Jesus Begins with Relationship

When life becomes unsustainable, we often begin with the question, “What should I change?”. We look for a better schedule, a new productivity system, healthier boundaries, or a way to finally catch up. Those things may matter. But in Matthew 11, Jesus begins somewhere deeper. He begins with relationship. Before any other meaningful step is taken, He invites weary and burdened people to come to Him.

Come to Me: Relationship

The first movement is simple: Come to Me. We come tired, distracted, and burdened. We don’t have to “get ourselves together” first. We don’t have to minimize our weariness or prove that we can still handle everything. We simply come. This is important because burnout can tempt us to treat our relationship with God like one more responsibility to manage. Jesus reverses that pattern. He draws us toward Himself before He asks us to do anything else.

Take My Yoke: Participation

Then Jesus invites us to Take My Yoke. This is an invitation into participation – learning to co-labor and share our burdens with Him. Faithfulness does NOT look like trudging along in the daily grind weary and alone. It means carrying your responsibilities and burdens WITH Him. Some burdens need to be shared. Some weights need to be relinquished. The yoke of Jesus teaches us that faithful responsibility and radical dependence upon Him should coexist.

Learn from Me: Formation

The third movement is Learn from Me. This is formation. It is apprenticeship. We stay near the Teacher, practice His way, and become increasingly like Him in who we are and what we do. The goal is not simply to recover enough energy to return to the same patterns that depleted us. Jesus invites us to learn a different way of living – a way shaped by His character, His pace, His priorities, and His presence.

A Deeper Kind of Rest

The rest Jesus promises is deeper than relief from a busy week. It’s the growing experience of a life brought into alignment with Him and his kingdom: receiving rather than constantly producing, trusting rather than controlling, abiding rather than striving. That’s exactly why my workbook describes the destination as a foretaste of shalom – wholeness, peace, and life under the rule and reign of King Jesus.

The yoke of Jesus teaches us that faithful responsibility and radical dependence upon Him should coexist.

Three Questions to Reflect on Today

1. Do you most resonate with “Come to Me”, “Take My Yoke”, or “Learn from Me”?
2. What burdens are you carrying that need to be shared with Jesus?
3. Where might Jesus be inviting you to learn a different way of life?

Take a few quiet moments to come to Jesus exactly as you are. Name the weariness and burdens you are carrying. Ask Him to teach you how to share His yoke, learn His way, and become more like Him in who you are and what you do. Then choose one small response.

Invitation

Click the button at the top of this page to download my FREE workbook, “The Next Faithful Step – from Burnout to Abundance“.

A Different Kind of FULL

Our weight-loss journey can quietly become another place where we try to step up, prove ourselves, or manage every outcome through effort. However, Faithful Step 11 begins in a different place. It reminds us that the Spirit of God lives within us, pours out the love of God in our hearts, and fills us with the “fruit” of self-control. So, it’s absolutely crucial that we daily surrender our body, mind, emotions, desires, and the journey itself to Jesus.

Five Minutes in Your Own Words

Prayer does not require a polished script. Simply talk to God in your own words – bring your habits, hunger, cravings, discouragement, and weight-loss journey honestly before Him. My workbook offers this simple pattern: surrender what is real, ask to be filled with the Holy Spirit moment by moment, and receive God’s grace that empowers you to tell the truth, bear fruit, and take the next faithful step.

Make the Rhythm Concrete

So much in this life distracts us from choosing what is BEST (Luke 10:38-42). So, Faithful Step 11 gives you the tools to drop three practical anchors: your prayer time, your prayer place, and the reminder you’ll set. And before you start, set your phone to DO NOT DISTURB. Then, as the week unfolds, notice what you are surrendering, how you are being transformed, and how the Holy Spirit is speaking.

Let One Passage Stay With You

Faithful Step 12 invites you to meditate on one passage of Scripture each week. Read it slowly and reflectively. The goal is to let God’s Word reshape your identity, desires, words, and habits. This is a steady invitation to communion and union with God that bears fruit through your daily choices.

