1 00:00:02,640 --> 00:00:06,640 Speaker 1: Life Audio. Hey, their friend, how they creak more hair? 2 00:00:07,040 --> 00:00:10,879 Speaker 1: I'm so glad you're listening to the compared to podcasts today. Hey, 3 00:00:10,920 --> 00:00:15,760 Speaker 1: we are backed for another year of new episodes, and 4 00:00:15,840 --> 00:00:20,520 Speaker 1: today we're starting with a hot topic. Oh, y'all, I 5 00:00:20,560 --> 00:00:24,480 Speaker 1: couldn't tell you how many times I have had someone 6 00:00:24,760 --> 00:00:29,440 Speaker 1: say this to me and it sounds like this, My 7 00:00:29,640 --> 00:00:34,120 Speaker 1: body image issues are just my thorn in the flesh. 8 00:00:35,360 --> 00:00:37,599 Speaker 1: Maybe you've heard it you, maybe you've had a friend 9 00:00:37,680 --> 00:00:40,040 Speaker 1: side to you, or a small group leader or a pastor, 10 00:00:41,640 --> 00:00:46,040 Speaker 1: and perhaps you're sitting there, exhausted, having confessed for the 11 00:00:46,280 --> 00:00:50,839 Speaker 1: hundredth time that you can't stop obsessing over your body 12 00:00:51,440 --> 00:00:54,880 Speaker 1: or your weight, or your size, what you look like, 13 00:00:55,120 --> 00:00:59,680 Speaker 1: how you're aging, and someone just delivers you on a 14 00:00:59,680 --> 00:01:03,480 Speaker 1: plot Paul's words from Sun Corinthians. Thinking it's a warm blanket, 15 00:01:03,680 --> 00:01:06,600 Speaker 1: like God's grace is sufficient for you. His power is 16 00:01:06,640 --> 00:01:09,679 Speaker 1: made perfect in your weakness. What if the struggle is 17 00:01:09,760 --> 00:01:13,600 Speaker 1: just your thorn in the flesh, just like Paul had, 18 00:01:14,280 --> 00:01:17,600 Speaker 1: You just have this problem, so you'll stay humble and 19 00:01:17,640 --> 00:01:23,160 Speaker 1: continue to lean on God. And I understand sort of 20 00:01:23,280 --> 00:01:27,240 Speaker 1: like how we get there, And maybe it adds a 21 00:01:27,280 --> 00:01:29,760 Speaker 1: little comfort, Maybe it takes a little pressure off. Maybe 22 00:01:30,400 --> 00:01:33,360 Speaker 1: it tells us something like this isn't your fault, or 23 00:01:33,400 --> 00:01:36,400 Speaker 1: there's nothing you can do about it. Just endure these 24 00:01:36,480 --> 00:01:39,760 Speaker 1: body image issues and let God's grace cover them. But 25 00:01:40,000 --> 00:01:44,200 Speaker 1: today I want to offer a different perspective. I want 26 00:01:44,240 --> 00:01:50,200 Speaker 1: to gently and firmly push back that your body image 27 00:01:50,240 --> 00:01:56,440 Speaker 1: struggle is not the same as Paul's thorn and calling 28 00:01:56,480 --> 00:01:59,960 Speaker 1: your body image issues that as I don't know, maybe 29 00:02:00,160 --> 00:02:04,920 Speaker 1: generous or kind as it sounds. If you categorize your 30 00:02:04,960 --> 00:02:07,520 Speaker 1: body image issues as you are thorn in the flesh, 31 00:02:07,640 --> 00:02:11,800 Speaker 1: you might actually be keeping yourself stuck in a struggle 32 00:02:12,600 --> 00:02:16,400 Speaker 1: that the Gospel already has an answer for. Because if 33 00:02:16,440 --> 00:02:19,720 Speaker 1: the root of your body image issue is what scripture 34 00:02:19,760 --> 00:02:23,640 Speaker 1: and thoughtful teachers, and honestly, maybe your own gut have 35 00:02:23,800 --> 00:02:28,600 Speaker 1: been telling you that it's sin, idolatry disordered worship, then 36 00:02:28,639 --> 00:02:33,639 Speaker 1: that is categorically different than Paul's thorn in the flesh. 