Every Body Matters: Chapters 3-4 Sunday, May 28th It is an incredible thing that the Lord chooses to rescue us, redeem us, and then use us. Let that sink in... He has CHOSEN to save you and CHOSEN to use you. But a life on mission for the Lord is more of a marathon than a sprint. It’s going to be enduring and require intentionality to maintain the physical strength to continue being effective in ministry. We don’t want to collapse before the finish line from poor choices related to our wellness. Let’s make it to the FINISH line, friends! Here’s what we need to remember... F- Food is not a coping mechanism and using it as so is displeasing to Him and destructive to us. When we turn to food first, we replace the role that He longs to have in our lives with a cheap substitute. Psalm 55:2 reminds us where to turn in times of stress – “Cast your burden on the Lord, and he will sustain you; he will never permit the righteous to be moved.” Consider the following: • What is your natural response to stress, loneliness, anxiety, boredom, or uncertainty? • What cheap substitutes do you find yourself going to? This could be food, entertainment, laziness, shopping, and many other things that seem “ok” but are really playing a role in your life that they weren’t meant to. Challenge: pick one thing to cut out and detox from for the month of June and focus on alternatively deepening your relationship with the Lord. I - Intentionality and thoughtfulness are key in all areas of our wellness (physical and spiritual), rather than the “easy” choice. Examples of intentionality include: • Meal prepping for the week to steward both our health and finances well; • Choosing a bedtime that acknowledges our God-given need for rest and removing distractions like social media, email, tv, etc.; and • Planning out both your Sabbath and exercise times for the week. N - Notice that increasing our sensitivity in the area of our wellness, increases our sensitivity to other temptations. As we ask the Lord to refine our views of food and exercise, we uproot the sins that we’ve grown to see as manageable or acceptable; this creates a sensitivity to see and address both temptation and sin in other areas of our lives. I - Impact of our wellness goes beyond ourselves. When we choose unhealthy life styles, we aren’t the only ones who suffer the consequences. We become less active with our families and friends, and maybe even unable to continue serving them. Remember what they say in the safety warnings on an airplane... “please put on your own oxygen mask before helping those around you.” The same is true in wellness; we cannot serve others if we don’t first take care of ourselves. S - Satan wants to take you out of ministry. If he can tempt you with the subtle temptations that seem to have a voice small enough to ignore, he just might be able to slowly drift you into a place of complacency and denial that there isn’t any consequence to your ministry as you physically weaken in your ability to be faithful where God has entrusted you with work for the Kingdom. God created you for good works before you were born (Ephesians 2:10), and whatever that looks like for you is of deep importance and delight to the Lord. Your role in ministry matters; there is no part of Kingdom work that is too small. Ephesians 4:15-16 says, “15 Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, 16 from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.” Consider the following: • How might Satan try to end your ministry, especially considering your wellness? • How is your physical health important to the effectiveness of your ministry? • What things do you need to start doing, stop doing, and keep doing (physically and spiritually) to keep going strong towards the finish line in your ministry? Challenge: pick one in each category to focus on for the month of June. H - Honoring our bodies is a command. 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 says,”19 Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, 20 for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.” We don’t own our bodies so they are not ours to abuse based on our perceived wants or desires. If the perspective of your body shifted from ownership to stewardship, what would change? Before I was walking with the Lord, my life was marked by using food and exercise from a place of control in an attempt to create my worth or value by being thin, athletic, etc. to earn the approval of others. I abused food and struggled with body image to the extent of disordered eating for several years. When I gave my life to the Lord in 2012 and believed the truth that I was “fearfully and wonderfully made” (Psalm 139:14), I found victory over that disordered eating and rooted my value in the Lord. However, my view of food and exercise swung from obsessive to neglect; I didn’t want to overthink it, so I didn’t want to think about it at all. Over the last 6 months, I have grown in seeing my wellness as something to be stewarded with intentionality and my view of food and exercise has changed. It doesn’t require obsession, but it does require intentionality. I am more aware of the subtle ways that I use food for comfort and am continually asking the Lord to help me reprogram my natural responses to be those that honor the Lord. I am more aware of the connection between staying physically active and having the energy to serve in the ways the Lord has called me to. I want to stay on this mission as long as the Lord would allow and I don’t want to collapse short of the finish line. I want all of us to FINISH strong.
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