Over the past two years I have been working to lose weight and be healthier. If you’ve ever tried to make such decisions, you will probably agree with me when I say it’s hard!

I know the title of this post is a little odd – lessons God taught me through weight loss. It’s odd because we don’t see weight loss as something spiritual, but, in reality, God can teach us through anything in our lives, and He’s definitely been teaching me through this area of my life.

To the girl who struggles with the question “does my physical health matter to God,” this article is for you. I wrestled with this question for years. Below are 5 lessons God has taught me through my weight loss journey, including why I decided to do something about my weight.

1: Taking care of your physical health isn’t a sin.
For a long time I didn’t want to try and be healthy because it wasn’t “spiritual.” Why would I spend my time on something temporal? I mean, the Bible does say that beauty is fleeting, right? I struggled with this question because I knew scientifically that eating healthy and exercising were vitally important, but I couldn’t see any reason why it would matter to my spiritual life.

One day I read an article by one of my favorite authors who said that taking care of ourselves physically enables us to fully carry out the tasks God has for us with energy and strength. That thought set off a lightbulb in my brain and I realized for the first time that being physically healthy actually mattered to God.

Another reason I had been so confused about physical health was because I knew Christians who were obsessed with their physical health to the point where it was no longer healthy spiritually speaking, and I didn’t want to be anything like them. So, I swung to the opposite side of the spectrum and decided to not care about my physical heath. Neither of those thought-processes are right. We need to be good stewards of the gifts God has given us, including our bodies. However, our lives must be lived for His honor and glory alone, and not spent obsessing over physical beauty/health/etc.

Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own? For you have been bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body. 1 Corinthians 6:19-20

2: Fitness can easily become an idol.
Once I began working on eating healthier and exercising regularly, I found that it was really easy to become obsessed with it. We live in a culture that idolizes beauty and fitness. As Christians we must guard our hearts against that mentality.

One example of learning this lesson was during my older sister’s graduation week. We were very busy and I didn’t have time to do the workouts that I normally do, and I began to freak out. I was sure I would gain a ton of weight that week. But God convicted me of that obsessive attitude, so I surrendered my weight to Him and decided to trust Him with that week. Often throughout these past few years I’ve had to surrender and re-surrender my weight to Him and remember that, while taking care of myself is important, in the end what matters most is my relationship with God and my relationship with others.

Jesus answered him, “It is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God and serve Him only.’” Luke 4:8

3: If I can’t be disciplined physically, how can I be disciplined spiritually?
This is a lesson God taught me more recently. It’s easy for me to be disciplined about exercising, but much harder for me to eat healthy, and recently I had been overindulging in sweets. The following verse really got me to thinking:

Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but only one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may win. Everyone who competes in the games exercises self-control in all things. They then do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable. Therefore I run in such a way, as not without aim; I box in such a way, as not beating the air; but I discipline my body and make it my slave, so that, after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified. 1 Corinthians 9:24-27

I need to be master over my body, not the other way around. If I cannot say no to sweets, how will I have the strength to say no to spiritual temptations? (P.S. I’m not saying sweets are bad – they are perfectly fine in moderation.)

4: My worth doesn’t come from my weight.
A huge lie the culture tells us is that our worth comes from our beauty. I definitely believed this lie. I was overweight for about four years of my life and I was very self-conscious about it. I always thought that people judged me because I was overweight and that once I lost weight people would like me more. Well, fast-forward to when I had lost a good deal of weight. I had gotten home from a church youth event and was complaining to my mom that boys are shallow because none of them noticed I existed prior to me losing weight. And my mom said, “You realize you changed a lot simply because you lost weight. You’ve been more outgoing now. Isn’t that pretty shallow?” I had to admit, she was right. I placed a lot of my worth into my outward appearance instead of remembering where my worth truly came from – Jesus. Don’t ever forget that Jesus is your worth!

I will give thanks to You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Wonderful are Your works, And my soul knows it very well. Psalm 139:14

5: My satisfaction doesn’t come from my weight but from Jesus Christ.
Another lie I subconsciously believed was that when I lost weight my life would suddenly become better. It didn’t. I still have insecurities and struggles with how I look. While there are benefits to losing weight (having more energy, being able to participate in sports, etc.) it didn’t make me happy. Only Jesus Christ can satisfy you and bring you true joy. Do not fall into the trap that weight loss will satisfy you. Find your satisfaction in Christ alone, and then you will be able to be confident no matter your weight/health.

Because Your lovingkindness is better than life, My lips will praise You. So I will bless You as long as I live; I will lift up my hands in Your name. My soul is satisfied as with marrow and fatness, And my mouth offers praises with joyful lips. Psalm 63:3-5

I pray that you’re encouraged today to remember that 1) God cares about our physical health and 2) your worth and satisfaction are found in Christ alone.

With love,

Kelsey