by Heidi Bylsma | Oct 16, 2013 | Blog
Want to get serious about renewing your mind?
Want to take the bull by the horns?
Are you sick and tired of the embarrassment and shame that you feel for your size or your eating behavior?
Are you willing to get a little crazy to do something about this? Proactive?
Are you desperate?
How about taking the “Set the Timer Challenge?”
It’s a three day challenge, but you can take it as long as you want…half a day, one day…a week! Whatever!
Here is how it works.
Select 5 truths that, if you really believed them, would turn your life around. Truths that have to do with eating, with people, with God, with yourself—anything is fair game. For the purposes of the focus of this blog, I recommend that it has to do with eating in some way, but pray and see how God would lead you.
Here are some to choose from:
1. No food tastes as good as obedience feels.
2. Starting NOW with following my boundaries will bring a quicker victory!
3. God walks with me through my challenges!
4. I am more than a conqueror through Christ!
5. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me, including eat only a fist-sized portion.
6. I feel best when I eat when I am hungry and stop after a small amount of food—when I am physically satisfied.
7. I refuse to bow to food any longer. Christ is my King!
8. I don’t need to diet to release extra weight—I can eat the amount of food that my body calls for and land on my natural, healthy size and maintain it!
9. Evening eating (outside of 0 and 5) is NOT worth the price I pay.
10. The sooner I live by my boundaries, the sooner I will experience the freedom Christ died to give me!
Set your timer on your watch or your computer or you cell phone (or whatever). You can set it for any increment you want to. I have mine set for 30 minutes, but that is a bit much for most people.
When the timer goes off, commit yourself to the Lord afresh, “Lord, I offer my eating, my choices, my heart and mind to you again.” Then, choose one of your truths to say out loud (or, if you aren’t in a place you can do that, to just go over again in your mind.)
If you do this for three days, I am CONVINCED you will experience some radical transformations beginning to take place from the inside out. This is where LASTING CHANGE has to occur! INSIDE! Romans 12:2 tells us not to conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but to be transformed by the renewing of our minds. Let’s do it!
How about You?
What is your plan? Will you take the “Set the Timer Challenge?” What will that look like for you? Do you have an accountability partner? If so, ask her to hold you accountable. If not, feel free to report here! We can DO THIS!
by Heidi Bylsma | Oct 14, 2013 | Blog
Every year the Lord gives me a word for the new year. In December of 2012, I began to pray about what the word would be. Almost immediately the Lord said my word was “change”. With that being such a simple word, I thought that just couldn’t possibly be it–but it was! And one of the things the Lord said would be changing is my eating. So being the planner that I am, I started to decide for myself what that change would look like. Following my emotions and compulsiveness, I decided that God no longer wanted me following Weight Watchers, but wanted me ordering powdered shake mixes to follow a regimen of drinking shakes and doing cleanses. The Lord let me go along with it, and after a few days in the beginning of January of drinking shakes and being told when, what, and how to eat, I was humbled and confessed that I made the wrong decision. Oops! I knew that change still needed to take place in my eating, so I began to search again. This time the search led me to contacting a naturopath, hoping to figure some things out with my body. Again, I followed my emotions and was compulsive. And the Lord let me go along with this as well. I was told not to eat carbohydrates or sugar. And so I began that quest and discovered very quickly that I felt very deprived and, after awhile, fearful that if I ate those two “don’ts” that I was damaging my body and tempting God.
And so began (or continued) my struggle. I had never been so fearful about food in all my life. I was constantly being attacked in my mind about food. I wrote SO many journal entries about this, going back and forth about what I should do. I wanted to go back to Weight Watchers SO badly, but I didn’t feel peace doing that. I also didn’t have peace following the naturopath’s regimen. And then one day in March, the Lord led me to look at Heidi’s blog. I hadn’t looked at it in a couple of years. And immediately, as I began to read her posts, peace entered my heart. It was the first time in months that I felt peace and comfort in the area of food. It was like the Lord shone His light and said, “This is what I want you to be doing. This is the change I intended.”
