"1Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus,[a] 2because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death."

Years and years of battling my weight. When I say battled, I do mean "battle." I exercised regularly and ate what I truly thought was "healthy." I was never one of those people who drank a 12 pack of soda a day or gorged on pizza regularly so when I didn't lose, on some level I came to believe this was God's way of humbling me. Perhaps I WAS lazy or a glutton. I sure did have the body of one. Perhaps maybe I "deserved" to be fat. Maybe God was using this to punish me...or at least humble me so I wouldn't get cocky. This was my "thorn in the flesh" so to speak.

Now I learn that all along this was a simple blood sugar issue...not a character flaw and definitely not a punishment for a character flaw. I'm not a bad person...I was genuinely misinformed, and now I have the key to not only lose the rest of my weight, but also keep it off for the rest of my life.

As exciting as this news is, it's remarkably difficult to accept. Wasn't this punishment...or if not punishment at least something I deserved?

Romans 8:1...over and over and over again.

Of course this wasn't punishment. It was a blessing! Just a few verses down (Romans 8:28), God said even jacked up insulin production was gift! Even (especially) the pain forces me to seek God with a new fervor...because of the pain I seek Him and can trust Him through the struggle...and in those situations where He chooses to give me victory in the ways I define it (weight loss), He is glorified in that victory! In those cases where He chooses to give me victory in ways He defines it ("Hogsfan, I'm building your character...which is WAY more important than weight loss"), He is STILL glorified in that victory!

Either way, the Lord glorifies Himself and I get to be part of it...and I begin to understand a little better that no matter how I feel about my life, there is no condemnation! Praise God!

That is one of my favorite Bible verses ever made into a song, Hogsfan!