All Consuming...

In the past few weeks, I've been pondering the last two verses in Hebrews chapter 12 that read, "Therefore, let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, and thus let us offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe, for our God is a consuming fire". My thoughts drifted to that passage of Scripture, because the Lord has been challenging me (again!) to make Him the consuming passion of my life. I find it all to easy to go through the motions of living my normal life day to day with very little thought of Him, who He is and what He has done for me. That's not to say that I don't ever think of Him (because I do) but not in a consuming way. Actually, I spend a larger portion of time pondering what to eat during the day and how many calories I'm eating, what exercises I should do in my workouts, and how to burn more calories throughout the day.


Now, I don't think that it's necessarily wrong to think about those things. The Lord makes it very clear in Scripture that our bodies belong to Him (1 Cor. 6) and He wants me to take good care of them by eating healthy and being in good physical shape. But when you are trying to lose weight, it is all too easy to take "caring for my body" to an extreme. Especially when you get frustrated by not achieving the results that you want and have been told to expect.


So, I'm stuck in a position where I'm trying to reach a balance, a happy medium. I don't want to be like a pendulum, swinging back and forth between obsession and carelessness. Neither of those are pleasing to the Lord. And neither of them are a life that I want to live. I don't want to just "give up" and work on maintaining when I feel like I can (and should) lose more, but I also don't want to obsess and look for happiness in a number. My emotions should be controlled by the Spirit, not by what my eyes see. And that's true in every area of life!


So, what to do? How do I find this happy medium? How do I know when to push harder and when to back off? How will I ever find out the right amount of food to eat, the best way for me to exercise, and the motivation to keep pressing on when I seem to be spinning my wheels and getting nowhere?

You know, I love how simple God makes the answers to our problems. (And yet there are also times when I wish He would make it more complicated, because then I could get by with the excuse that His solutions are too hard!) But there are no excuses. Even this blonde can read His Word and understand exactly what He wants me to do.

First off, I need to stop comparing my body to others. It's that simple - just stop comparing! Stop feeding discontentment. I am a unique creation, and He has made me for one purpose, which is to glorify Him. And that has nothing to do with what size I wear or how long I can run! In order for Him to work through me, I need to get over this obsession with how I look, especially compared to others. I am blessed by remembering, "Charm is deceptive and beauty is vain. But a women who fear God is to be praised." Proverbs 31:30 There is such freedom when you care only how He views you! No other opinion matters...sounds too good to be true.

Secondly, I need to eat simply to fuel my body and not to "satisfy" any emotion or desire I might be experiencing. He is the Bread of Life. He is the Living Water. (John 6) He alone can satisfy any desire I have, and I need to turn to Him instead of food.

Thirdly, I need to do the work to be in good shape. I can't give up when things get hard or slack off because I don't feel like doing it. I want to be ready and able to serve Him in whatever He calls me to do. Being in good shape is not just about being a certain size or weight. It aids in keeping my body strong to fight against sickness or disease, which means I'll be around longer to serve Him! It boosts my emotions and gives me energy. Exercising has too many benefits to skip out on it!

Sounds easy enough to do, right? I mean, it's simple to understand. I like this quote, "The concept is grasped, but the execution is a little elusive." How true! I often grasp the truths of the Word but seem to fail in executing them in day to day life. I have a lot of head knowledge, and my constant prayer is that those truths would become heart knowledge. I don't want to miss what God is trying to teach me because I'm so focused on achieving an outward figure that will fade away someday. I'm searching Scripture to find the balance. And I know that He will make everything clear as I continue digging in!

Seeking to find ~ Bekah