Psalm 139 includes a verse where the psalmist asks the Lord to search and know his heart and to show him if there are any offensive ways in him, any anxious ways in him…wow. That is a brave prayer to pray. I know that, relative to so very many things, including my feelings about food and my body, I have a lot of anxiety. God has worked a lot of progress in me in this area, but there yet remains a lot of work to be done! I am so thankful that he continues to work. He continues to do that “new thing” in me constantly!
He does in you as well. Philippians 1:6 says that he will complete that which he has begun. We can rest, confident in this. No, it isn’t a “quick fix” or an easy deal…that much is certain.
…if there’s going to be any real change in our lives, this has to be our genuine request to God. Before we’re transformed physically, we must be refined and renewed from within. That’s what the HEAL Journey is about–going to God daily and asking him to search our hearts, to test us, and to make us more inwardly beautiful in his sight. It’s about transformation from the inside out. As God brings to light the things that are not pleasing to him, we are presented with the opportunity to become the women he wants us to be. HEAL, page 58.
We have to, have to be willing to invite his close scrutiny and correction–not just about which food or how much exercise. Those are all symptoms of something deeper. We have to invite him to evaluate what we value, what we hold dear…and when he nudges us gently, we must respond in tender obedience.
Look up Galatians 5:19-21. In the HEAL book, Allie and Judy break this verse down, looking at each piece of it. In your journal, list each of the words that are mentioned as being an act of the sinful nature. If you like to dig in to scripture, use the tools on Blueletterbible.org (where the link above opens a new tab in your browser) to develop an understanding of each of the words included. How do any (all?) of these show up in the area of food, your body, eating, in your life?
For instance: Envy…for me, I envy passionately (more than I would want to admit) those that seem to have no “issue” with food, eating, or their weight. I see that there is this ugly little area in my life where I have an automatic attitude about people like that! Lord, forgive me! In fact, when someone appears thin and athletic, I have an automatic set of assumptions I make about them…Gosh, this leads me to see other ugliness in me as well…all things that the Lord wants to change! He wants to transform me from the inside out!
Please don’t allow the enemy to use these words to put a spirit of condemnation upon you. That is NOT what is intended here. But what IS intended is that you will be challenged to humbly allow the Lord to love you into change. Our hearts is where the overhaul has to begin!
If you want a really good prayer/study, take time to go through each of the words in the passage and ask the Lord to search you and know you and show you if you need his loving correction in any of those areas. Don’t minimize or justify. Just welcome the fact that he is HERE to bring the much needed change!
Tell us about it here if you feel led by Him to do so!
I sometimes find myself being envious about women who are thin and beautiful. I also have a problem with comparing myself to them and of coarse, I fall short!Recently I read something that sort of opened my eyes about this. It is the fact that I don't really know what is going on in that "thin" person's life. She may have another struggle that I don't know about that would be much more tramatic to deal with than weight. *She may have an eating disorder that keeps her thin. *She may have a family memeber battling a life threatening illness. *She may be in an abusive relationship*She may have…..(fill in the blanks). Do I really want to change places with her so I can look like her? Do I want all the other problems she may be having?The enemy really wants me to think that all other women who are "more beautiful" than me have their lives all together and perfect, but that is such a lie. It is also a lie that everyone else is looking at me and judging me according to one little place on my body that is not perfect, or according to a number on my pants I am wearing!Thank you, Jesus that You love us right where we are and that we are YOUR daughters….all of us, whether we are "thick or thin" right now. You want what is best for us. Help us follow You each step of this journey.
I sometimes find myself being envious about women who are thin and beautiful. I also have a problem with comparing myself to them and of coarse, I fall short!Recently I read something that sort of opened my eyes about this. It is the fact that I don't really know what is going on in that "thin" person's life. She may have another struggle that I don't know about that would be much more tramatic to deal with than weight. *She may have an eating disorder that keeps her thin. *She may have a family memeber battling a life threatening illness. *She may be in an abusive relationship*She may have…..(fill in the blanks). Do I really want to change places with her so I can look like her? Do I want all the other problems she may be having?The enemy really wants me to think that all other women who are "more beautiful" than me have their lives all together and perfect, but that is such a lie. It is also a lie that everyone else is looking at me and judging me according to one little place on my body that is not perfect, or according to a number on my pants I am wearing!Thank you, Jesus that You love us right where we are and that we are YOUR daughters….all of us, whether we are "thick or thin" right now. You want what is best for us. Help us follow You each step of this journey.
Thank you SO much, Deanna, for your comments made to this blog recently. The Lord has been using you to minister so much to my heart! How I appreciate you so very much! THANK YOU! You are so right about how we don't know what another is going through. I am SO blessed and so very fortunate. God has given me so much.My daughter was reading a forwarded email to me about girls at different ages and how they view their bodies…how they don't care when they are three and four and so on…and between a very young age and 50 we despise our bodies and fuss about them…and at 50 we begin to chill out again…and accept things a bit more once again. I thought to myself "Wow! Only 2 more years until I *accept* myself?!?!?" The truth is, I don't need to WAIT! God has been working on me in this…and giving up the scale has been so helpful in this. I have no idea what my body is doing on a micro-level, But I DO know what my heart is doing…and that is so much more important! THANK YOU, Deanna, for your ministry here!
Thank you SO much, Deanna, for your comments made to this blog recently. The Lord has been using you to minister so much to my heart! How I appreciate you so very much! THANK YOU! You are so right about how we don't know what another is going through. I am SO blessed and so very fortunate. God has given me so much.My daughter was reading a forwarded email to me about girls at different ages and how they view their bodies…how they don't care when they are three and four and so on…and between a very young age and 50 we despise our bodies and fuss about them…and at 50 we begin to chill out again…and accept things a bit more once again. I thought to myself "Wow! Only 2 more years until I *accept* myself?!?!?" The truth is, I don't need to WAIT! God has been working on me in this…and giving up the scale has been so helpful in this. I have no idea what my body is doing on a micro-level, But I DO know what my heart is doing…and that is so much more important! THANK YOU, Deanna, for your ministry here!