That peace remained in my heart for a short time until I began entertaining the dieting and restrictive thoughts again. I was really hung up on the lie that eating carbohydrates and sugar would damage my body–that it would basically kill me. I was being tormented in my mind. When the enemy tries to bring fear, he likes to ask the “what if” and “what about” questions. There was a major battle going on in my mind and I had a very hard time getting out of it.
I knew from personal experience and from what Heidi was sharing about renewing our mind, that truth was the only way I was going to win the battle that was going on in my mind. The hard part was pushing past the “what abouts” the enemy was throwing at me constantly. I had to get to a place where I absolutely could ONLY believe and focus on what the Lord says in His Word about eating and food. I wrote out scripture after scripture on notecards about how God has blessed ALL foods, about how no one had right to judge me in food or drink, about how I was to set aside what the world was saying and fix my eyes on Jesus, etc. And every day I read through those cards 2-3 times a day, sometimes less, sometimes more. It wasn’t easy at first, but after awhile those truths began to resonate in my heart. I also asked different ones to pray for me. After awhile I recognized that it wasn’t so much of a battle about food, but it was the enemy trying to lead me down the path of fear. Fear comes in all shapes and sizes. The enemy will tempt us with fear about EVERY thing in life. But God and His word is bigger and more powerful than any lie the enemy throws at us. The Word of God is our weapon! It never returns void. It goes out and accomplishes what God has set for it to do. The truth sets us free!
So little by little, every single day, every single time I read those scriptures, the Lord was setting me free! By mid-June I was walking in victory over this food battle. Praise the Lord!
And then the next part of the journey began. The second phase of the Renewing of the Mind Weight Loss Bible study started mid-June on Heidi’s blog. The Lord blessed me with an accountability partner and I began the next phase of my journey. This part of the journey included overcoming the diet mentality and finding truth about Weight Watchers.
Would you believe that I subscribed and cancelled my Weight Watchers subscription probably 4-5 times since January? You better believe it! It’s quite embarrassing, but that shows right there how hard it was to break free from those chains.
Let me give you a little history about my experience with Weight Watchers. About 4 years ago I was at my heaviest weight, which is about 30 pounds heavier than I am currently. I knew all about Thin Within and normal eating. I felt that I had “tried” eating 0-5, but really, I wasn’t committed and found every excuse to eat. I had just come through a lot of emotional healing, which unfortunately was combined with emotional eating. We had also been trying for a child for about 5 years at this point and I was very discouraged. So I ate. And ate. I felt disgusting. I felt discouraged about normal eating not working for me (even though that was a lie I was believing), so I prayed about doing Weight Watchers. The Lord allowed me to follow Weight Watchers for about 3 years, except for when I was pregnant or breastfeeding. I always kept in mind listening to my body’s hunger cues and I knew better to eat if I was hungry, even if I didn’t have extra points. That doesn’t mean I didn’t feel guilty about it, but I knew that listening to my body was more important than a points allotment. I lost weight and then lost weight again after pregnancy. Toward the last few months of following Weight Watchers, I began to lose my peace. And when the Lord told me that my word for this year was “change” and that would involve even my eating, I knew I would be kissing Weight Watchers goodbye.
Up until the last part of August of 2013, I was really struggling with thinking about going back to Weight Watchers. My accountability partner encouraged me to commit myself to a certain amount of time with Thin Within. The Lord told me 90 days, which would end September 11th. I went back and forth about Weight Watchers, with it as a constant afterthought. Whenever I felt like I failed with eating 0-5, I would tell myself that I just need to go back to tracking points. And sometimes I would be so tempted that I would actually subscribe to Weight Watchers online again, but never actually track points. Why didn’t I actually end up tracking? Because there was NO peace! The Lord kept putting His foot down and would NOT release me back to Weight Watchers.
Heidi has talked a lot recently about truth cards. I have a little notebook with about 50 cards filled out with scriptures, truths from Heidi’s blog, tidbits from the Thin Within book and from Intuitive Eating (my other favorite book about normal eating), and quotes. I read through these cards about twice a day. I had lots of truths written down about how I don’t want to diet anymore and about why dieting (Weight Watchers) is not something I want to do. But I was still struggling with going back to Weight Watchers!
