More than Just Me

As many of you know, I've recently begun meeting with a great group of ladies to work through the study Made to Crave, by Lysa Terkeurst. While completing my work for today, I had an epiphany I believe will be critical to my success (and hopefully for you as well): it ain't all about me! YIKES!

Here's what I mean... I've had a whole menu of reasons in the past for why I want to lose weight...the top of my list would have previously looked like this (btw, I'm praying yours is similar or else I'm going to be terribly embarassed!): 1. cuter clothes 2. smaller clothes 3. fewer fat dimples 4. a smaller number on the scale...somewhere on down the list you might have seen "increased overall health."

Now, these reasons are (of course) still on my list, but the order has definitely shifted for the better. My health is at the top of the list, followed VERY closely by those other, less righteous reasons. At the tip-top of my most recent list though has been my freedom. The one word there that jumps off the screen at me is MY.

And there you have it. My selfishness. My it's-all-about-me-attitude and approach to life. Yuck.

The question I read that birthed this ugly insight read like this : is my motivation strong enough to help me resist my unhealthy eating? So, I recognized the fact that my current motivation is not fully working for me. It's not quite strong enough to help me resist the temptations I face daily. And that motivation is MY freedom (cringe). This logically begs the question, then what IS a strong enough motivation? The only thing that makes it all not about me. The only thing that makes it about something bigger. God's glory.

Girls, desiring to be a smaller size and have fewer cottage cheese dimples just isn't gonna get it done. Surprisingly, neither is having freedom as your goal. But, setting God's glory as your priority...now that's where it's at. God's glory IS big enough. It's strong enough. It's lasting and true. When we set God's glory as our sole purpose in this battle being waged against our souls, our freedom is going to be the natural by-product.

I'm telling you, this just makes me want to do some push-ups for Jesus! In fact, I think I will.

"To him be the glory both now and forever! Amen." 2 Peter 3:18b