Overcoming Negative Body Image预览

God’s Truth About Your Body

Do you ever have negative thoughts like, “I am not good enough”? Do you ever feel bad about yourself when you look in the mirror? Do you wonder whether you’re beautiful or handsome enough, or rich enough, or smart enough, or popular enough? Do you wish you looked different—that you were taller, or thinner, or stronger? All of us are prone to believe lies about the goodness of our bodies.

Whether we start to believe these lies from hurtful words or negative experiences with others, or from what we see in TV shows, movies, or on social media, they can wreak havoc in our lives. These lies can affect our internal sense of our value. They can move from thoughts to solidified beliefs, creating fixed neurological pathways in our brains—our default ways of thinking and believing each day. These lies can cause us to shrink back from fully being who God created us to be, confident people made in His image. They can cause us to grow depressed, obsessed, or consumed with shame.

The truth is, your body is good and God-given. It is more complex than any computer, vehicle, or machine. It is intricately part of who you are. See, we don’t simply have a body, we ARE a body. We are spiritual, emotional, relational, and physical creations. Further, when Christ returns, we will be resurrected in bodily form and join Christ in a physical location—the new heavens and new earth. Our physicality is core to who we are.

Genesis 1:27 says that we are made in the image of God. We are worthy of love and respect, and we are infinitely valuable unlike anything else in creation. Psalm 139:14 says we are “wonderfully complex.” That’s how God made us, so we could reflect Him. How tragic that one key way the Enemy attacks the image of God is through our view of our bodies.

Throughout history, different societies have viewed certain body types as more attractive and desirable. Standards have changed between tall and thin to full-figured, flat stomach to rounded stomach, and trim and toned to large muscles. Are we really willing to allow fickle and ever-changing societal standards to keep dictating our perception and acceptance of our bodies?

Only God can set the standard. He is our Creator. He says that each of us is wonderfully made. He wants to free us from the hurt we have experienced and the lies we have believed about our bodies.

Jesus, help me to heal from the lies I have believed. Help me to believe what You say about my body.