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Thin Within has been a part of my life for the better part of eleven years now. I’ve had many ups and many downs. Each time I have started Thin Within, I have envisioned an “End.” Whether it’s a certain number I see on the scale, a size that I wear, or even just a place where I finally don’t always think about food and weight. There has always been a finish line in sight. A point that I hoped to reach where I could say “I finished! I did it!”, close my Thin Within book and I walk off into the sunset.
But, if you have spent the last 12 years entrenched in disordered thinking, believing and eating, you can’t always expect to be “cured” in 12 weeks. Real change is something that happens over time as God teaches us the beauty of obedience, boundaries, forgiveness and submission as He gently leads us on a path of wholeness.
Is our God a mighty Healer who can heal us from our sin and struggles with eating with just the snap of His fingers? Yes, absolutely! But is He maybe more interested in our healing process than the end result? Is He maybe more interested in our learning about surrender, confession, obeying boundaries and dying to ourself than He is in us releasing 20 pounds? Quite possibly.
I firmly believe that God uses Thin Within as a tool for sanctification in our lives. Sanctification is the process of being made more like Christ (1Thess 5:23). And guess what? Sanctification is not always pretty or easy. And it doesn’t always happen overnight, just like how we don’t always “get” Thin Within overnight or release 20 pounds in 12 weeks. But this refining process is for our benefit! If we’ll just stay on the journey long enough, we’ll see that God is using our challenges a means to equip us for lasting change and victory. If we will relinquish our finish line, we will invite Him to take the time He needs to change our hearts and minds forever. I don’t know about you, but I’d rather have lasting change that takes a while to take hold of, than lose 20 pounds quickly only to regain them again next year.
I’m slowly learning that for me, there is no finish line when it comes to Thin Within because Thin Within has been weaved into God’s sanctifying work in my heart. And sanctification is a lifelong journey. I am in this thing for the long haul.
This is not a diet or a quick fix. It’s a way of life. Something that will likely be with me until I am old and gray. I can almost picture my 95-year old self saying no to a second helping of JELL-O at the local nursing home because I’ve already reached my 5. 🙂
So if you’re feeling tired and worn down or if you’re discouraged how long it is taking to “get” Thin Within, take heart! This is a lifelong journey my friends. God is using your struggles to help you become more like Jesus through His sanctifying work. Often times God uses our moments of discouragement and despair to usher us into a place of freedom and growth. We have our whole lives ahead of us as we invite God to change our hearts, renew our minds and transform our bodies. Not having a finish line or and end in sight frees our hearts up to enjoy the journey a little more.
How about you? Do you see Thin Within as something you’ll stick with for the long haul? Will you remain committed to allowing God to use this as a tool of sanctification in your life? Will you push past the tough times and see this journey through? Will you relinquish your finish line?
Becky, thank you for the reminder: “Real change is something that happens over time as God teaches us the beauty of obedience, boundaries, forgiveness and submission as He gently leads us on a path of wholeness.” I made a truth card with that quote. That’s what I (we!) want — *real* & lasting change, not simply a shallow outward change. Isaiah 30:21-22(a) says, “Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, ‘This is the way; walk in it.’ Then you will desecrate your idols overlaid with silver and your images covered with gold…” When we choose to listen to & obey God in regard to our eating (or anything else), we’re not focusing on outward appearance only — an overlay, cover, or “band-aid.” You referred to TW as part of the refining process — Job 23:10 “But he knows the way that I take; when he has tested me, I will come forth as gold.” Nothing but the real thing, baby! 🙂
I love the nursing home/jello image — made me laugh! Thank you.
Thank you, Becky, for sharing about your journey along with the reminder that sanctification is progressive!