37 00:02:33,720 --> 00:02:37,600 Speaker 1: A thorn is something you are called to endure. Sin 38 00:02:37,720 --> 00:02:40,160 Speaker 1: is something you are invited to bring to the cross, 39 00:02:40,680 --> 00:02:43,520 Speaker 1: and those are not the same thing. That's where we're 40 00:02:43,520 --> 00:02:54,079 Speaker 1: going today. I'm glad you're here for it. Going, hey, friend, 41 00:02:54,160 --> 00:02:58,440 Speaker 1: today we are gonna go deep. We're going to look 42 00:02:58,639 --> 00:03:02,720 Speaker 1: at some theologue things that I hope are going to 43 00:03:02,800 --> 00:03:06,720 Speaker 1: help you. I hope this distinction that your body image 44 00:03:06,720 --> 00:03:09,920 Speaker 1: issues are not your thorn in the flesh will be 45 00:03:10,080 --> 00:03:13,240 Speaker 1: one of the most freeing things that you've ever heard. 46 00:03:13,919 --> 00:03:16,320 Speaker 1: So today we're going to look at what was Paul's 47 00:03:16,360 --> 00:03:21,800 Speaker 1: thorn in the flesh? Actually, what wasn't it, and why 48 00:03:21,919 --> 00:03:25,160 Speaker 1: maybe so many of us have borrowed that language to 49 00:03:25,160 --> 00:03:30,560 Speaker 1: describe something that the Bible actually categorizes is very different. 50 00:03:31,480 --> 00:03:33,920 Speaker 1: And here's the hope buried in all of this. I 51 00:03:33,960 --> 00:03:37,040 Speaker 1: don't want you to lose this as we go deeper 52 00:03:37,080 --> 00:03:41,960 Speaker 1: into the theology. If body image issues have a root 53 00:03:42,240 --> 00:03:48,560 Speaker 1: of sin, that means they also have a cure. When 54 00:03:48,880 --> 00:03:53,600 Speaker 1: I would do speaking engagements early on, I would carry 55 00:03:53,640 --> 00:03:58,120 Speaker 1: this bag and I would talk about, oh, being a woman, 56 00:03:58,200 --> 00:04:00,680 Speaker 1: I just had to carry on this bag of my issues, 57 00:04:00,760 --> 00:04:03,240 Speaker 1: this bag of my body image issues. Oh what a 58 00:04:03,240 --> 00:04:05,680 Speaker 1: burden it was to have this bag of my body 59 00:04:05,680 --> 00:04:08,960 Speaker 1: image issues. And then I would talk about how, no, 60 00:04:09,240 --> 00:04:12,600 Speaker 1: if there was a root of sin, then this wasn't 61 00:04:12,640 --> 00:04:15,400 Speaker 1: some baggage I just had to drag around with me. 62 00:04:16,040 --> 00:04:17,880 Speaker 1: That there was actually a cure for it, and I 63 00:04:17,920 --> 00:04:20,920 Speaker 1: would throw the bag across the room kind of surprise 64 00:04:21,040 --> 00:04:22,960 Speaker 1: the people in the audience and try not to hit 65 00:04:22,960 --> 00:04:27,680 Speaker 1: any of them, but just to show how different it is. 66 00:04:28,360 --> 00:04:32,520 Speaker 1: Once you see the root of these issues, you can 67 00:04:32,640 --> 00:04:35,400 Speaker 1: also see that there's a cure. But here's the thing. 68 00:04:35,839 --> 00:04:42,200 Speaker 1: Thorns don't have a cure. Paul asked three times, and 69 00:04:42,240 --> 00:04:45,240 Speaker 1: God said, no, they don't. I mean, maybe they have 70 00:04:45,320 --> 00:04:47,120 Speaker 1: a cure, but they don't get cured, or at least 71 00:04:47,160 --> 00:04:53,520 Speaker 1: God did not cure Paul's thorn. But Sin, oh friend, 72 00:04:53,600 --> 00:04:58,880 Speaker 1: Sin has a savior, Sin has a cross, Sin has 73 00:04:58,960 --> 00:05:05,960 Speaker 1: a Therefore, now, while there is no condemnation from Romans 74 00:05:06,000 --> 00:05:10,560 Speaker 1: to categorize it as something different, it's a completely different 75 00:05:10,680 --> 00:05:14,760 Speaker 1: trajectory than learn to live with this forever and God's 76 00:05:14,800 --> 00:05:19,520 Speaker 1: grace is sufficient. Okay, so let's start by looking at 77 00:05:19,760 --> 00:05:23,279 Speaker 