Truths I Need In A Time of Need

As I write this, the world is in upheaval. Africa experiences a plague of locusts, in Indonesia, the Krakatoa volcano erupts, countries the world over are wrestling with the virus Covid-19 and all the issues that come with it. And I would imagine there are many who, like me, are concerned about the seriousness not only of the virus, but also of the supply chain issues, economic impact, and the potential infringement of personal liberty as the world seeks to find the balance between safety and freedom.

As President Trump describes, we are at war with an unseen enemy; but I am afraid we are focused on the wrong enemy. While the world seeks to battle for stability, I have found that the bigger enemy I wrestle with is just now presenting itself and is a much more sinister enemy. This enemy weighs the heavy load of fear, uncertainty, and the unknown into our lives to force us into a corner so that he may pick at us internally. Why make a full frontal attack when you can eat away at the enemy from within? 

The Enemy

I have found that amongst all the challenges the apostles faced, the battles that the heroes and faith-fathers of the Old Testament were pressed up against, the one common thread throughout all of these is God’s insistence that they do battle with the sin in their own lives. The sin that the enemy longs for us to embrace. Because while God seeks what is best for us, the enemy challenges us to settle for the marginally good if not simply the detestable dressed up as a shiny bauble we so ‘innocently’ enjoy. All this so that the rebellion would not seem so much as an outright coup of the king, as much as it would be an opportunity for us to ‘take care of ourselves’, ‘look out for number one’, or to simply ‘be prepared’.

I must admit, I have fallen victim to this enemy a number of times the past few weeks. One of my sisters has aptly put it that there are waves of faith and worry. Moments where I have been so overwhelmed with fear for my family members that I have shared a news article with them about something new happening in the world. Minutes, sometimes hours of fear about the world events, that I am unable to see anything else other than how to respond to the mounting threats to my family and myself.

The Truth’s I Need

But today is Easter. And I am reminded of the truth’s I need to hear, the truths I need to believe, in this time of need. As I sit on Easter Sunday, secluding myself from my family for some heart-searching, I am realizing the error my heart has made the past few weeks and the truths I’ve needed to remind myself of and am hoping that as I share them, that they may help you as well.

  1. I am not in control. Just as I cannot control Krakatoa, nor the virus that spreads so quickly, I cannot control what happens to the economy, to the weather, or the ground beneath my feet. I am subject to whatever God deems best for me.
  2. There are worse things than Covid-19 and death. Hate, selfishness, and God’s wrath. We call them heroes those who are willing to set aside selfishness to serve others. We rightfully detest bigotry, racism, and sexism and hold up as examples those who fight against such hate. And in the end, God’s wrath against the rebellious condemns those who refuse to accept his rule to an eternity of suffering.
  3. God is good. While some would challenge me that God would not allow any of the bad stuff if He were truly good, I know that for whatever reason the bad exists, He has provided a means of ultimate escape from it all through His Son’s death and resurrection. The ultimate “bad stuff” has already been overcome by the faith He gifted me with. While the world worries about the potential deaths, economic collapse, I have an assurance that whatever happens, I know where I will ultimately end up and it will be a place with no more suffering, no more pain, and a fullness of love and ecstasy in His presence.
  4. Hope has a name; Jesus. While the world shouts and screams news of fear and worry, I can whisper that name, Jesus, and know that all will be made right. Because when I was addicted He broke those chains. Because when I was lost in selfish indulgence, He taught me what real love looks like. When I was all alone, He chose to dwell in me.
  5. Love is stronger than fear. Read 1 John 4 and you will see how important love really is. God is equated to being love but also is an assurance that we belong to Him because we subsequently mimic, like any doting child does, that which we see our father do. And while fear is the tool that pushes us into ourselves, Love breaks free and allows us to go to those around us with an assurance that ultimately, all will be well.

I have no doubt I will likely continue to hear the calls to fear and anxiety for the rest of my life. That I will need to rehearse these to myself and be reminded of them by my brothers and sisters in Christ. But for this I am grateful, that today the tomb is empty and no news of Covid-19, no earthquake or economic collapse can take away this truth; I have hope that He who is in me is greater than he who is in the world and that one day this will be all made right and I will get to worship Him forever.

