CHAPTER 1
WEEK 1
EMBRACE GOD'S PURPOSE, DESIRE, AND DESIGN
Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us.
EPHESIANS 3:20
Early in my fitness career, Karen, a more seasoned female trainer, told me that my body had great symmetry. She had quite the following among our clients, so I respected her opinion. Karen suggested that, with a little bit of effort and training, I could be a strong competitor in fitness shows. I was so hungry for meaning, validation, and approval that her words "You could be a real contender" were enough to make me look into what it would take to bring home a trophy from a competition.
For the next four months, I lost myself in the gym and spent hours in grocery stores looking for food to support my new goal of becoming a fitness champion. I read all the bodybuilding magazines and watched numerous fitness competition videos. I even enrolled in a beginners' gymnastics class filled with eight-year-olds so I could learn to do a back handspring — a necessary skill in the routine of any top-placing contestant. (Confession: I never learned how to do one. There's something about flipping backward that my twenty-one-year-old mind could not fearlessly approach. I even prayed that God would help me learn so I could place higher in all my shows, and then, of course, I would give Him some credit. God knew better.)
The final week before my first fitness show was sheer torture. I had to cut out carbs (the primary fuel for all the body's systems), eliminate salt, and continue trying to "cut" (or define) my muscles without destroying them. I felt as if I had the flu and wanted to punch everybody who crossed my path. I was miserable, hangry (hungry + angry), and irritable. It turns out that your body gets cranky when you aren't kind to it.
The night of the show, I couldn't have been more ready! With my skin painted the color of mahogany, oiled up to show the highs and lows of all my "cuts," clothed in my five-hundred-dollar purple competition bikini and Lucite heels, and with the number 15 on my hip, I walked onstage. I flexed. I did my quarter turns. Then I performed my three-minute, high-energy fitness routine (sans back handspring). A little later I came back onstage to hear the results. I was awarded third place. Although I had placed the first time I'd competed in a high-caliber fitness show, I didn't swoon and celebrate my accomplishment. I was focused on one thing: Get me food! As I walked offstage, I saw a disturbing vision that is forever burned into my brain. A fellow competitor who didn't place had walked off the stage before me. With a light sweat still glowing on her skin, she was kneeling in her blue bikini and heels before an Igloo cooler, shoving food into her mouth with animalistic fervor.
In that one quick moment, I was scared. It was as if I saw a neon warning sign over her head, flashing, shouting into my soul, "Caution! Danger ahead!" I wasn't walking with Jesus then, but I am confident He was walking with me. God was saving me — directing me from something that could have become self-destructive, not to mention obsessively time-consuming.
For me, fitness competing was playing with fire. God seemed to be telling me that if I made this my life purpose, I would not become the woman I was searching to be. Though I thought I could find purpose and validation by increasing my physical power and sculpting my physique, God, in His sweet wisdom and kindness, wanted to keep my heart from bondage and destruction. Even before I was faithful to Him, He was faithful to me.
GOD'S PURPOSE — HIS STRENGTH!
Though Karen's words had made me think I could find purpose by honing and showing off my own physical power, God had a better plan. In Exodus 9:16, He says, "I have raised you up for this very purpose, that I might show you my power and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth."
God desires to show us His power and ability. We are to do all things in His power and in His way, not in our own. This includes weight loss and health gains.
His power strengthens us. What a relief! This means we are not on our own. Since His purpose is to show us His power and strengthen us through that power, we do not navigate our own course. To those who don't know God, this sounds like foolish talk. After all, we have a hard time relinquishing control. We grew up thinking that our goal in life was to become self-sufficient, productive members of society. We were taught that everything in our lives was based on our own accomplishments and life choices. We may have earned good grades, gone to college, graduated at the top of our classes, found good jobs, and lived morally upright lives, but still we wonder if it's enough.
As we embark on a journey to better health, it's tempting to tell ourselves that we just need to suck it up and be more disciplined, that weight loss and healthy habits are things we just need to "do." Before we begin beating ourselves up, though, let's ask, Is it possible that our choices, good or bad, could be a small part of a bigger plan that God can use for our ultimate good? Maybe these weight-loss, health, and body concerns are issues God can use to get our attention and gain our affection.
Desperation and disgust are powerful motivators for change, but they do not lead to lasting results and increasing joy. We ask for six-pack abs instead of a beer belly, when what we really long for is love. We ask for less jiggle when we walk, when what we really want is belonging without the fear of rejection. We agree to work harder, whether at our jobs or at the gym, when what we really hope is that our lives will have more meaning.
We were made for more.
For The Wellness Revelation to really transform our lives, we must soften our hearts. We need to remember our stories: where we come from and what God has already done for us. He has guided us every step of the way, planting and growing in us His purpose, His power, and His strength. God wants to remove the burden we carry when we think that everything hinges on our might and that the "win, lose, or tie" is all within our control. It is just not true. God desires to be our strength in all things.
God's power is made perfect in our weakness (see 2 Corinthians 12:9). For His strength to change us as we work through this program, we must surrender all of ourselves to Him. We must lay it all down with a humble heart.
HIS DESIRE — HOLY AND WHOLE
Once we've surrendered ourselves to God's strength and power, we organically develop a thirst to maintain unbroken fellowship with Him. Because outside forces will...
