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I believe that as believers we are to be good stewards over everything with which God has blessed us – including our bodies and our health.  I believe God wants us to eat healthy food, eat in moderation and get ample exercise and rest.  Despite these beliefs, I have struggled in this area. 

Since marriage and pregnancies, I have seen my weight fluctuate within an unhealthy 10-lb range.  Whenever my weight starts to dwell in the upper weights of the range, my health has been adversely affected.  Such was the case this spring & summer.  The reality hit me that I must do something about my weight.  I could not sit idly by as my health and quality of life suffered.  I was ready to make a change!  Well, I had been hit with this realization several times in the past, but it’s never been a catalyst for any lasting change.  I’ve tried Weightwatchers and biblically-based hunger/fullness plans, but something was missing and after a few weeks I would give up.  However, this time the Lord let me in on something -- my motivation was all wrong.

In past attempts at weight loss, my motivations were driven by my desires and what I thought was noble -- I wanted to look and feel better for myself and my husband, to be an example of health to my daughters,  to take care of my body the way I believed God intended.  Sounds good, right?  Well, the Lord showed me that this “laundry list” was not a list of proper motivations at all, but rather by-products or results of what was to be my TRUE motivation – obedience to the Lord in ALL things through surrender to Him (Deut 13:4, 1 John 5:3).  Putting my desires ahead of obedience to the Lord, no matter how well-intentioned, had proven futile and fruitless.  I am learning that only through true obedience can those by-products that I so desire, or my “laundry list”, be achieved as the fruits of my obedience.

So what has this meant in my current journey toward weight loss and a healthier lifestyle? 

It has meant a complete shift in my focus.  I have learned that more important than simply feeling better physically or being a better example, I am to be obedient to the prompting of the Holy Spirit – the rest will come if I am attentive and follow His lead.  So many times, I would head into the kitchen just to eat SOMETHING, knowing I was not in the least bit hungry, and I would hear the Holy Spirit nudge me with a simple “No.”  Ninety-nine percent of the time, I would ignore the Holy Spirit and eat whatever I wanted to eat, rationalizing that one cookie wouldn’t make any difference.  It’s true, one cookie probably won’t make much of a difference to my waistline, but grieving the Holy Spirit by my disobedience is nothing to take lightly and has serious spiritual consequences, especially if I make it a habit (Eph 4:30 “And grieve not the Holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption”).  It was like saying, “Holy Spirit, I don’t really care what you say.  I’m going to eat/do what I want to eat/do anyway.” 

How arrogant of me.  

How humbling to realize this.   

It wasn’t until I called my disobedience what it is – SIN – that I felt the conviction to change my behavior.   I have had to confess my sins of intentional disregard and disobedience and repent, continually.  Only then do I believe my journey toward greater physical health and weight loss began in earnest.

Check back soon for “Weighty Considerations:   Part 2 – Sowing & Reaping”  In Christ, Talya