Focus for Transformation

As most of my readers know, the last few weeks I have been “teaching” the Daniel Plan at my church. I use quotes around the word “teaching” because I feel that I am learning as much as the other participants in the class. The Daniel Plan is a great guide for nutrition and fitness while incorporating faith and friends in the mix. But the part of the study that has affected me the most is the emphasis on focus. Focus is an integral part of the process of becoming healthy in mind, body and spirit but a part we often overlook.

Over the years I have worked with many people wanting to overcome unhealthy habits especially cigarette smoking. I have talked with patients literally for years about quitting smoking with no results until suddenly something clicks in their mind and they quit. Often once their mind-set is changed, they are able to quit “cold turkey.” These are people who have smoked 1-2 packs per day for 20 some years! They have tried nicotine patches, gum, or lozenges as well as medications such as Zyban or Chantix to no avail. But when their mind is changed, their habit changes. This never ceases to amaze me.

The mind is quite powerful. What we think about can make or break our day, our year and sometimes our life. Do we fill our mind with positive thoughts or do we dwell on everything negative in our circumstance? How we look at our world can make all the difference. I often have been surprised by the sheer happiness I’ve seen in the people of Third World countries I have visited. They have nothing in comparison to what we Americans have to be thankful for yet their joy is so much more than I witness on a day-to-day basis here. There are so many sour, bitter attitudes all over: in the workplace, the grocery, on the road. It casts a darkness over everything. We have so much to be thankful for but yet it doesn’t seem to matter. Perhaps we forget what is really important in our seeking for more “things” in our lives.When material possessions are stripped away, we are forced to look at the daily blessings: food for this day, people who love me, a job to go to. When life is down to the basics, there joy is found.

But this kind of thankfulness and joy don’t just happen. It a choice. “I am thankful today for _______.” You fill in the blank every day. Write it down; share it with a friend so it is real. We can turn the negative into positive. We can change old destructive habits if we first change our thoughts. It must be intentional. “I am going to think these thoughts today.” Then slowly your focus changes and you are transformed. “Do not be conformed any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.” (Romans 12:2) Transformed in the Greek is the word for metamorphosis. This is not just a little change but a total change like a caterpillar transforming into a butterfly. It is biologically still a caterpillar but it is made brand new as it emerges from it’s cocoon. So we can be made brand new when we allow a change in our minds.

This transformation in thinking is a choice but even though I choose to focus differently, I still struggle with this. I fall back into the same patterns especially if I see negative attitudes in those around me. I forget that I can ask God to help me with this. I believe He wants to give us help in this area because it is so critical for everything else in our lives. Why do I not pray about this? I pray for many other things of much less importance. Maybe it’s because in my mind I think I can just do this on my own. Not true! I need God’s help in everything especially in how I think. As the Apostle Paul said to the Philippians in one of my favorite passages, “…whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.”

So I ask the Lord, please help me think upon these important truths. Transform my life by the transforming of my mind so I may become the person you created me to be, healthy and whole.

My church has started the Daniel Plan study which is a 6 week journey to a healthier life. The starting point for the study is an understanding that Jesus accepts us right where we are. No matter what our weight, no matter how unhealthy our habits, no matter what we’ve done in the past, Jesus loves us. This is the truth and this truth should liberate us. Jesus said it himself, “You will know the truth and the truth will set you free.” However, so many of us seem to believe this only in theory but don’t actualize it in our own life. Somehow we think Jesus accepts others but the dark secrets we hold in our own souls are just too bad. We condemn ourselves and think Jesus must condemn us too.

Nothing could be further from the truth. If we dig into the Gospels, the story of Jesus’s ministry, we see him loving the outcasts and marginalized over and over. He treated them just like regular people. He struck up a conversation with the Samaritan woman at the well who was ostracized by her community. He called up to Zacheus who was watching him from a sycamore tree and basically invited himself for dinner. Zacheus was a hated tax collector. Jesus did the outrageous and the socially incorrect all the time. He wasn’t even afraid to touch lepers. So why do we think he would not do the same for us today?

I believe the root of the problem is unforgiveness. Not unforgiveness of others, but unforgiveness of ourselves. Sometimes the most difficult person to forgive is yourself. The negative voices that reverberate in our head can be overwhelming at times. They say things like, “If people really knew you, they would think you were a bad person.” “You say you are a believer, but why do you keep making the same mistakes over and over?” “You’re just a failure; Jesus doesn’t really love you.” We hang onto shame and begin to believe these lies. We are unable to embrace the magnitude of Jesus’s love for us so we are bound in the chains of guilt.

So why is embracing acceptance so important at the starting point of the Daniel Plan? Because change just doesn’t happen in a hopeless situation. Love and acceptance liberate us to move forward. This is why a supportive community is so essential. When we are accepted as we are, we develop trust. Trust leads to open honesty and vulnerability within our group. We are then able to accept encouragement and accountability on our journey to a healthier life. Change is possible when we see our life though the eyes of God as precious and unique.

I see this concept played out every day as a physician. The doctor/patient relationship is based on trust: trust in the physician’s knowledge and abilities but also trust that the patient is willing to listen and follow through with a treatment plan. This compact of trust is sealed when the patient feels care and acceptance by their physician right where they are. They may be a total mess physically and emotionally but if they sense that they are valued, not judged, they will be much more likely to move forward in a direction toward better health and well-being. The converse is also true. If the patient perceives that the physician could care less about them and sees them as a hopeless case then they will see themselves as hopeless. They will simply give up and not see change as possible or worth trying.

The doctor/patient relationship is analogous to the relationship between those people who make up “the Body of Christ”, the church. Too many times newcomers are greeted with judgement and not love. No wonder we often see more people leaving from the back door than are coming in our front doors. We all enter the sanctuary of God in need. Some of our needs are obvious but most are hidden. Only in a community built on trust are we able to be open, honest and allow vulnerability. When we are accepted by the church just as we are, then change is possible. When we fall down and fail as we all will, in the accepting church, there will be many there to pick us back up and move forward again.

When the church is accepting and loving then people see Jesus through us. We are witnesses of the Truth in action and we are set free. Free to be all that God imagined us to be. However, as Lysa Terkeurst wrote in her book, “Unglued”, we move forward in “imperfect progress,” often two steps forward and one step back. But that’s ok because we are loved right where we are. Believe it!