"For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him."
Colossians 1:16 NIV
I finished chapter two of my book...I am struggling still to see how this will be of any success in helping me. But I am trying to remain positive! And I am not saying at all that it isn't a good book and the truths are definitely there, but I seem to be having trouble letting it sink into my thoughts and my heart. I'm sure it just takes time before I will begin to actually see myself as beautiful. It is extremely helpful having encouragement from friends and my very supportive and caring boyfriend though! That alone does make me want to fix this problem of mine.
Something that stuck out to me in this chapter was how the author was talking about how sacred and valuable our bodies are! She states, "We are not talking about your body's appearance right now, but how sacred and valuable it truly is. We are talking about its purpose, its dignity, and the high calling of what it was made to do and who it was made for. That alone makes your body absolutely beautiful." That statement just really struck hard for me and it still is sinking in, but has a very clear message to me. I really need to be able to just push aside the value and importance I have placed on my physical appearance (yes, I believe it's important to remain healthy and take care of one's body) and rather place that focus on why my body was made and what it was made for as she stated. It was made to honor and glorify God through all I do with it. That is what should be important to me! Am I really glorifying and honoring God when I call myself fat or ugly? No I don't believe so because He is the creator of it and He sees all of His creation as beautiful. So I really need to train my mind and ask God daily to change my thinking in this area because I want nothing more than to honor Him!
"Oh yes, you shaped me first inside, then out; you formed me in my mother's womb. I thank you, High God--you're breathtaking! Body and soul, I am marvelously made! I worship in adoration--what a creation! You know me inside and out, you know every bone in my body; you know exactly how I was made, bit by bit, how I was sculpted from nothing into something. Like an open book, you watched me grow from conception to birth; all the stages of my life were spread out before you, the days of my life all prepared before I'd even lived one day."
Psalm 139:13-16 MSG
Something else that she pointed out was that we are God's masterpiece! I'm not an amazing artist or anything, but I really appreciate and am fascinated by great works of art. So I loved how we are called God's workmanship or masterpiece! He sees us as this amazing work of art and out of all God's works, we are His most excellent! She went on to say how David saw himself as God wants us to. He was wowed at how God had created him! I want to be able to see myself as beautiful and a work of art just as David did...just as Christ does! The author showed us that "when David looked at his body his focus shifted to the magnificence and majesty of God". Wow! That just amazes me that he could do that and that is exactly what I want for myself. I need to begin to start reminding myself of truths every time a negative thought enters my mind. It'll take some discipline for sure, but I am willing to work through this with God's help!
Ok, this chapter was better than I originally remembered now that I am going back to blog about it! I feel I have so much to comment on. She says a friend of hers commented on Psalm 139 after really digging deep into and thinking about it and said, "as she read these verses again, she realized God not only saw her strengths and good points when He was crafting her, but that He also saw her weaknesses, her imperfections, her struggles and her flaws as well. And He still proceeded to create her. He did it with an unconditional, unfailing, lavish kind of love and joy because she was His. Her uniqueness, originality, and design were a reflection of God's mind, heart, and creativity. He created her and called her beautiful." That to me was just really cool to read! A very good way to think about your body and to reflect on Psalm 139! I pray that I can see this with that thought!
One last thing I wanted to point out was where it said, "our bodies were meant to worship, to declare the greatness of the only true and living God." A huge portion of this chapter focused on this topic. We are meant to worship God all the time and this includes with our body. In all that we do with it! So that is my desire and goal. I want Christ to be exalted in my body! And in everything I do!
"Our bodies are designed to worship Jesus, expressing love and gratitude toward Him."
-Jocelyn Hamsher
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