June 2021, Week 2 – Goals to Bridge the Gap Between Intention and Action
This week, the WW technique focused on setting goals that will bridge the gap between intention and action. There is so much in the Word about this that I barely know where to begin. Before we really dive into it, I’m going to present you with this week’s Trinity of Truth, because…it’s the WORD!!
1. There is a definite spiritual component in the battle of intentions. Just look at Paul’s dilemma in Romans 7:15-25! It is our sin nature that creates the gap.
2. Our ultimate goal is to know Him and the power of His resurrection, the prize of eternity with Jesus. (Philippians 3:10-14)
3. Walking in the Spirit is how we achieve the goal and span the spiritual gap, between intention and action. (Romans 8:1-11) The Holy Spirit produces the fruit we need to put action to intention. (Galatians 5:16-25)
Please read through each of these passages slowly and prayerfully, asking God for understanding and revelation. Think on them. Without them, nothing I write matters.
Romans 7:15-25, “I don’t really understand myself, for I want to do what is right, but I don’t do it. Instead, I do what I hate. But if I know that what I am doing is wrong, this shows that I agree that the law is good. So I am not the one doing wrong; it is sin living in me that does it. And I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. I want to do what is right, but I can’t. I want to do what is good, but I don’t. I don’t want to do what is wrong, but I do it anyway. But if I do what I don’t want to do, I am not really the one doing wrong; it is sin living in me that does it. I have discovered this principle of life—that when I want to do what is right, I inevitably do what is wrong. I love God’s law with all my heart. But there is another power within me that is at war with my mind. This power makes me a slave to the sin that is still within me. Oh, what a miserable person I am! Who will free me from this life that is dominated by sin and death? Thank God! The answer is in Jesus Christ our Lord. So you see how it is: In my mind I really want to obey God’s law, but because of my sinful nature I am a slave to sin.”
Philippians 3:10-21, “My goal is to know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death, assuming that I will somehow reach the resurrection from among the dead. Not that I have already reached the goal or am already fully mature, but I make every effort to take hold of it because I also have been taken hold of by Christ Jesus. Brothers, I do not consider myself to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and reaching forward to what is ahead, I pursue as my goal the prize promised by God’s heavenly call in Christ Jesus. Therefore, all who are mature should think this way. And if you think differently about anything, God will reveal this also to you. In any case, we should live up to whatever truth we have attained. Join in imitating me, brothers, and observe those who live according to the example you have in us. For I have often told you, and now say again with tears, that many live as enemies of the cross of Christ. Their end is destruction; their god is their stomach; their glory is in their shame. They are focused on earthly things, but our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. He will transform the body of our humble condition into the likeness of His glorious body, by the power that enables Him to subject everything to Himself.”
Romans 8:1-11, “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death. For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God’s law; indeed, it cannot. Those who are in the flesh cannot please God. You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him. But if Christ is in you, although the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness. If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you.”
Galatians 5:16-25, “So I say, let the Holy Spirit guide your lives. Then you won’t be doing what your sinful nature craves. The sinful nature wants to do evil, which is just the opposite of what the Spirit wants. And the Spirit gives us desires that are the opposite of what the sinful nature desires. These two forces are constantly fighting each other, so you are not free to carry out your good intentions. But when you are directed by the Spirit, you are not under obligation to the law of Moses. When you follow the desires of your sinful nature, the results are very clear: sexual immorality, impurity, lustful pleasures, idolatry, sorcery, hostility, quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, dissension, division, envy, drunkenness, wild parties, and other sins like these. Let me tell you again, as I have before, that anyone living that sort of life will not inherit the Kingdom of God. But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things! Those who belong to Christ Jesus have nailed the passions and desires of their sinful nature to his cross and crucified them there. Since we are living by the Spirit, let us follow the Spirit’s leading in every part of our lives.”
We can all relate to the dilemma that Paul described in Romans 7. We all battle with the sinful nature. This is why it is imperative to bring God and His word into our battle with overeating and weight. We don’t like to think of it in these terms, but it really is the sin nature at work. In the context of WW the two sins we are battling most, perhaps, are gluttony and idolatry. That’s actually good news though, because God already dealt with sin through the death and resurrection of Jesus. He sent us His Spirit to live in us and to lead us. When we keep our mind on the things of the Spirit, we have the power to overcome the flesh. Very simply put, that means abiding in the Word and learning spiritual principles; spending time in prayer and stillness with God so that you can hear; and actively thinking about how these principles in the Word apply to the things you do every day. Most days I pray based on Psalm 139:23-24, asking God to search my heart and show me anything that is a problem. I also pray that every thought, attitude word and action will glorify Him. I have come to understand that if those things glorify Him, they benefit me. That’s when I am walking in the Spirit and the fruit of the Spirit is produced. No amount of self help can manufacture what only the Holy Spirit can produce. Everything else is a temporary counterfeit that requires constant striving.
So what does this actually look like in practical application? Colossians 3:17, “And whatever you do or say, do it as a representative of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through him to God the Father.” 1 Corinthians 10:31, “So whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.” Christianity is not intended to be a transactional encounter involving a prayer and a list of requirements, it is a transformational encounter that brings us into relationship with our Creator, who then reveals how to live fully and abundantly by His Word. Every guideline and boundary is for our benefit and the benefits are amazing! When you are grocery shopping, eating out, or just looking for a snack at 10:00 PM, invite God into it. Contemplate if you are bringing your intentions to action in a way that glorifies Him. We apply our faith to the gap between intention and action. We keep in mind the ultimate goal. This helps immeasurably in meeting our health and wellness goals. They pale in comparison. In the proper perspective, those goals can become joyful challenges as we seek to glorify God in our choices. Exercising to lose weight is a decent goal, but moving and strengthening our bodies because we are thankful to God for bodies that CAN move and CAN be strong is a whole other level. Eating to lose weight can motivate us for a while, but eating to give glory to the One who made us and gave us every good thing, changes the game. Doing those things because we want to show Him thankfulness and honor Him is what brings peace in the journey. It’s all about the relationship and who God truly is to you. Is He real to you? Is He part of this journey? How are you going to let Him into it MORE?
