I went to lunch with a friend I hadn't seen in a while. When it came time to order I asked for a salad. My friend encouraged me to get the ribs as this restaurant was famous for their ribs. My rehearsed response was, "I can't. I've got to lose some weight." His reply was, "Dude, you've got to find a better diet. I haven't seen you for a year and you're still eating like that!?"I know… you know… my friend knows that it's not the diet but rather the dieter. Let's face it, I'm giving Atkins, South Beach, Noom, or any other diet I've tried a bad name. But—we all know—It's not them, it's me.
In 2nd Peter chapter one we find this truth:
By God's divine power He has given us everything we need for living a godly life. We have received all of this by coming to know him, the one who called us to himself by means of his marvelous glory and excellence. And because of his glory and excellence, he has given us great and precious promises. These are the promises that enable you to share his divine nature and escape the world’s corruption caused by human desires.
If our life as Christ-followers looks like my diet plan—habitually struggling over character flaws that keep us from a holy life—what's the deal with that? Is it the diet or the dieter? Is God's Power failing or is it Our Desire that's winning out? Here's an even tougher and more revealing question: What do we do to the glory of God's name when we give in to our human desires? Yikes and Ouch!
The answer for successful diets and more importantly for God's power in our lives is complete surrender motivated by complete trust.