Finally, toward the end of August, I emailed my accountability partner and Heidi, asking for prayer and help with my thoughts about Weight Watchers. Heidi shared an idea that was so powerful to me that it honestly rocked this whole mental roadblock. She basically said that maybe my thoughts about Weight Watchers was bringing some kind of “drama” into my life that I was actually, in a weird way, enjoying. Like, that I needed something to fixate on and Weight Watchers was that thing. It was creating this drama, this thing for my brain to constantly go on and on about. One word came to my mind: obsession. I was OBSESSED with thinking about Weight Watchers. This wasn’t new to me. The enemy has used lots of things over the years to encourage me to obsess over. Little obsessions. Big obsessions. When I realized that this was just something that was trying to get my attention and create drama, I was like, “There is no way I’m entertaining this anymore!” And I made the decision not to entertain the Weight Watchers temptation anymore! I was done!
And really, just like that, the obsession was gone. It was all the Lord. It was like I had to surrender that drama to the Lord. He gladly took it. And now when I read those truth cards about how Weight Watchers IS a diet and the damage dieting does, I can nod my head in agreement, with NO temptation to go back! Praise God!
So since starting the Thin Within journey, in 6 months the Lord has freed me from the bondage about fear of food AND about being on a diet. I PRAISE God for what He has done! His work is marvelous!!
This was something I wrote in a comment recently on Heidi’s blog. It pretty much sums up my thoughts on truth cards and the importance of renewing our mind:
Renewing our mind is VITAL to becoming a normal, intuitive, Thin Within eater! I wish I would have realized this truth many years ago when I was “trying” to eat 0-5. I had so many hang-ups and wrong thoughts about it. But now I have truth cards that I read every day at least twice and they are packed full of truths from the Word, from the TW book, from this (Heidi’s blog), from other ‘normal eating’ material, and tidbits of truths I have found here and there. The first few months I felt like it was more of a burden to read the truth cards, like it was more of a duty than a privilege. But NOW it’s what I cling to and it’s VITAL in overcoming the battle I have had within my thoughts about food, body image, dieting, etc.
Back in May I was struggling (almost being tormented) by thoughts about food. I was believing lies that I couldn’t eat certain foods and that if I did, that I was purposely damaging my health and tempting God. It was a HUGE battle! The Lord had me write out scriptures on notecards, which eventually became part of my truth cards, and it was after reading those cards over and over again that I began to see a breakthrough. God’s truth prevails! It doesn’t return void! It is our weapon! I have read through scripture cards like that before for other situations, such as fear. When we consistently wash our mind with His Word and truth, we are being renewed little by little. At first it may seem like a lot of work, but after awhile we see LIFE being brought back into our minds. The lies flee. Freedom reigns! It’s pretty awesome!
I no longer deal with those thoughts about food. God has completely released me from those lies, that prison which held me. He continues to set me free daily from other mindsets I have struggled with. I am praising Him for what He has done and is doing!
I don’t know how else to emphasize on how very important it is to renew our minds in the area of our struggle with eating, dieting, and body image. Honestly, if I would have understood this years ago, I would have been set free a lot earlier. I’m thankful for the journey I have been on because I learned a lot along the way. The beauty of having truth cards and renewing our mind is that even when we don’t think it’s working–it is! God’s word is powerful, sharper than any two-edged sword! He wants us to absorb these truths. I think of the scripture Psalm 119:11, “Your word have I hid in my heart, that I might not sin against you.” I thought I would never be able to conquer the food thoughts I was being tormented with earlier this year, but as I began to bathe my mind with the Word, I saw victory through Christ! The Lord helped me breakthrough and all I did was read those scripture cards that I had hand-written. That’s it! God did the rest! I had to commit myself to writing them out and reading them; that was my part. God honored His word. He set me free! And He WILL do the same for you!
I’m not perfect with 0-5 eating. I have moments where I want to eat when I’m not hungry. The next part of my journey is learning to delight in the boundaries God has set up for me in regards to eating. I see Him working in me and I’m so excited!
There’s one more thing I want to share. When I decided to commit to 90 days of Thin Within, I asked the Lord whether I should weigh myself after the 90 days were done. He didn’t answer me right away, but then the answer came when I found out I was pregnant about 1/3 of the way through my commitment. I’m one of those that doesn’t want to know weight gain in pregnancy until the very end. So that pretty much solved that question. And I think it’s so neat to be going through this part of the journey being pregnant, without the focus of weight loss (which is what I should be doing anyway), because I really get to mentally focus on finding peace with food and allowing God to help me with renewing my mind. God is so good!
