I heard someone say recently “I don’t like the way my body looks.” Can you relate? Are there things about your body that you would like to change? Maybe they are things you inherited from family. Aspects of your appearance may be due to an accident or a disease. Your eating and exercise habits (or lack thereof) may contribute to how your body appears.
When there isn’t much about your appearance you like, how can you cope? How can you not get bogged down in the blah’s of how you perceive your body?
We read in the New Testament each of our bodies is the temple of the Holy Spirit. It is the place where the Holy Spirit (the vital principle by which the body is animated) abides. (1 Corinthians 6:19) Our bodies are used to carry out the principle of God. What is the principle of God? What is the rule of action which conducts the body and adheres it to proper rules of conduct?
The answer is found in Ecclesiastes 12:13 –The end of the matter; all has been heard. Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man.
When you don’t like how your body looks, the answer is not to find another diet or exercise program. It is not to fret and wring your hands about what you could do different or wishing you were different. The answer is to fear God and preserve His ordinances.
The awesome power of God is displayed in every individual that exists. Each person is individually made, separate from any other individual. Even identical twins have distinguishing marks. There are no two individuals alike. A verse we like to teach children and teens is Psalm 139:14 – I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well.
Those of us who may be older than 20 may continue to struggle with body image. The protocol we use to deal with our body image doesn’t change. We are to use our body to fear and drop our jaw at God’s power. Instead of focusing on our bodies and what we don’t like about it, let’s have a protocol that focuses on the interactions we can have with God using our body. Namely the way we can honor and reverence God using our body. Specifically standing in awe of how He has intrinsically designed our body to function.
Instead of speaking the blahs of being disappointed with our body, let’s bellow out praise and thanks to God for how He has made us. And with this thing we call our body we use it to fear and reverence Him. He has formed us in our mother’s womb to display a great reverence of appreciation for His Power.
Try it today. Instead of moping around because you don’t like your body image, lift your hands up in thanksgiving and praise for God’s power to give you a unique and distinct body from any other individual. Instead of crying tears because you can’t get your body to look like you think it should, let your jaw drop open in “awe” of all the systems in your body God has created to cause your body to function.
Mediate on Psalm 139 with a focus on verse 14 – I will give thanks to You, because I am awesomely and wonderfully made; Wonderful are Your works, And my soul knows it very well. (NASB)
When you don’t like your body image, let your protocol be to give appreciation to God for the way He has intricately made you. Use your body to reverence God and let His awesome work be displayed.
Written By: Anne Gurley
