Articles
Decide. Commit. Succeed.
At the Chūze Fitness Center they have a very simple yet profound motto, “Decide. Commit. Succeed.” I love plain and simple because it takes the garnish off the plate and leaves the meat. Every time I went to the gym, I couldn’t help but read that sign, "Decide. Commit. Succeed." There were times when I didn’t want to be there, but I wanted to lose fat, gain muscle, and have a healthy lifestyle.
The first decision I had to make was regarding my dietary habits. Apparently, my customary bag of chips and bowl of pico de gallo as a snack was not part of the plan. Then I had to determine whether fish and broccoli was better for suited me vs. Papa John's extra red meat pizza with garlic knots, followed by a full bag of theatre-style popcorn (with extra butter), accompanied by chocolate no-bake oatmeal cookies and a tall beverage consisting of mainly sugar and artificial coloring. Some of you may think this was an easy decision, but it was not.
It gets worse because the second piece of this three-step process was committing. I had made decisions before, but this dedication to carrying out the decision was the next level for me. I could pull off a healthy meal and a workout on the same day occasionally, but every day?!! I had apparently misread the planner and thought it said “cheat days” plural - that was a misread that was painful to correct.
However, after accomplishing steps one and two I began to see step three come into focus. It took a while but sure enough, the weight came down and the fat came off, success was becoming evident, plain and simple.
Noah decided to obey God. Noah committed decades to constructing an ark for a worldwide flood (Gen 6: 22). Noah succeeded as they rested on the mountains of Ararat (Gen. 9).
Abraham decided to obey God. Abraham committed to God by getting up early in the morning to sacrifice Isaac (Gen 22). Abraham succeeded (Gen. 25:8).
Joseph, Moses, Daniel, Ruth, Esther, Job, The Apostles (sans Judas who decided - but did not commit), and many others reveal the pattern for this simple idea of Deciding, Committing, and Succeeding for the glory of God. Read over Hebrews chapter 11 and observe the common method used. Faithful men and women of God who decided to glorify God by committing their lives for a successful reward.
There is one more obvious example, that of Jesus Christ.
Jesus decided to voluntarily lay down His life for us (John 10: 18). Jesus committed to the very end (Luke 22: 42; John 19:30). Jesus succeeded (Revelation 3: 21).
It is because He followed this plain and simple plan that we too can follow it and be successful. If you are not yet followers of Christ, then you are still deciding whether or not you believe in Him (Acts 28: 24). If we are followers of Christ, then we have decided to believe in Him.
Now He commands us to commit to following Him (Matthew 16: 24-25). As part of this commitment, He instructs us to repent of our previous sinful ways (Mark 1: 15). Confessing that Jesus is the Lord of your life is a huge commitment (Mathew 10: 32). Being baptized into Christ for the remission of those sins is an act of faith that demonstrates your commitment to dying to self and putting on Christ (Acts 2: 38). Living faithfully until He returns is commitment (Revelation 2: 10).
Then comes success! To live eternally with The Father, The Son and the Holy Spirit! To sing with the angels and have every tear wiped away. To live with continual joy in continual light with nothing but love all around us. To live with all of the faithful in a place that goes beyond our wildest imaginations. To be approved of by God and live in His world, His glory, and His Holiness - that’s success!
It is a plain and simple plan: Decide. Commit. Succeed.