Oh, and in case if you were wondering, I did stay committed through September 11th, and I continue on! Praise God!
What About You?
Can you identify with Christina’s turmoil? Do you find yourself playing along the perimeter, toying with 0 to 5 eating, but never really “buying in?” Do you leave in fear of “normal” food? Do diets seem to have the answer, but you don’t feel released to have peace dieting any more? What thought has Christina shared here that God is driving home to your own heart and mind? WIll you please share it with us here? We can commit to praying for you!
by Heidi Bylsma | Oct 11, 2013 | Blog
1 Timothy 4: 7b-8 says:
…train yourself to be godly. 8For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come.
Physical training is of ____________ value.
________ has value for ________ things.
Have you ever been or known someone who has been a true fitness fanatic? The amount of energy they put into their training is amazing. The time invested…the sheer determination and true grit….well, wow. It really is a testimony about what someone is willing to do when they want something badly enough.
Years ago, I trained for marathons. I completed the San Francisco marathon in 1997. I invested hours in my training, in reading about how to do the marathon well, in learning about nutrition on the run and a million other things!
I wonder about the investment of my self that I made back then. I have to wonder about how quickly I fuss now about the energy and effort it takes for me to keep at 0 to 5 eating and how far afield I can go in a week of traveling (or even staying home). Why don’t I put even a fraction of the energy I used to put into my physical training for marathons into persevering now? Into honoring God with my thinking? My eating? My choices? It seems I would rather use that energy to complain after the fact!
This is a long haul. There can be no doubt that it requires a lot of us—quite a commitment. We want to reshape, rebuild, change our character. This is no quick fix!
So, how much energy DO you (and me, too!) put into lamenting poor choices… after the fact? How much emotional energy DO we put into beating ourselves up and then trying to pull ourselves up by our bootstraps?
What if we were to put that energy into this journey at the front end? What if we were to do the radical thing? Like take the time and energy to write up the truth cards and to speak them out loud once or twice (or three times) a day?
What if we were to use our computers to record ourselves reading these truth cards and then saved the mp3 recording to a CD or to our iPods and then played this recording on our morning or afternoon commutes? What if we were to really put some ENERGY into changing the way we think?
What if we were to pray that we would be faithful? Spend time with God daily in the Word? What if we were to set the timers on our watches or our cell phones to go off every hour to remind us to check in with Him and to recommit (again) to honoring him with our eating? How badly do we want this?
I know when I struggle with stringing together days of eating to glorify God with 0 to 5 eating, I have to evaluate what I believe right now. Sometimes, I get distance from what I know to be true—that this WORKS! It works for keeping me close to God spiritually. It works for being sure I don’t numb myself emotionally to feelings and helps me to process things like a “big girl” instead of like a child. It works for getting me to and maintaining a healthy weight.
So maybe…just maybe…is it worth the energy and effort to do whatever it takes to think and act differently? Ya think? 🙂
How About You?
What do you think today? Will you put extra energy into thinking differently? Into creating and reading truth cards out loud? (I believe this is much more effective because it affects more modalities…it means I see it with my eyes, shape the words with my mouth, and also hear it with my ears so truth is affecting me in at least three ways.) What about choosing to create a “Renewing the Mind” play list that includes recordings that you can download from the Sound Cloud site, your own recordings (of you speaking your truth cards) and some songs that can encourage you (do a search here if you want as I have posted songs that have encouraged me and they may encourage you). By the way, all of the official Thin Within lesson recordings are available from the Sound Cloud site now, too.
Are we really willing to do what it takes to think differently? Yes, it takes time. Yes it takes energy! But we put out a lot of energy bemoaning bad choices after the fact. Why not put that energy out at the front end, planning for positive change instead?
What can you do to change things up a bit?
Will you? 🙂
by Heidi Bylsma | Oct 10, 2013 | Blog
For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal. (2 Cor. 4:17-18)
Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart. In your struggle against sin, you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood. (Hebrews 12:1-4)
In what ways have you focused your previous attempts to “fix yourself” on what is seen and temporary?
