How badly do you want it?

But the king replied to Araunah, “No, I insist on paying you for it. I will not sacrifice to the Lord my God burnt offerings that cost me nothing.” So David bought the threshing floor and the oxen and paid fifty shekels of silver for them. – 2 Samuel 24:24

I have always admired King David for his response in today’s passage. He knew the value of counting the cost and was unwilling to take something for free then offer it to God as his own sacrifice. How often do we see something that another has and wish it was our own, often without the willingness to do what it takes to get it?

We look at the homes, jobs, families, lifestyles and body shapes & sizes of others, wishing they could be ours, but not taking into account the time, money, effort and sacrifices that were required to obtain them.

So many times I have started a diet and done well for the first couple of weeks, but when the temptations grew stronger and my will lessened, my desire for weight loss obviously was not great enough to finish the task. I didn’t want it bad enough to stay the course and make the permanent change.

On this Royal Make Over adventure I am learning what Jesus meant when He said, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me.” (Luke 9:23) When He invited me to participate in this Royal Make Over, He made it clear that I needed to decide up front how badly I wanted it. Would I be willing to deny myself the food that had become my idol? Would I be willing to exercise daily especially when the excuses started flying in my mind? Would I choose to change the scripts in my mind to align with His word each and every time it was required? Would I be willing to develop the Fruit of The Spirit into my character through the trials, temptations, circumstances, set backs and challenges that created opportunities for them to grow?

He wanted me to clearly understand that this would be a difficult journey but the rewards would far exceed anything I could imagine.

It started out with the thoughts of the physical rewards of weight loss, toned body and health, but my spiritual make over quickly became more important. The first time I experienced victory over my thoughts was incredible. It was a hard won battle but with each response of truth to the enemies lies, I felt empowered and victorious. Many times I had to remind myself that if I resisted the enemy, he would flee. (James 4:7)

Many other Bible passages continued to encourage me. On my morning runs when I was ready to quit, I would recite Galatians 6:9, “Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.” I want the harvest!!

Other times when temptations reared their ugly head I would remind myself that obedience to God far outweighs any false joy or satisfaction that they had to offer. I have never regretted obeying God. I have regretted overeating, disobeying God and dwelling on wrong thoughts.

How bad do I want this? In realizing that this Royal Make Over is so much more than losing some weight, I find myself wanting, needing and desiring more and more of God. The daily journey with Him far exceeds any inches lost. It is becoming a daily dependence that only He can fill and that’s worth any amount of time, effort or sacrifice required on my part.