obey it. Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and obey it. Obedience creates clarity, not the other way around.

Our feelings rarely align with the word of God. That's why in all circumstances, we need to take our thoughts captive and make them obedient to Christ. We read that in 2nd Corinthians.

My love, if you keep waiting to feel motivated, you will keep waiting. But if you choose surrender, if you start moving not because of your will, but because God is moving in you and through you, let him lead.

It rarely feels comfortable, it rarely makes sense, but his ways are higher. Keep walking towards his voice, keep trusting and watch how he will transform you from the inside out.

It soon becomes not even about the weight loss, that's just a natural blessing of walking in step with God. So I want to ask you, think about this as you journal this week, what have you been waiting to feel?

What do you need to decide to change today? I want to challenge you this week, don't wait to feel ready. Pray a prayer of surrender right now today and take one step towards where God is leading, just one step of obedience.

Pray for strength and let him lead. Will you bow your head with me? Most Holy Lord, I surrender my body, my habits and my desires to you.

Forgive me for waiting on motivation instead of choosing obedience, Lord. Help me to walk and surrender every moment of today, even when it's hard. Lord, change my desires and strengthen my spirit.

I don't want to do what feels right or what's easy anymore. I want to walk and step with your spirit in the lead. Show me what you have for me today, Jesus.

I love you so much. It's your name I ask these things. Amen.

Beloved, this isn't about doing everything perfectly, okay? This is about becoming consistent in the things that actually matter. Waking up, spending time with the Lord in prayer and in the Word.

So don't just walk away from this episode inspired. Walk away making a decision to start every day with Jesus. What is one thing that you're going to do differently today?

Just start there. And if this episode spoke to you, share it with a friend who needs it too, because you are not the only one who's walking through this. And if you would, would you go to Apple Podcasts and leave me a review?

It helps me to know that these messages are encouraging you. Please know that I am here cheering you on. I am praying for you.

And if you want to work with me one on one, just shoot me an email to info at herweightlossmindset.com and let's talk about how we can work through your personal journey. And I will see you back here for the next episode. God bless.