What is the better approach? What are we called to focus on now? (See the above verses for ideas.)
Right now, let’s choose to throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. The way to do this is to focus our hearts, minds, gaze on our Redeemer, our King, our Salvation. Instead of focusing on how much we need to “control” unwanted behavior, we will concentrate on the greatness of God, HIS ability, HIS power, HIS provision, HIS love for you, HIS grace!
What About You?
What do you think about this challenge? Are you ready? Ready againI? There is nothing wrong with another new beginning!
Let’s rejoice that we won’t need to use numbers on a bathroom scale to define who we are! In fact, let’s lock our bathroom scales in a closet or put them in the garage. Likewise, we no longer need to allow our ability to fit into a pair of jeans determine whether we have a good day or not. Life is about so much more.
Our King redeems all the years that we have been less than we hoped to be, the insinuations of others (or ourselves) that we have been inadequate, all the moments in the past when we have been controlled by our appetites and the meals that are yet ahead where we hope not to overeat or under-eat, binge or purge. He will use these moments when we are drawn to food to remind us of His love for us. As he does this, we have a choice. To wait in the moment for His love to satisfy us and be enough or to give in to the temptation to fill the empty well of our hearts with the stagnant water of the counterfeit. Life-giving water—Jesus our King, or the life-draining effect of whatever it is we may tend to turn to instead?
Bible Study
Let’s have a look at the past and the present. You will want a journal for this or to print out this part of the blog!
At one time we too were foolish, disobedient, deceived and enslaved by all kinds of passions and pleasures. We lived in malice and envy, being hated and hating one another. 4But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, 5he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, 6whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, 7so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life. Titus 3:3-7
In the above passage circle or underline every reference to the past. For instance “were.” Circle that. Any action word (verb) ending with –ed you will want to circle as well.
List the words you circled.
What phrase in the passage above marks the turning point? (If you want a hint, see verse 4.) Do you see those wonderful words, “But when…?” Note the way the story changes.
Do you see a promise for the future in verse 7? What is it?
Read Ephesians 2:1-7:
1As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, 2in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. 3All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our sinful nature[a] and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature objects of wrath. 4But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, 5made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. 6And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, 7in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus.
Do the same exercise for this passage, circle every reference to the past.
What is the turning point in this passage?
WHO is the hero? Who rescues whom?
Does the rescue depend on you at all?
Journal your response.
Aren’t these wonderful promises? We are encouraged to realize that the past is the past. We USED to live these ways. BUT…and here is where the story gets really good…BUT!!! While it is true we were in captivity, we were enslaved, we were without hope. “But…He saved us!” The daring rescue has happened!
How does this contrast with the notion that you can “let God down?”
When we have this sense that we let God down, what does that say about God’s need for me? If God is the one doing the rescuing, the carrying, the holding, the helping, how can I “let God down?”
In Isaiah 41:10, GOD says:
So do not fear, for I am with you;
do not be dismayed, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you and help you;
I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.
GOD is the one who does the carrying, the strengthening, the helping, the holding, the rescuing! He is the dashing warrior upon whom the story turns. He has done it. Jesus Christ has won the victory for you. He comes for you…right now. The gallant hero reaches for you from astride his noble steed. Will you allow him to lift you safely out of the kingdom of darkness?
He carries you. He lifts you.
Respond to the Truth
What do you think? How can believing this, that HE is the focus, that HE is the where our strength comes from, radically transform our experience? How might that affect you…TODAY? 🙂
by Heidi Bylsma | Oct 3, 2013 | Blog
Renew the Mind with Truth
In yesterday’s post, we looked at how we often fight God as he tries to rescue us.
Today, let’s roll up our sleeves and do a bit of bible study.
In Genesis 19, we read of a daring rescue. Two angels arrive at Lot’s home in Sodom with a mission. The city will be destroyed, but God’s heart of compassion is moved for Lot and his family. While Lot and his family members move their feet, doing that to which they are called to ensure their rescue, one is lost. Lot’s wife could have experienced freedom, but couldn’t release the past. Her reticence to release what was behind put a swift end to her life. Her feet may have moved the right direction, but her heart was stuck in the past…
Read Genesis 19:14-17,26:
14 So Lot went out and spoke to his sons-in-law, who were pledged to marry his daughters. He said, “Hurry and get out of this place, because the LORD is about to destroy the city!” But his sons-in-law thought he was joking.