Slow Down and Ask Honest Questions

As you meditate on the passage, ask what the text reveals about God, what it reveals about humanity, what it reveals in you, and how it intersects with culture and daily life. The workbook supplies passages and prompts for this kind of reflection. Philippians 4:4-9, for example, connects prayer and thought life with peace asking which thoughts you need to bring to God.

Choose a Simple Tool

You can select a Bible reading plan in the Bible app or listen to scripture-centered, prayerful meditations using the Lectio 365 app. The tool is not the point. The point is a recurring, attentive meeting with God in His Word.

Prayer does not require a polished script. Simply talk to God in your own words…

One Question to Reflect on Today

Who can you invite to join you in this prayer-FULL practice?

Set a five-minute appointment with Jesus. Choose one passage for the week. Read it slowly. Bring your honest thoughts and desires to God. Then, take the next faithful step with the grace you receive.

Invitation

Click the button at the top of this page to download my FREE workbook, “The Next Faithful Step: A Christ-Centered Weight Loss Journey“.

When you think about starting to exercise, what emotions come to the surface? What pictures come to mind?

Faithful Step 9 – Start Exercise Where You Actually Are

During my own 100lb weight-loss journey, I began with NO exercise for the first month. It felt overwhelming. And I recognized that I needed some time to adjust to a new rhythm of life. After the first month, I began walking one mile a day, three times a week. That was a reasonable place for me to begin given my activity level. In time, I increased to four miles, four to five times a week.

Eventually, I added resistance bands, a low-impact rowing machine, and a short HIIT routine. Over a year and a half, my activity and fitness changed dramatically. However, it was NOT by any means quick. I got there by beginning small, listening to my body, and adding movement as I was ready.

The right starting place will look different for each person. Take the time to carefully consider what forms of exercise you actually enjoy, what length of time you can honestly protect, and any physical limitations or medical conditions you may need to take into account. The goal is attainability and faithfully practice.

Romans 5 points us toward a valuable principle: the patient work of endurance, “suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope”. And though the context is suffering because of the gospel, the principle is still solid and applicable. A short walk, a few minutes of gentle movement, or another appropriate beginning can become a place where patience endurance grows. Jesus is Lord of the journey, including its pace.

Faithful Step 10 – Don’t Journey Alone

We weren’t designed to journey alone. Ecclesiastes 4:9-12 speaks of the strength of shared life, “Two people are better off than one, for they can help each other succeed. If one person falls, the other can reach out and help. But someone who falls alone is in real trouble…”. Our workbook connects this to the relational love of God. Because we are made in God’s image, we long for loving, authentic relationships.

In my own journey, I invited my wife to walk with me. Those walks gave us room to decompress from the day and dream together. I also invited her into the larger weight-loss journey, and it truly made all the difference. Your companion may be a spouse, a trusted friend, a coach, or a small group. The point isn’t to hand someone a clipboard. It’s to invite someone who can help you be honest and encouraged.

The goal is attainability and faithfully practice.

One Question to Reflect on Today

Who should I invite into my weight-loss journey?

And remember: you don’t have to begin with an intense workout plan. Begin where you actually are. Choose a sustainable next step. Invite someone safe. Then bring both your movement plan and relationships to Jesus and ask Him to lead you.

Invitation

Click the button at the top of this page to download my FREE workbook, “The Next Faithful Step: A Christ-Centered Weight Loss Journey“.

Many of us approach weight loss with a shared longing: we want to make better choices and finally see lasting change. And there’s nothing wrong with that desire. Our bodies matter, and wise habits can be a genuine way of caring for our bodies.

But life gets busy, we’re tired, or we find ourselves hungry without a plan. And when a meal, day, or week doesn’t go as we’d hoped, it can be tempting to hide, quit, or promise we’ll restart tomorrow.