Wrestling with this like I have been? Pray with me… “Father, I confess my unbelief. That I have failed to trust your sovereign rule over all things. That I have indulged my own sin and fear and have failed to love as a result of it. Help my unbelief and give me faith. Help me to trust in your love for me that I might begin to faithfully love others. And allow your Son’s death and resurrection to begin to mark everything I say, think, and do with the hope you promise me.”

Theology’s Role in Pastoral Counseling

Theology, broadly defined as the study of God and/or God’s nature, is at the core of how every person responds to the world around them. If you believe that there is no God, you are an atheist and will likely have no belief in an eternal afterlife or any sense of concern about an eternal judgment. But if you believe in a god, you will likely have at least some small idea of what that god is like and will respond accordingly.

The un-biblical belief, “As long as I am a generally good person, I’ll go to heaven,” will result in a generalized attempt at doing more good than bad with no real concern for the consequences of the bad.

“God is an old codger looking to burn us under his magnifying glass as though we were ants on an ant-hill,” tends to lead people to shake their fists at a cruel God and leaves them living their life however they want.

“God is like a warm, bearded grandfather who listens to our prayers and guides and directs us the way he wants us and occasionally slips a little candy into our pocket when our parents aren’t looking.” This leaves someone believing that God is there for our benefit and tends to treat God as such, rather than believing that we are here for God’s sake.

Each of the above views leaves a person responding to each hurdle, victory, and relationship in life with a bent that they wouldn’t have if they believed God to be something different. Theology, the study of God, then informs not only how we advise those we provide guidance to, but also how those we guide respond to that very teaching.

Infographic from www.Visualtheology.church.

Knowing not only the theology of those we provide pastoral counseling to, but explaining our theology to them is an important part of counseling. The characteristics of God help us show those we are counseling why we advise as we do and sometimes dictates that we not say anything at all but only provide a listening ear. But then at times, what we would advise is not very clear to a person until we explain the very nature and character of God.

Theology then is an important part of counseling. Without studying Scripture and the character of God, a pastoral counselor will be very limited in his effectiveness. And without responding to God as Scripture reveals, a counselee will wrestle with whatever it was that drove them to seek help in the first place. Theology is central to counseling.

Book Review: God’s Grace In Your Suffering by David Powlison

If you are not familiar with the hymn, “How Firm a Foundation” you will quickly become familiar with it as you read God’s Grace In Your Suffering by David Powlison. The entire premise of the book is to map out the way the song addresses suffering. And he does so as only a master counselor could. I will refrain from sharing the hymn here, but will link to the lyrics here.

This book is no treatise or theological dissertation on God’s grace in the middle of suffering. Quite the opposite actually. In the mere 128 pages of the book, Powlison covers a lot of ground, but his goal is much simpler, and readable. Where does he start? With the one in scripture most acquainted with suffering outside of Christ; Job. This was the place I would have started and the place that I have often gone back to in showing how a listening ear can be more helpful than a mountain of advice and correction. Powlison does an excellent job of providing a useful resource in affirming God’s grace amongst our suffering.

Throughout, Powlison affirms the sufficiency of Scripture, emphasizes the sovereignty of God in our suffering, and adeptly encourages sufferers to see the purposes God may have in their suffering. Throughout this book, Powlison points to stories such as; Job, Abraham, Jacob, and Joseph as examples from scripture of instances of suffering where God, in his sovereignty uses the situation for His purposes. As he writes, he emphasizes the need to rely on God himself as the sustainer through trials and how the work God has already done and will do is the basis of comfort through all trials.

There is much to be valued here, but in a very careful way, Powlison offers a question most sufferers are not interested in asking themselves. A question that a counselor should be willing and ready to ask at the appropriate time in an appropriate manner. Usually, one who suffers asks the question, “Why me? Why do I have to suffer this.” David turns the question around and asks, “Why not me? Why not this (suffering)?”

The question is presented in a gentle way, reaffirming all the needed promises and assurances of God’s faithfulness to those suffering to have the strength enough to ask this question. David Powlison shows himself a careful counselor as he asks this question. But it is a needed question. The implications of the gospel are such that we cannot ignore the fact that as enemies of God, we deserve worse than death; we deserve eternal damnation. In God’s grace, he has saved us from eternal suffering and intends to use the brief suffering we experience here on earth as a means to refine us and restore the creation around us. “Why not me?” places the motivation in suffering back into God’s sovereign hands.

