Already WholeSample

Releasing Your Ideal

“Not that I have already reached the goal or am already perfect, but I make every effort to take hold of it because I also have been taken hold of by Christ Jesus. Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and reaching forward to what is ahead, I pursue as my goal the prize promised by God’s heavenly call in Christ Jesus.” —Philippians 3:12–14 CSB

We all have an ideal body in our mind: one we dreamed about, dieted toward, and decided will make us happy, healthy, and whole. But as you progress toward body acceptance—seeing your body as “very good” because it is made in God’s image (Genesis 1:31)—you can release that unreachable standard of a perfect body. God has not asked you to meet some unattainable or even unhealthy body standard, but instead asks you to pursue Him. In this holy pursuit, we can shift our focus from obsessing over an impossible body ideal to living a healthy and fulfilling life.

This healthy and fulfilling life looks different for each of us. True health encompasses not only our physical well-being but also our mental, emotional, and spiritual wholeness. As you learn to listen to your own body, take comfort in the fact that you don’t have to determine what this new life means for you alone. There is no set of rules or regulations waiting to bring you down as is so often the case when you chase a perfect body. Instead, we discover what a healthy and fulfilling life looks like for us when we walk closely with God. Or, as today’s passage states in verse 12 (CSB), Christ has “taken hold” of us, working within us as we pursue a life of wholeness.

Prayer is the biggest way we can develop a trusting relationship with God, discovering alongside Him what this healthy and fulfilling life means for each of us. You can treat your prayer life like an ongoing conversation, asking Him to help you gain freedom from diet culture and embrace your body and your life now. You can also nourish yourself with God’s Word, feeding your soul with words of love, forgiveness, and gratitude. We can make intentional choices that honor our body, mind, and spirit as we release perfectionism and look toward fulfillment in Christ alone.

Embracing Wholeness: The impossible ideals I have set for my body and myself will not bring me meaning. Instead, I choose to release those fruitless standards and look to God to define what a healthy and rewarding life means to me.

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