God invites us into a different rhythm: plan with wisdom, pay attention with grace, learn from the process, and keep taking the next faithful step with Jesus.

Faithful Step 7 – Plan your meals in advance

During my own 100-pound weight-loss journey, I learned that making a wise choice was much more difficult when I waited until I was already hungry to decide what I was going to eat. When I had no plan, convenience often made the decision for me. Planning meals ahead of time gave me a solid foundation. It helped me make decisions from knowledge rather than emotional impulse. It helped me shop more intentionally.

A sustainable plan should include foods you enjoy.

For me, that meant planning including dark chocolate-covered berries at the end of the day, every day – and cheesecake or ice cream one evening over the weekend. I knew they were coming. I’d made room for them in my plan. So, I could enjoy them without guilt or shame.

And if you are like the rest of us, schedules change, friends invite us to dinner, and meetings run late. Sometimes, a planned meal simply isn’t feasible in the moment. We can make wise plans and hold them loosely (Proverbs 16:9). Grace gives us the freedom to adjust when life unfolds differently than expected.

Faithful Step 8 – Log every single thing

The meal. The coffee. The creamer. The snack while you are cooking. The second helping. The dessert. Absolutely everything.

During my journey, recording exactly what I ate and drank became one of the strongest habits I developed. Some days I was under my calorie goal. Other days I was over my calorie goal. Sometimes, I was significantly over my calorie goal. But I kept recording every single thing because I wanted to learn how to adjust my plan.

The plan showed me where I hoped to go. The log showed me where I actually went. Grace gave me the freedom to learn. I could notice patterns. I could make wise adjustments. I could keep moving forward without thinking that a difficult day had derailed my entire journey.

Grace does not ask us to avoid the truth. Grace gives us the courage to receive it.

No hiding. No pretending. No condemnation. Just truth in the presence of grace (John 1:14).

One Question to Reflect on Today

What is the Holy Spirit inviting me to plan, pay attention to, or do as my next faithful step?

Perhaps your next step is to plan several meals for the week ahead. Perhaps it is to make room for a food you enjoy. Perhaps it is to begin recording what you eat with honesty and without shame.

Invitation

Click the button at the top of this page to download my FREE workbook, “The Next Faithful Step: A Christ-Centered Weight Loss Journey“.

Many weight-loss plans tell you exactly what to track, what to cut, and how quickly the scale ought to move. But they don’t teach you how to encourage a person with gentleness. The Next Faithful Step begins somewhere different – grace. Your body is not an enemy to fight. It’s a gift entrusted to your care.

Grace does not ask us to avoid the truth. It gives us courage to receive it. That’s why the next faithful steps invite us into two practical kinds of honesty that support the broader value of good stewardship: choosing rewards that support your journey and calculating a daily calorie goal based on your actual activity level.

Faithful Step 5 – Choose Rewards the Support Your Journey

A meaningful reward is personal, motivating, and life-giving. It celebrates a milestone without causing you to stumble. It’s a small but important acknowledgment that, “This work matters. This faithful step is worth noticing.”

Our workbook offers plenty of possibilities: something useful or beautiful you’ve wanted, a night away, time with friends who help you laugh and keep going, a hiking day or sporting event, new workout shoes, a massage, a retreat day, or simply protected time for something you enjoy. You might even choose to celebrate by giving time or money to a ministry serving people in need.

The point isn’t to choose the biggest or most impressive reward, but something meaningful that encourages you along the way and reflects the kind of life you’re learning to live. Choose it ahead of time. Connect it to a particular milestone. Then receive it with gratitude.

Faithful Step 6 – Your Calorie Goal is an Aspiration, NOT a Verdict

A daily calorie goal can be a helpful guide, but it should never become a measure of your worth. Start with a reliable weight-loss/food tracking app and be as honest as you can about the activity level that reflects your everyday life—not the one you hope to reach someday. It can be easy to overestimate how active we are, and when we do, the calorie target we receive may be higher than what supports steady weight loss.