This book is a great text for those suffering or for those seeking to help those through suffering if we understand it to be simply an exhortation to look deeper into scripture, deeper into our Savior’s loving arms for comfort. I would commend this book to any suffering and looking for where to find comfort. And with it being a short read, it is definitely worth your time.

The following book review is an ongoing effort on my part to find resources worth sharing that may help any and all who are looking to counsel others. It was also done in conjunction with Crossway’s Book Review Program and subsequently a free digital copy of the book was provided for my review.

Feasting with Jesus and the Church

Courtesy of https://www.foodiesfeed.com/free-food-photo/people-feasting-on-healthy-salad-buffet/

 

We’re all hungry. There’s an emptiness in us that makes us crave something. It gnaws at us, and as we all try to figure out what to fill it up with, we all keep looking for more and more. Because no matter what we try to fill that hunger with, nothing seems to help. We still walk away feeling hungry. Some have discovered that when they sit at Jesus’ table and focus on him, the hunger fades and at times completely disappears. Jesus nourishes the soul in a way nothing else does. He even points to a time when there will be no more hunger at all.

If you’re one of those who have eaten with Jesus, after you got over the surprise at finding you’re not hungry any more you notice that there are others seated at the same table all enjoying this feast. And at first it’s like, “This is the best meal I’ve ever shared with anyone!” It’s so tasty! Because this Jesus feast is so good, you start trying to help those who are already eating to enjoy it more. And then you see those who are going hungry, completely oblivious of the feast, and you start telling them about how good it is. You want them to enjoy it too.

There are others around the table that get passionate about wanting to do the same thing too. But they decide that to do it, they need to plan more activities and more events and they get lost in looking for whatever “more” they think will help that they forget to eat themselves or to help those who are eating already to enjoy the meal. Then others think they need to dress up this feast to look a lot like the food that doesn’t really fill anyone else up so that people might see that it’s good and want to be a part of the feast. But it starts to lose some of its flavor and appeal and isn’t as attractive. Some just eat enough at the feast to get enough to get by until they need a little refresh and don’t really care what happens to everyone else at the table. You’ve watched some get so upset about what the feast has become that they vow never to eat here again.

And when you finally look around and you see what’s happened to this amazing feast, your broken over it. You know this isn’t what the feast was supposed to look like. It was supposed to be a simple meal where everyone enjoys the food, passes it around to those who have little or none, and everyone just keeps passing it around. It’s good food and good company and an open invitation for anyone to come who is hungry. A foreshadowing of the eternal feast to come for all who place their faith in Jesus.

We all know someone who has been hurt by the church. I’ve been both the one who was hurt and the one who has hurt people. And man, I look at those times and grieve. This isn’t what this feast is supposed to look like. We all know that. We all know that the feast is going to be perfect and this is far from it. We’re imperfect people trying to mirror the perfect ending we’re destined for. It’ll never be perfect. But we don’t have to settle.

What if church focused more on the quality of the feast rather than the amount of people being fed? What if people decided that the feast Jesus is serving up is worth loving Him and each other even when it hurts. What if church was a community of people who loved sharing out of the abundance of the feast and committed to loving God, loving each other, and inviting others to the feast? Wouldn’t that be a light in a dark world that attracts unbelievers? Wouldn’t that be the salt of the world that makes everything else taste better?

 

A feast is meant to be enjoyed. This feast, the church, can still be enjoyed. Let us savor the bounty we have in Jesus acknowledging that we may have to rethink how we have been eating, and refocus on the one who serves us.

 

 

Hope

Hope

I can remember what living without hope feels like. It’s like having an empty void in the center of your being that just eats at any and everything. Anything you place in your life quickly gets sucked up by the vacuum of hopelessness. “What’s the point?” begins to become your motto. And eventually as you see all that you care about sucked up in that void, you finally just want to give up. The suffering, the struggle of living without hope is too much. I remember having a knife to my wrist, overwhelmed by the sense of hopelessness in my life. There was nothing left to live for. Despite feeling like I had nothing left to hope in, I still wished, hoped even, for someone to come bursting through my door to give me something to hope in.

Hope

There’s a passage of scripture worth pondering. Proverbs 13:12a says, “Hope deferred makes the heart sick…” Without hope, or with hope that’s been set aside (deferred), the heart is made sick. The heart is made sick as a result of a lack of hope. This has implications for all of us, not just counselors.

