S.3 EP.6 - Are your insecurities and comparison keeping you stuck?

Jun 7

Body image struggles plagued the majority of women. But why? And what should the Christian response be to it in our own life? Carla shares some hard truths, but offers hope in overcoming this bondage.

Key Takeaways:

Carla opens by honestly sharing about procrastinating recording the episode, as she has found it challenging to find what it takes to present this topic with God’s grace.

Stats - 50% of girls struggle with body image by the age of 10, and that number jumps to 80% at 17 years of age and stays the same throughout adulthood - these stats apply to Christian women just as much as others! As Christian women, we are unable to move forward in God’s purpose and plan for our lives when we let ourselves be limited by our struggle with our appearance.
Carla shares how she has struggled with body image throughout her life! All the methods - from laxatives to diet and fitness culture - have pervaded her life. She even shares how her preoccupation with her body kept her from experiencing true joy and left her tired.
Carla talks about how our society tells us (media, family, etc) that how we look is the most important thing about us - that our value and worth comes from our appearance. Carla says it’s the enemy’s best scheme to keep us ineffective in the Kingdom of Heaven! She challenges listeners to take back their lives and get their eyes off of self and back onto Jesus.
We are creating idols out of our body. Ask yourself “How much mind time is being taken up by my body?” and “How much of my decision making is being taken up by how I feel in my body?” Carla asks, “How many things are you saying ‘no’ to because you don’t like the way you look?” or “How many memories are you staying out of because you don’t want to be in a picture?”
What is our body for? It is not a measuring stick for our value, but a vessel that enables us to carry out God’s will.
We think that by changing ourselves externally, it will make us like what’s on the inside better. This is a LIE. You cannot heal the inside through external measures.
Carla asks “How can you get back to the way God wants you to be? How can you view your worth, contribution and value to the Kingdom through God’s eyes?”

You have to stop the “Binge-Restrict” cycle. Our bodies were built smart to connect to understand what it needs! Carla shares how she learned to reconnect to her intuitive body signals, and how freeing it was.
Realize that how your body looks is the least important/interesting thing about you. Man looks at outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart. WHO are you living for? Jesus didn’t die on the cross for you to be a size two.

Carla shares her journey out of diet/image culture into the Kingdom impact culture. God is calling us to live for him - not for the scale or the next photo op.
The root of body image issues is spiritual - what is your identity in Christ? What is calling you to focus on?
How do you move on?

You HAVE to divorce diet culture. Diet culture is built to keep you spending money and time on feeling like you’re not enough. The enemy uses this to waste your time and energy.
Change up your social media feed. Many accounts breed comparison! Find accounts that uplift and represent the things you need to focus on.
Remember WHO you are. Ask God about your gifts, your purpose, where He wants to lead you. Imagine if you spent all the time thinking about body image and used that energy to focus on God’s purpose and calling in your life!
Break the Chains. Go to God, and give it to Him! This is a process. It’s an ongoing battle, but it’s worth the fight.