I learned this through my own weight-loss journey. I played soccer and went hiking from time to time. So, I thought of myself as “active.” But, the reality was that I spent most of my day sitting at a desk writing code. Those active hours mattered, but they did not represent the overall rhythm of my days. Once I was willing to see that more clearly, I could choose a calorie goal that better reflected my actual life and gave me a sustainable place to begin.

The goal was never to judge or criticize myself. It was simply to begin with what was true. Honesty laid a solid foundation, but grace gave me the freedom to respond without shame. Jesus meets us in reality, not in the version of ourselves we think we should be. For me, telling the truth became another small, faithful step forward.

Honesty laid a solid foundation, but grace gave me the freedom to respond without shame.

Some Simple Questions for Today

How often do I exercise? How long is each session? Is my work mostly sitting, standing, walking, or physically demanding?

After you’ve taken some time to answer today’s questions, set aside 5 minutest to pray, “Jesus, help me receive both grace and truth. Teach me to care for the body entrusted to me and take the next faithful step today.”

Invitation

Click the button at the top of this page to download our FREE, beautiful workbook, “The Next Faithful Step: A Christ-Centered Weight Loss Journey“.

When we begin a weight-loss journey, it can be tempting to begin with pressure—a number to reach, a deadline to meet, or the feeling that we need to make up for lost time. But a Christ-centered journey begins somewhere different. It begins with grace, not guilt.

Our bodies matter to God, and learning to care for them can become an act of worship that overflows from a heart filled with his love. You see, God is more interested in faithfulness than speed. However, that doesn’t make goals unimportant.

Faithful Step 3 – Set a realistic weight-loss goal

A realistic weight-loss goal is about more than a number on the scale. It gives us a destination to walk toward faithfully, step by step, while being propelled and sustained by God’s love and grace.

A healthy goal makes room for the whole person. Our bodies, habits, emotions, relationships, and stories are often more deeply connected than we realize. When we learn to daily surrender everything to Jesus (Romans 12:1-2), we experience something… truly unexpected.

We live in a culture in which we are encouraged to control our own destiny and “pull ourselves up by our bootstraps.” However, Jesus’ introduces a counter-intuitive, counter-culture in which dying to yourself daily yields LIFE (Luke 9:23). That means that your goal does NOT define you, Jesus does (Colossians 3:1-4). The scale does not rule you, Jesus does. LOVE WINS!

This makes room to a healthy weight loss journey that expects difficulty and plateaus. There may be seasons when the scale barely moves, BUT meaningful change is still taking place under the surface. When progress becomes harder to see, we can return to the question at the heart of this journey:

What is my next faithful step today?

Faithful Step 4 – Create small, attainable milestones

Most meaningful change happens one faithful step at a time. Small, attainable milestones give us opportunities to pause, notice what is changing, and celebrate what God is doing along the way. They remind us that the journey is not simply about reaching some distant finish line.

These milestones can also become markers of both our faithfulness and God’s faithfulness to us. Scripture gives us the beautiful image of memorial stones — tangible reminders that helped God’s people (Israel) remember where He had met them and what He had done. In much the same way, our milestones can become places where we pause and say, “God met me here. I did not walk this part of the journey alone.”

…your goal does NOT define you, Jesus does (Colossians 3:1-4). The scale does not rule you, Jesus does.

One question for today

What is one realistic goal you can walk toward, and one small milestone that could help you recognize and remember God’s faithfulness along the way?

Perhaps at each milestone, you could create your own “memorial stone”? It doesn’t need to be elaborate. You might create a piece of art, write a poem, song, or letter, gather photographs, take a meaningful day trip, or invite trusted friends to celebrate with you. The purpose isn’t performance. It’s simply to remember what God has been doing in us, through us, and alongside us as we’ve traversed the terrain together.

Invitation

Click the button at the top of this page to download our FREE, beautiful workbook, “The Next Faithful Step: A Christ-Centered Weight Loss Journey“.