I didn’t know Christ when I was suicidal. I was sick. I had nothing to hope in. Don’t get me wrong, I had tried to hope in many things. I had hoped that I would go to college, become a Japanese interpreter, find a woman that I could start a family with and many other things. Inevitably, they all let me down. And each time another “hope” let me down, I had less to hope in. The less I had to hope in, the emptier I became. Eventually, I was done hoping completely. I gave up. I was as sick as I could be. I was ready to die.

But then someone came along who cared about me who showed me that I could hope again. That there was something worth hoping in. Something that wouldn’t and couldn’t be sucked up into the vacuum of hopelessness. I had searched all my life for something like that, and finally, someone showed me where to find it.

As I write this, I am listening to one of my favorite songs. A song about the hope that is worth hoping in.

The world waits for a miracle
The heart longs for a little bit of hope
Oh come, oh come, Emmanuel

 

Hope is one of those things that is essential to a healthy heart. We all hope for something; relief from debt, freedom from addiction, a healthy relationship. But there’s a greater hope, a hope worth pointing people to. A hope that says that one day we will live in light of the hope we’ve all been waiting for. Death will be deferred and hope will come…and we shall call him Emmanuel; God with us. We will set aside the disappointments and sorrows and we will worship him. And I suspect it’ll sound something like this:

He is the song for the suffering
He is Messiah, the Prince of Peace has come
He has come, Emmanuel
Glory to the light of the world
Glory to the light of the world
Glory to the light of the world
Glory to the light of the world
For all who wait
For all who hunger
For all who’ve prayed
For all who wonder
Behold your King
Behold Messiah
Emmanuel, Emmanuel*

Hope

 

*Songwriters: Lauren Daigle / Paul Duncan / Paul Mabury   // Light Of The World lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Essential Music Publishing, Capitol Christian Music Group

When A Counselor is Desperate

When a Counselor is Desperate

I’ve wondered lately about where my heart has been. The past few weeks I’ve sensed a high level of self-sufficiency, and I realize the burden this is. Perhaps that seems like a contradictory statement to you. Or maybe you have been in the church a while and recognize the error this is. But I felt it in my heart. I knew there was something wrong when I thought about prayer and wasn’t really sure I knew what I should pray for. Self-sufficiency had become the barrier to Gospel-dependency.

While working on my undergraduate, I was asked by one of my favorite professors to read a book called Broken by Nancy Leigh Demoss. It contrasts the differences between a proud person and a broken person. When I read it, I was overwhelmed by the realization that my most fervent, committed times of prayer and intimacy with God were times I sensed my need; when I was most desperate for Him.

Desperate Counselor - Gospel Centered Counseling

As a human being, these times often are interspersed with times of self-sufficiency, pride, and apathy. But the times I seek God the most faithfully are the times I really know I am desperate. I am convinced, then, that brokenness, or desperation, is a true gift of God; a reminder of my need and dependence on Him. My heart echoed this reality this morning when Pastor Eric Roseberry from City of God Church in Lafayette Indiana preached on Mark 9. In this chapter, there is a father whose son has been possessed by a demon. The demon has made multiple attempts to “destroy” the son. This father obviously is desperate and seeks Jesus’ healing. And Jesus obliges. The apostles, who had been seeking to help the boy, were unable. Jesus seems to subsequently condemn those without faith. And when the disciples followed up with Jesus later as to why they were unable, Jesus says that this kind of demon can only be cast out by prayer.

Two things; Jesus condemns those without faith when the people point out that the disciples were unable to cast out the demon. He then tells them that prayer is the only way this kind of demon can be removed; through faith, and asking God for help. Faith and desperation; this is where we find our deepest prayers. But it’s also where we find God working the most.

When a counselor is desperate, that’s when they are going to find God working. Perhaps that’s you. Perhaps you are handling an entire church’s counseling load on your own. Or maybe you just have so many you are trying to help that you can’t remember which is which. Or maybe you just have one very difficult person that you are trying to help. Maybe the problem is even in your own family where broken relationships are revealing the depth of your own weaknesses and struggles. Believe me, I know what this feels like. I believe these are the moments you are looking for; moments that require you to ask God for help.

