for eMaxHealthYear's Resolutions - Spiritual Goals
Each new year, millions of people make resolutions, vowing to do things differently. Lose weight. Exercise every day. Eat fruits and vegetables. If you're like many Americans, health goals topped your New Year's resolutions. But a month into the New Year, how many are sticking to their resolutions?
According to one survey of 12,000 people, about 30 percent of those making resolutions say they don't even keep them into February. And only about 1 in 5 actually stay on track for six months or more, reports eDiets.com, a consumer diet and fitness Web site.
Why is it so for us hard for us to keep our resolutions? Dr. Clark Gerhart, board certified surgeon and Christian author, believes it's because we don't involve God in the process of setting our goals. In his new book, "Say Goodbye to Stubborn Sin" (Siloam Press, February 2005, ISBN: 1-59185-625-6, $13.99), Gerhart leverages his twenty years of medical practice and Christian ministry to develop a spiritual treatment that creates enduring change.
"Understanding how your body's physical processes keep you in bondage to bad habits is the key to getting rid of them," says Gerhart. "You'll never wonder again why you are so prone to being trapped by overeating, pornography, smoking or other behaviors when you see how easily your body becomes addicted to sensations. The key to finding lasting victory is unlocking spiritual power to defeat these physical processes."
The program developed by Gerhart called LASTS, stands for: Listen, Admit, Submit, Trust, and Stand Firm, and provides a Biblical plan for making New Year's resolutions that last.
- L - Listening allows one to hear what deep area of the body God wants dealt with.
- A - Admitting is not confessing, it is admitting that the body controls you.
- S - Submitting is looking at the Spirit's rule and your love of the self, and choosing the Spirit.
- T - Trusting means giving up trust in your self to behave rightly and trusting God.
- S - Standing Firm is not a test of perseverance; it is nourishing the Spirit while God works.
Clark Gerhart, MD, FACS is a Christian author and inspirational speaker, a board certified general surgeon, and fellow of the American College of Surgeons. He has been in practice since 1995 and resides in Hazleton, Pennsylvania with his wife and four children. Learn more at www.clarkgerhart.com
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