daily devotional

Jesus did not come and die for you so that you could live a defeated life. He came to give you victory. Yes, victory in the area you’ve been defeated in before. Victory in the very circumstances of your life where you’re struggling most.

We become slaves to the things which we cannot control. Jesus came to set the captives free. What do you need freedom from? What is holding you back? What has towered over you for far too long, making you feel weak and incapable? Where is your defeat … Jesus wants to meet you there.

I work with a whole lot of women. I know women, I happen to be one of them. And I know this, we struggle. Hardcore struggle. We struggle with not being enough, then being too much. You think this struggle is by accident? Goodness gracious no … it’s by the design of an enemy who knows your potential and is threatened by you. Girl, if you weren’t a threat, you wouldn’t be attacked.

Most of us have a weak spot and it’s attacked on the daily. I see it beginning at such a young age in elementary girls, following us through to adulthood and wrecking havoc in every stage of life. What is it? Oh you likely know because you’ve personally fought in this female war … the battle of our bodies. Yes, our curves, our bulges, our lumps and bumps, wiggles and jiggles that turn to wrinkles and sags, the areas that are too much and the areas that aren’t enough.

Men, well they can sport a popping belly reminiscent of a 6 month pregnancy and not give a flying flip, while we’re over here incessantly covering our pooch with our strategic placement of folded arms.

I grew up in the 80’s and 90’s … the smaller your butt could possibly be in your jeans, the better. Then somewhere along the way they changed the game and now it’s all about slim thick. That booty be poppin’, but make sure that tummy is flat as a pancake.

Some obsess. But most of us … most of us secretly hate parts of ourselves and as a result we play little. We don’t show up for the opportunities, we don’t step up and shine … why … because we’re not in love with our bodies and we’re hiding parts of us so the world doesn’t see.

And … the enemy wins. He wins because the amazing, beautiful, powerhouse that you are sits it out. When you sit it out, your impact isn’t made. When you sit it out, your full love isn’t given, your voice isn’t heard, your gifts aren’t shared. And the world around you is missing out because you’re too busy still trying to strategically fold those arms. DANG IT THERE’S MORE TO YOU THAN THIS!

Imagine your creator witnessing this. Knowing what is in you, because he put it there. Knowing full well what you’re capable of because he made you for it. You, his beautiful masterpiece, hating parts of yourself. You, his beloved daughter, resigned to a life of defeat in this area when victory has always been yours.

So, let’s get to the nitty gritty here … let’s talk about what needs to change.

If you’re struggling with your body, please understand at the end of your life you won’t look back and wish you would have forced yourself to fit into those jeans. On your final day of life you won’t hate how you looked in the photos. Here’s what you’ll hate … you’ll hate you weren’t in the photos. You’ll hate all the times you didn’t show up for your life over ANY reason that held you back … especially your jean size. And you’ll hate any days of your life that were available to you, allotted by the almighty for you to live, but you forfeited and missed them because your life was cut short over a lack of self-control, health and care.

Don’t let this be you.

Has the enemy been attacking your confidence through your body? Understand the devil doesn’t care about your jean size. He doesn’t care about your figure, your reflection or your weight. But if he can use any of these things to hold you back and keep you from fulfilling your purpose, it’s game on.

Oh dang, has he been winning? Has he attacked your weakness and as a result you’ve not cared for all God has given you, and instead you’ve decided to hate and punish yourself.

You get one body sister, one. This is it. These are the hips that will tote around your children and the arms that will one day hold your grandchildren. This is the only vehicle you will ever drive through the days of your life. You can love it or hate it, but this is what you got.

If you hate it, you’ll only be held back. If you hate it, you won’t care for it and ultimately you’ll miss out on life that’s available to you.

But if you choose to love it, you’ll be amazed by what your body can do for you. It is capable of more than you ever imagined.

You CAN do amazing things. Look around at the real life women who have done amazing things and stepped into mind-blowing destinies … don’t you know that same power lives in you. Yes, in you. You have a mind-blowing destiny awaiting you too … don’t let a lack of care keep you from it.

Ultimately, that’s what this comes down to … care. Care for what you’ve been given. Care for the one body that is responsible for carrying you through all the days of your life. And if you don’t care for it, it will fail you. Why? Because you first failed it.

You are a living, breathing, fragile creature that requires continual care. But you are also a fully equipped, powerful, capable, strong woman who can step up and do anything that needs to be done. Yes, you can … but will you?

Will you take care of what you’ve been given? This body … will it receive love or will it receive shame? Will it be cared for, or will it be punished? Your body responds to what it is given.

Now, I’ve worked with enough women, and spent 45 years being one myself, so I know the next argument. Willpower. We know what we should do, yet we just can’t seem to do it, not long term anyway. Maybe that’s your truth from the past, but that does not have to be your truth now. God didn’t make you with an inherent flaw of not being able to stick with a good plan. NO … once again, I call crap.

You’re not broken honey, you’re human. And humans struggle with immediate gratification. But you can overcome that struggle. In the name of Jesus you can.

You can break the chains of every single thing that has ever held you back in the past. You can be the person who jumps and soars. You can be the person who chooses health over and over again. You can be the person who crosses finish lines, meets goals, overcomes obstacles, and stands as a shining example of HEALTH and WHOLENESS for others to see. You have that strength within you.

The bible warns that we will face temptations. But guess what else it says … it says God will always provide a way out of that temptation.

1 Corinthians 10:13 says “No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it.”

Start looking for the way out of that temptation. The temptation will still come. The temptation to settle for easy, the temptation to go off plan and slip back into old ways, the temptation to sneak and then hide, the temptation to straight up be lazy and not show up. We all face our own temptations. And trust me, those temptations are handcrafted just for you as a stumbling block designed by the enemy. He doesn’t care about how many pounds you carry, but he does care about the potential you carry.

When that temptation comes, God has also provided a way out so you don’t stumble. Start seeking what God is offering you. He has strengthened you. Remember, 2 Timothy 1:7 says “For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline” You’ve got it in you girl … tap into it.

You can do all things through Christ Jesus … so what is it you need to do today?

Some of us need to take our health back. We need to stop giving into the lies that tell us we have no willpower. Girl, you do have it. God didn’t just accidentally skip over you on the day he was handing out willpower. You got yours. You just haven’t been using it.

Willpower is like a muscle. If you stop using your legs, your legs will stop working. Not because there’s anything wrong with them, but because you stopped using the muscle and it atrophied. If somewhere along the way you stopped using your willpower and instead started giving into every little whim and fancy, then that willpower became weak.

But it’s still there. Just like the lights still work in your house even when you don’t have them turned on. The power is still there, the switch isn’t flipped. God’s power is all in you my sister … power to change anything that needs to be changed, and certainly power to make you take your medicine like you’re supposed to, power to resist the dang sugars and carbs, and power to make you drink your water. Maybe you just forgot to flip the switch so you’ve been stumbling around in the darkness where the enemy whispers his nasty lies that tell you you’re broken, you’ll never change and you simply don’t have the willpower others have.

Get out of that darkness. Flip the switch. Ask God to strengthen you today and harness the willpower he has given you to make the right choices today. And when you do, the enemy will shut right up.

You’ve got this girl … I know you do. Let’s lock arms and love ourselves into any change that needs to happen.