I love that Jesus tells us in His prayer to Abba Father God in John 17:17 that we are sanctified, set apart unto God, by Truth, and that the Word, Bread of Life, is Truth!!! The Truth of God’s Word changes hearts, mortified sins, transforms us from within our hearts through God the Holy Spirit into Christ likeness, gives us discernment, does the heart surgery ended, and the genuine healing needed to be done with the true healing Balm of Gilead, is the Sword of the Spirit to become victorious in the spiritual battles everyday against the lies of flesh, Satan, and the world, is our prayers, and reveals God and Christ Jesus to us, which coming to know them is life eternal!! John 17:17
My dear precious Mom was and is being sanctified by the Truth through God the Holy Spirit indwelling her, each moment, keeping her eyes fixed and focused upon Christ Jesus, as she lives in a nursing home with dementia!! She does not remember any boundaries at all concerning food, but oh, how she remembers all the Words of life, Truth, that she feasted upon, remembers and delights in Christ Jesus, the Author and Perfecter of her faith, she has come to know and delight on her journey of faith HOME to Him!! She, His beloved Bride, is joyfully and expectantly awaiting Him, her beloved Bridegroom, her Eternal Love, too! She just radiates Jesus, the fragrance of Christ, fullness of God’s Truth and grace, to all , as she continues to say, meditate upon, and sing His wonderful Words of life that she has been and is being sanctified, set apart unto her Beloved Bridegroom, too; has not forgotten Jesus, the true Bread of life!!!! All glory to You, LORD!!! Maranatha!! Maranatha!!
How precious is that?
Thank you, Becky. The “end” is a real stumbling block for me, and your blog came at the perfect time. Like Chelley, I might have to make a truth card out of some of this material. Blessings!
What perfect timing for your post. Thank you so much. When you think about it not having a finish line is freedom. I choose this sanctification journey, it truly is where I long to be. 🙂
So true, Tammy. This is about so much more than our bodies and food. God is doing a life-long process through this. He is using our bodies and eating to show us that he is up to something huge…an ETERNAL work! 🙂
Ok, so I’m gritting my teeth reading this. I am one of those people who is very task oriented. I need to have my list, check things off, then know my task is finished. If it can’t be completed in under one week, I either won’t do it, or I’ll do it very quickly. This has been a pattern for me for as long as I can remember. This is why I haven’t succeeded at any diets. I haven’t been able to lose any weight in that short amount of time. The time was up that I had allotted for that task, and it was time to move on. Fail.
Thin Within is a wonderful tool for growing that relationship between us and God. That is definitely a whole life event, that ebbs and flows throughout the days, months and years. I think of my marriage like that. It’s not a task you complete, it’s a relationship. You don’t give up on it – it will just change and grow through the ebbs and flows of life.
A big problem is that the world sees weight loss as a task – it’s something that can be tackled and conquered with enough work and effort. It’s not tied to a Creator/God. It’s tied to YOU. You complete the task. You either finish or fail.
Thin Within is not a diet. It is not a task. It is a life of refocusing. Sometimes dealing with the frustration of reality is half the battle.
Since I view weight loss as a task, Thin Within has become very frustrating for me. I approached it initially (several times) as a means to an end. And then there’s that finish line you speak of. There is no finish line until the day we die. Knowing that I may never complete this task is about as disheartening and discouraging as anything. It makes me want to give up the eating part of it, and just continue in my daily relationship. But then, I realize I can’t. The two are intertwined. Ugh.
I love your analogy of marriage as a similar journey Stacy! So true, we never “finish” with marriage, we keep pushing forward in love and as the years go by, we (hopefully!) become better spouses and share a deeper love.
Take heart that just because there is no “finish line” in Thin Within, that does not mean the work does not get accomplished or that we do to not lose weight! We do! I am living proof of it. But many times, it doesn’t happen until some major sanctifying work has been done in our hearts first! This journey is about so much more than weight loss to Him, there are so many things he wants to teach us through this process, and I truly believe that weight loss is one of those things, it just doesn’t always happen on our timetable 😉
Be blessed as you persevere and keep moving forward in Christ!
Wow, Stacy. Thanks for your gritty honesty. I would love to know how we can encourage you!