Out of Reverence to God
The responses I have received since I have been sharing about my workouts and clean eating have definitely varied. These include but are not limited to:
- “You are so skinny! Why are you dieting?”
- “You don’t need to lose anymore weight. I’m worried about you!”
- “Are you becoming obsessed with all of this?”
- “You go girl!”
- “You have really inspired me to get healthier and focus on squeezing a workout in today!”
As you can see, they are across the board. There is a verse that really inspires me to stay focused on WHY I continue to eat what fuels my body in a healthy way. WHY I continue to workout each day, even though I do not want to lose more weight or buy smaller clothes.
You see, this isn’t about a certain weight or a certain size pair of jeans.
There have always been weaknesses I have possessed in areas of my life. Self control has NOT been a dominating quality of mine, even after becoming a follower of Christ. There has always been something in my life that I struggled to control. Sometimes this was my eating habits; sometimes it was controlling my anger when someone offended or hurt me. No matter the sin, it has always been difficult to “perfect holiness” as the scripture says.
When I began praying for God to unsettle me, my health was definitely an area He began to convict me about. Probably because it had become an area of my life that I was desperate to gain control of, but wasn’t having much luck. So, I began to pray. I began to ask Him to help me choose the sweet potato over the macaroni and cheese. To choose the apple over the snickers candy bar. I was praying and reading His word and seeking the trusted advice of women I knew were seeking His will in the same area. And slowly, ever so slowly, I began to see Him give me the strength to make wise choices. The strength to fight my sleepiness and get out of bed each day to complete my workouts. The reason I know it was Him, is because I had tried before and failed. This time was different. I was seeking HIS will for this area of my life. Not what I thought the world expected of me, but what HE thought was best for me. And seeing Him work and answer my prayers was exciting! I began to realize that if I could rely on Him to change me in one area of my life, then I could seek Him and rely on Him to change me in other areas of my life. In the past, I was relying more on myself than on Him. All I have to do is seek His will; spend time asking Him to change me and strengthen me!
So, my choice to lead a healthier lifestyle is reflected in this verse in two ways:
- It tells us to “purify ourselves from everything that contaminates our body”. I don’t think that needs any further explanation. Healthy foods = healthy bodies.
- This is a path to “perfecting holiness out of reverence to God.” By relying on Him and seeing His strength come to life through my daily choices, I am encouraged to trust and seek His help in other areas of my life.
So, I will continue to post about my workouts and about what I eat. I do hope that I inspire someone else to make healthier choices. But more than this, I hope to inspire someone to reach out to the only One who can truly give you the strength to do what is best for you!
“Praise the Lord! He is good.
God’s love never fails!”
Psalm 136:1