15 With the coming of dawn, the angels urged Lot, saying, “Hurry! Take your wife and your two daughters who are here, or you will be swept away when the city is punished.”
16 When he hesitated, the men grasped his hand and the hands of his wife and of his two daughters and led them safely out of the city, for the LORD was merciful to them. 17 As soon as they had brought them out, one of them said, “Flee for your lives! Don’t look back, and don’t stop anywhere in the plain! Flee to the mountains or you will be swept away!”
26 But Lot’s wife looked back, and she became a pillar of salt.
Why do you think Lot’s wife looked back?
What might this say about her heart?
To all appearances, Lot’s wife was doing what was required. She was moving physically in the right direction. But, apparently, her heart was unwilling to be torn from the familiar, even though the familiar was dreadfully evil. She was going through the motions of obedience with a heart stuck in unwillingness. The price was high.
Describe a situation when you were compelled to do something regarding your eating, eating disorder, or to get your body into a certain condition and discovered that, while you went through the motions, your heart wasn’t in it.
What were the short-term results?
What were the long-term results?
Read Philippians 3:7-14:
7But whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. 8What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ 9and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ—the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith. 10I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, 11and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead.12Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. 13Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, 14I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.
Even as the darkness of the former kingdom falls behind and the hero leads the way to victory, the adventure has yet to reach its conclusion. There is the happily ever after yet ahead. We haven’t “arrived” even once the physical rescue is complete!
From the passage above (especially verses 12 and following), describe Paul’s current condition and intention. Two are done for you (you can tell what the other answers are by the word “I” in front of each or implied in front of each):
- I haven’t obtained it yet. (verse 12)
- I haven’t been made perfect yet. (verse 12)
- ________________________________________________________________________
- ________________________________________________________________________
- ________________________________________________________________________
- ________________________________________________________________________
- ________________________________________________________________________
From these verses, how is Apostle Paul’s heart in Philippians 3 different from the heart of Lot’s wife?
Rewrite Philippians 3:14 in a journal you use for your Thin Within journey. Use your own language, paraphrasing it to capture the theme of “happily ever after.”
Please read Matthew 16:24,25
24Then Jesus said to his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. 25For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it.
Lot’s wife was called to chase hard after God. In order to do that, however, she had to be willing to let go, to lose her life. Doing so would offer new life—a life that held great promise.
Paul counted his previous life rubbish compared to that which Christ offered yet ahead.
Are you willing to consider all your dieting books, counters, scales (including the bathroom scale) rubbish? Are you willing to deny yourself the use of that which is familiar in exchange for the freedom that the Lord offers ahead of you if you will follow His leading? Journal your thoughts.
We may be called to a long, circuitous route of wandering through the desert to learn the lessons that our Savior has for us, but we can trust that every minute will be worth it. He calls us to leave whatever is behind us, and follow Him, wherever He may lead us.
It is true that our Savior calls us not to merely stand off as a spectator and be a fan, cheering him on as he saves the day. No! Instead, he calls us to follow him, but to do so, we must count our past—even our “good,” dieting pasts, practices that we consider reliable—as rubbish, take up our cross, the vehicle through which death may come, and follow Him. If we cling to what we have known, to the life that has been, we will actually continue in the slow death we have been living. If we let go of what has come before, release our hold on our coping mechanisms, obsessions, and bad habits, we will find Life!
When the pain of where we have been over-rides the pain of what may be, we will release our hold on what we have known in favor of going forward into uncharted territory. As long as we aren’t quite that uncomfortable with our predicament, however, we won’t trust the Lord with the journey he has in mind to take us up and out. In fact, this may be one reason why God allows us to “hit bottom.” He wants us to see the futility of clinging so tightly to that which snuffs life out of us.
When we finally release our hold on that which we have held so dear, trust him that it is these very things that are denying us the life we long for, it is then that our arms are able to open wide to embrace his very best…and that is what he has in mind—the very best.
What About You?
How does God want you to respond to the truth you studied today?
