(Here's a transcript of this post) Back in 1997, Chuck Swindoll published a book called Three Steps Forward, Two Steps Back. I don’t know if it’s an actual saying that people use now. When I tried to look it up, the closest I got was “One step forward, two steps back.” Now that’s a discouraging thought, trying to move ahead and ending up even further behind than when you began.
What got me thinking about all of this was my scale. I had a couple of really good weeks a while back, watching what I was eating and exercising a little bit more. The scale went down two weeks in a row and I was feeling great. I was sure that I was on my way to going down a pants size and losing the rest of the pounds I had allowed to creep on over the last few years.
Then we moved Blake to Chicago.
I skipped exercising for several days.
We ate out while we were on the road.
Klondike bars were on sale at the grocery store by Blake’s apartment, so we just had to get some and eat three in one day because there was no way to take them with us on the bus and the L when we headed back to our hotel.
When we got home and I weighed myself, I found that all of the pounds I had lost were back. Bummer.
So what I want us to focus on this week is “Three steps forward.”
For a couple of weeks I made good choices and dropped some pounds. That’s good progress.
If I focus on the “Two steps back” that happened because we traveled and I made lots of poor choices, I might decide to just give up and not worry about my weight at all. But that wouldn’t be good for my physical or emotional health.
Instead, I’m going to focus on the “Three steps forward” and remind myself that better choices and hard work produce good results. It’s inevitable. I can’t give up just because I slid back a couple of steps.
We can apply that to any area of our lives.
We learn to control our temper and don’t yell at our children for two weeks straight, then we have a bad morning and totally blow it, scaring our kids with a giant temper tantrum.
Focus on the “Three steps forward.” Apologize to your children and move ahead with the resolve to do your best and be as calm as you can be. Not perfect, but better.
We decide to get our overspending under control and refuse to shop online for a whole month, then our favorite store sends out an email with an amazing sale and a super coupon, and we order enough to get free shipping.
Focus on the “Three steps forward.” Unsubscribe from the store’s email list and either enjoy your purchases or maybe return some of it next time you go to the store. Not rich, but less poor.
We go to work, clean the house, and keep on top of the bills and laundry for six months straight, then we call in sick, binge-watch Netflix all day, and let everything fall to pieces around us.
Focus on the “Three steps forward.” Go back to work, do the dishes, and save Netflix for a treat on the weekend. Not a workaholic, but a hard worker who enjoys life.
Whenever we have a setback – physically, emotionally, or spiritually – we have to focus on the “Three steps forward” we’ve made, not the “Two steps back” (or more!). Only that focus will help us to press on and not give up.
“I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 3:14 ESV)
Have you fallen “two steps back”? How can focusing on God help you to focus instead on the “three steps forward” you’ve made?
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