Let me encourage you to do what I have failed to do too often. Don’t be too quick to refer to someone else. Don’t be quick to run away from those within the broken church. Don’t be quick to dismiss people’s problems just because you’re desperately trying to hold things together. Make sure that in your weakness and inability that you seek God’s help. And when you start to notice that you are operating on a “been there done that” mentality, question yourself. When your mentality is that you can handle the problems people are bringing to you, perhaps you’ve already gotten in the way of what God really wants to do. Don’t be afraid to be desperate. And make sure to have people who are pointing you in the right direction when you really are desperate. The truth is you will be desperate as a counselor. But when a counselor is desperate, they can see more clearly their need of God, and their dependence on the promises and character of God.

 

A Broken Church

I have been pondering the role of the church in today’s contexts a lot as of late. America has become a post-Christian nation despite the fact that the majority of American’s claiming to be Christian. Many are questioning the role and purpose of being a part of a local church body. After all, with technology we can now “do church” from our living room in our PJ’s right?

I think the local church is necessary, important, and relevant even for today. I think it’s important enough that I hope to write at least one blog on why we still need the church. But before I can write that, I have to acknowledge that one of the biggest reasons that people are questioning the church is a valid reason to question the church; it’s broken.

A Broken Church - Gospel Centered Counseling

 

The church is full of broken hurting people, seeking to fulfill an eternally important mission with other broken and hurting people and are in turn creating messes. That’s just the reality of what the church has been doing since it was created. Beyond that, in an article summarizing a study done by the Barna Group on discipleship from 2015, 6 in 10 pastors indicated they believe that the church is discipling “not too well”. That’s 60% of pastors indicating that we’re not fulfilling our mission well.  And further in the article it states that less than 20% of Christians are involved in any sort of discipleship activity.1 

The main calling of the church is to go and make disciples of all nations (Mt. 28), and yet, we’re self-evaluating as “not (discipling) too well”. In another study done with Barna and Pepperdine, only 24% of people view pastors in a very positive light while 28% of people indicate that they have a somewhat or negative view of pastors and another 23% have little regard for a pastor.2 This means that 51% of the population are at best apathetic towards pastors, those leading, teaching, and training Christians in the mission of making disciples. One can only wonder what this means for the church for the future of our leaders are not viewed positively by the majority of our culture.

In addition to struggling with our mission, our leaders not being viewed in a positive light by the majority of our culture, the church is filled with hurting people who are trying to help people while struggling with their own struggles with sin, hurts, and loving well. The church, every church, is a broken church. But a broken church is not something that we need to hide from. It’s actually a reason to hope. Because within a broken church, there is opportunity after opportunity for God’s redemption to be seen. There are multiple passages in Scripture of individuals who struggle with brokenness and in that weakness God’s power being “made perfect” (2 Cor 12:9).3 So yes, the church is a broken church. But stay tuned, because I hope to share why you shouldn’t be quick in running away from a broken church.

_________

  1. https://www.barna.com/research/new-research-on-the-state-of-discipleship/
  2. https://www.barna.com/research/credibility-crisis-todays-pastors/
  3. Exodus 3:11, 12; 4:10-15; Jeremiah 1:6-9; 1 Cor 2:3, 5; 2 Cor 3:5, 6.

 

Running Away

Running Away

When a pain finally is acknowledged by your brain, your body responds to protect itself by pulling away. Once, when I was just a preteen, I accidentally stepped on the sharpened end of a pencil that pierced deep into my foot. Before my foot went all the way to the floor, my foot immediately pulled away from the pencil before I had time to think about what had happened. It was a natural reaction that required no forethought because my body was trying to protect itself. Likely you have experienced many instances in your life of the same principle.

Running Away

Relationships are no different. When we experience pain in them, and yes it’s a “when” and not an “if” statement, you likely will pull away from that relationship because of a pain or perceived pain you have experienced; that’s normal. We have a tendency, a propensity if you will, towards running away from pain. It not only allows us to avoid an initial pain, but if we do it well, we end up avoiding the source of that pain and any future pain it may cause us. This is where I think we err. We think that by running away permanently, we avoid any future pain that source can cause us and subsequently are running towards a happier or better life.

