The Right Body Image {Bible Reading Plan}

Have you wondered if our obsession with health and body image is . . . healthy?

I mean, the truth is, I feel fat and really want to lose a lot of weight after I watch a movie with a skinny, beautiful actress in it–which is most of them, right?

It happened last night. How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days is a great movie, but Kate Hudson made me want to get a gym membership! Is that a good thing or bad? Who else could really pull off that silky yellow dress?

I always consider joining a gym or going on a radical diet after the holidays. We’re all looking for that quick fix, even if it costs money. I found this statistic in an article about tips on how to save money when trying to lose weight. 

 . . . Americans spend north of $60 billion annually to try to lose pounds, on everything from paying for gym memberships and joining weight-loss programs to drinking diet soda.

Really? Diet Soda? I told my husband that if diet soda was the only soda out there, I wouldn’t be tempted to drink soda at all! I don’t know how ya’ll drink the fake sugar stuff. Sorry. Just saying.

So, you can see, I do not have this healthy body image thing down either. I’m a work in progress. It’s all relative, you know? And we all could be healthier one way or the other. When I exercise I look like this:

But I want to look like this:

And in my head I do. :)

Danger

But the danger is that this obsession can be idolatrous.

I know . . . yikes!

Our continual fad diets, and money spent on gyms, and worry about our waistline can become a little g god.

And that’s where we need to be careful. It’s where we need to bring this worry to God and ask Him to give us clarity, wisdom, and the desire to be healthy, not skinny, not model perfect, but healthy.

I love the end of Psalm 139.

“Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there be any offensive (idolatrous) way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting” (Psalm 139:23,24 addition mine).

The Hebrew word we’ve translated as “offensive”, means idolatrous. Nothing offends God more than placing something over Him. How do we know if something is an idol? We watch how many times we think about it or how many hours of the day we give to it. Whatever controls our thoughts and actions is our god.

Food can be our god just as much as obsessing about our weight can be.

But Help is only a prayer away. We confess this obsession, and ask Jesus for help. 

In her book about healthy body image entitled, Compared to Who?, Heather Creekmore writes:

“Do you want to be free from the body image worry that consumes you? Spend more time with your Savior. Do you want to stop obsessing over calories, your obliques, or your cankles? Read more about how much Jesus loves you than you do about which exercises work best for toning your abs.”

Amen sista!  We can be free.

(Enter the Giveaway for a free copy! See below.)

Worship, Study, Exercise, Health

My friends, it all goes together. I feel my best when I’m working out my body and my spirit. When I exercise, I want to drink more water and eat better. And when I am intentionally worshiping the Lord with music and reading His Word, then my mind, body, and soul are stronger. They are healthier.

We can’t lose sight of why we are here. 

We can’t forget our purpose.

God didn’t create us to be obsessed with our bodies. He created us to be obsessed with Him! To bring Him glory not our bodies. To be salt and light of the earth. To be image-bearers of a holy God and Kingdom seekers. And point people to the God who loves them no matter what their pant size.

 

[bctt tweet=”God didn’t create us to be obsessed with our bodies. He created us to be obsessed with Him! ” username=”wordsbyandylee”]

 

So . . . let’s dig into the Word and study scriptures about what God wants for our bodies.

Sneak Peek and Printable

1 Corinthians 6: 19-20: Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies.

 

Romans 12: 1-2: Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.

 

1 Corinthians 10:31: So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.

 

1 Timothy 4:8: For 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.

 

Matthew 6:22-23: “The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are good, your whole body will be full of light. ²³ But if your eyes are bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness!

 

1 Corinthians 12:27: Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it.

 

1 Corinthians: 15:42-44: So will it be with the resurrection of the dead. The body that is sown is perishable, it is raised imperishable; ⁴³ it is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power; ⁴⁴ it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body.

Click here to download the printable with these scriptures and prompts to deepen your time in the Word. 

Daily Broadcasts, You Tube and a Giveaway!

Join hundreds of sistas (and a few brothers) as we gather in my kitchen via FacebookLive at 8:20 AM ET to unpack each verse on the Bite of Bread reading plan. Simply follow me to get the notifications when I go live. Pour your coffee and bring your Bible and journal. You’ll want to take notes! It’s always fun to see what God has for us each day.  Fresh Manna.

But if Facebook isn’t your thing, you can subscribe to my You Tube channel. And watch later in the day.

Also, this week I want to give away Heather Creekmore’s book, Compared to Who? A proven path to improve your body image.

 

 

I really feel the need to pray for us. This is a biggie. Hold my hands.

“Dear Jesus, we don’t want to put anything before you. We want to please you with our bodies. Help us see our bodies as a temple of your Holy Spirit and treat them as such. We want to bring you glory with our lives. May you be our only obsession. We love you. Amen.”

How to Enter the Giveaway

Simply leave a comment. What do you struggle with most, exercise or eating healthy? I’ll go first. I don’t exercise as much as I want to, but I definitely struggle more with eating healthy.

I’ll announce the winner next Monday, January 15, 2018!

 

Digging Deep,

Andy

 

PS. If body image is something you really struggle with, visit Heather’s site at www.comparedtowho.me. It’s packed with good stuff!

 

PSS. If this was encouraging, and you don’t want to miss any Bite of Bread reading plans and posts, subscribe today! You’ll receive a 22-Day Devotion on Psalm 119 called Finding the Beauty {Full} in God’s Word.Just click here to dig deep to live fully. 🙂