Late last year, I got into running. I found that something I had previously hated had started to become a rather enjoyable experience. It allowed me some solitude, some time to think and pray, and a chance to push my boundaries and grow. It was also about this time that my wife and I started to confront some issues that had come up in our marriage that was a source of pain. I found running easier than dealing with those issues. My running began to be more than just about running. I was running away from pain.

But what I eventually had to learn was that in order to run further and farther, to get to that finish line, I had to embrace pain. It’s a lesson I constantly have to relearn. Running long distances, I’ve had to learn that you’ll eventually start to feel the strain on your body. That pain is inevitable if you want to keep on running and to cross that finish line. It’s when you learn this that the initial desire to run from pain loses its appeal. Yeah, you’ll likely pull back when hurt. Sometimes in relationships when you are hurt deeply, you’ll pull back for an extended period of time to recoup and handle the pain. And on occasion, when a relationship is obviously very toxic that time away may be indefinite until reconciliation can happen.

But relationships are meant to be a source of imagery to God’s ability for reconciliation and unity. Relationships are a place where as Christians we can model love and forgiveness and reconciliation despite the pain inflicted upon us. Because if this is what Jesus has done for us in reconciling us to him through death and suffering, we as his image-bearers need to strap on our running shoes and prepare to run towards pain. I’m still trying to learn what that looks like. My wife has been patient with me as I’ve tried to figure that out in our ten years of marriage. She’s modeled well what it looks like to pursue me, to run towards me even when it hurts. Let us then run this race towards pain with endurance, seeking to cross that finish line to the glory of God (1 Cor 10:31).

The Sorrow of Tomorrow

The Sorrow of Tomorrow

My heart is weary. It’s not hard to imagine why. Even those who do not have much place for faith can look around our country and point to any number of different issues causing sorrow and pain. Something is wrong with our world. I heard tonight of a story of a newborn diagnosed with a developmental disorder and a literal hole in their heart. For the past week I have watched as a family has had to say goodbye to their toddler as a result of a tragic accident. And as I consider the sorrow of today I am ready to be undone by the sorrow of tomorrow. For these things won’t just disappear tomorrow. They’re actually likely to get worse. And I’m not sure I am ready for it.

It’s amidst these trials and tribulations that it’s tempting to loosen my hold on God. To distance myself from the one who seems to ignore my prayers, to ignore the suffering of today, or who even may seem to be the cause of the sorrow of tomorrow. If He is a good God, how can he let so much bad happen? If He is all powerful, why does he ignore my prayers for things that seem to be  something a good God would want?

In Mark 14:34, Jesus describes his current status as being “very sorrowful, even to death.” He’s in the Garden of Gethsemane with Peter, James, and John and he asks them to watch while he prays. The Last Supper is finished, one of his closest disciples is in the process of betraying him, and Jesus knows he is about to be put through the worst possible death available to anyone during his day and age. My sorrow may be big but it certainly can’t compare to this. My closest friends aren’t betraying me to death. I’m not about to undergo torture to the point of literal death.

While Jesus prays, he asks for relief. He falls on his face and prayed that the hour might pass from him. He then asks God to remove this cup of sorrow from him (verses 35-36).  I can see that in great sorrow, it’s okay to ask for God to remove it. To ask for that relief. But I have to acknowledge something that even Jesus acknowledges before he finishes his prayer. It may be that this sorrow is part of God’s will for me. That somehow God wills this pain for me. Even while Jesus asked for relief, he acknowledges that God’s will may in fact be that he has to go through all this pain and tribulation. He acknowledges that while he wants the sorrow of tomorrow to pass, that it may in fact be exactly what God intends for him. And he submits to that truth.

I have to trust that while I may not fully understand what caused Jesus to pray this prayer, I do know that because He lives in me, he empowers me to willingly submit to the sorrow of tomorrow for the sake of God’s will. I may not be Christ, I may not be facing execution, but I can at least acknowledge that God’s will intends to use pain in my life to make me more like Jesus. To be willing to trust and submit to a Father who loves me and might allow me to suffer for His purposes. To be more dependent on the one who yearns for me to come to him like a child asking for help.

Hope that Anchors the Soul Amidst the Sorrows of Tomorrow

Today’s sorrows may be great and the sorrow of tomorrow may threaten to undo you. But there is hope. Hope that can anchor your soul (Hebrews 6:19) so that when the storm threatens to undo your sails with the sorrow of tomorrow, you can hold fast and weather the storm. One day the sorrow of tomorrow will be the the sorrow of yesterday and the day will be the day of the Lord in which every tear is wiped away and the weary and heavy laden will find rest. Weep. Pray and ask for relief. But trust a God who suffers with us and endured the sorrows of tomorrow, that he might one day make your sorrows a thing of the past.

For The Love of the Body: Losing 200 lbs

For The Love of the Body: Losing 200 lbs

 

200 lbs. Well, 200.8 lbs to be exact as of today. That’s how much weight I’ve lost over the past three years. All because a few guys who love Jesus were concerned for me and the witness I was giving the world around me. My body told the world that my appetites were lord. These brother’s challenged me. They reminded me how important it was that I let the world see who was Lord over my life. Thus began the journey of learning to worship with my body. I weighed 375 lbs when I started. I now weigh 174.2 lbs. As I lost the weight, there were different motivations (some appropriate, some not so appropriate). But through it all, I found that the more I lost, the more I found other believers wanting to worship with their bodies as well but unsure of how. So, here’s a few tips on the “how”. This is an honest and practical 5-step guide, for the love of the body of Christ God has stirred in me through this journey.

 

For the love of the body - Gospel Centered Counseling - Health
Stock photo (not me)!

 

  1. Worship – If your motivation is health, eventually you’ll find another healthier reason to not lose the weight (chocolate’s good for you, right?!). Maybe your knee hurts, so you decide to rest and not find an exercise to burn the calories. Or maybe you just realize that with age, you’ll have a few extra pounds. Worship makes you realize that your body isn’t yours. Finding balance with rest, exercise, and healthy eating comes from a heart of wanting to treat your body as though it were the temple of God. You’ll lose the weight for the love of the body God gave you. If you don’t have a “why” that conquers over all the other motivations of your heart, you’ll eventually stop or give up. The only one worth that kind of devotion is God. So worship.
  2. Find what works – The easiest way for me to get started was with a low-carb diet. I needed something that would help me cut out a lot of weight really quickly to help me build momentum. Plus, I’m a meat and potatoes kind of guy. It was easy to give up the potato when you’re eating multiple bacon cheese burgers (sans buns). But eventually I had to switch to a low calorie, vegetarian lifestyle to achieve the level of health and mental acuity I felt appropriate. Every person needs a different lifestyle and eating pattern. Find what works for you. This applies to the big picture (type of eating lifestyle) to the small details (which snacks can you eat and stay within your daily goals)? I’ve found that ultimately it boils down to calories for me.
  3. Build patterns – Patterns help you get into a grove of losing weight, eating right, and exercising and getting rest. You’ll never be able to stick to the pattern 100% but if you get into a pattern, you’ll find yourself making good choices by default. It’ll reduce the variables that often wreak havoc to eating right and exercising. I buy the same type of groceries, eat similar dishes (mixing things up here and there with seasonings, rotating through recipes/dishes, and having a collection of snacks on hand). My coworkers ask me if something’s wrong if they don’t smell my baked french fries when they come into work.
  4. Pay attention to your drinks – Most diets are going to require you, at some point, to count or have a strong sense of how much of something you’re consuming. Whether that’s calories, carbs, or “points”, you’ll be counting something. I’ve noticed that sodas, special coffee drinks, juices, etc. all have a lot of sugar, calories, and carbs. If you need to take baby steps (highly recommend if you’ve not had a lot of success in the past at treating your body right), start with the drinks.
  5. Be Radical – When sin is identified, Christ calls us to be radical in getting rid of it. Cut off the arm or pluck out the eye that causes you to sin. That doesn’t mean you should go and physically chop off your arm or pluck out your eye. But it does mean be radical. If you have a snack that you just need to finish off before starting your diet, throw out the snack. If you’re waiting for the holidays to end or whatever, drop that mindset like a Twinkie in a trash-can and start now. It may mean eating carrot sticks instead of chocolate covered cake with chocolate icing, but remember, worship isn’t always easy, but it’s always worth it.
  6. Community – Worship is easier when done in community. Find a group of people who can help encourage, hold you accountable, and celebrate with you when you reach goals.

 

I could offer more specifics but that’s beyond a single blog post. Comment below with what you have found helpful or recipes you’ve used to help worship with your body!