1: what Paul's thorn actually was. So let's look at the 78 00:05:23,279 --> 00:05:28,080 Speaker 1: passage Second Corinthians, chapter twelve. Paul's just described being caught 79 00:05:28,120 --> 00:05:32,760 Speaker 1: him into paradise, an extraordinary spiritual experience, these sad visions, revelations, 80 00:05:33,240 --> 00:05:36,279 Speaker 1: all the things, and right after describing this, he says 81 00:05:37,560 --> 00:05:42,120 Speaker 1: that to keep him from being conceded. And why would 82 00:05:42,160 --> 00:05:44,640 Speaker 1: he be conceded, Well, because he's just had these amazing, 83 00:05:44,880 --> 00:05:50,040 Speaker 1: great revelations, like he's, you know, a superhero in the 84 00:05:50,080 --> 00:05:54,279 Speaker 1: faith seeing these amazing revelations from God. So to keep 85 00:05:54,360 --> 00:05:58,159 Speaker 1: him from being conceited, he was given a thorn in 86 00:05:58,240 --> 00:06:00,679 Speaker 1: the flesh. And then here's what else is about the thorn? 87 00:06:01,240 --> 00:06:04,800 Speaker 1: A thorn in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to 88 00:06:04,800 --> 00:06:09,360 Speaker 1: torment him. He pleaded with the Lord three times that 89 00:06:09,440 --> 00:06:12,719 Speaker 1: it would leave him, and the answer he got back 90 00:06:13,440 --> 00:06:18,040 Speaker 1: wasn't I will help you overcome this, Paul. It was instead, 91 00:06:19,040 --> 00:06:22,440 Speaker 1: my grace is sufficient for you, for my power is 92 00:06:22,480 --> 00:06:27,200 Speaker 1: made perfect in weakness. Now, Bible scholars have debated for 93 00:06:27,360 --> 00:06:31,400 Speaker 1: centuries exactly what Paul's thorn was. Some think maybe it 94 00:06:31,440 --> 00:06:34,640 Speaker 1: was a physical ailment like eye trouble or some sort 95 00:06:34,680 --> 00:06:38,400 Speaker 1: of recurring illness. Some think it was a specific person 96 00:06:38,520 --> 00:06:41,360 Speaker 1: or group of opponents who tormented him wherever he went. 97 00:06:42,080 --> 00:06:45,599 Speaker 1: Some connect it to temptations of the flesh in a 98 00:06:45,640 --> 00:06:49,240 Speaker 1: more general sense. But the honest answer is we really 99 00:06:49,279 --> 00:06:52,560 Speaker 1: don't precisely know exactly what it was, and even the 100 00:06:52,640 --> 00:06:58,800 Speaker 1: most serious commentators think that ambiguity is probably intentional so 101 00:06:58,839 --> 00:07:03,200 Speaker 1: that believers in ever regeneration could see their own affliction 102 00:07:03,480 --> 00:07:07,440 Speaker 1: reflected in Paul's words. But here's what we do know 103 00:07:07,640 --> 00:07:11,360 Speaker 1: clearly from the text, and this part's not ambiguous at all. Okay, First, 104 00:07:11,640 --> 00:07:15,000 Speaker 1: we know that the thorn was given by God through 105 00:07:15,040 --> 00:07:17,760 Speaker 1: a messenger of Satan. Well, that's kind of yikes. We 106 00:07:17,800 --> 00:07:20,120 Speaker 1: need to probably break that down for a second. But 107 00:07:20,200 --> 00:07:24,200 Speaker 1: it's for a specific purpose to keep Paul from pride 108 00:07:24,360 --> 00:07:30,400 Speaker 1: after an extraordinary spiritual high. It wasn't punishment for something 109 00:07:30,480 --> 00:07:34,520 Speaker 1: Paul did wrong, and it wasn't rooted in a sin 110 00:07:35,080 --> 00:07:40,840 Speaker 1: that Paul needed to repent of. This was God permitting 111 00:07:42,480 --> 00:07:48,680 Speaker 1: Satan to afflict Paul with something that would be used 112 00:07:49,160 --> 00:07:56,680 Speaker 1: for his sanctification. God allowed this hard, bad thing to 113 00:07:56,800 --> 00:08:02,280 Speaker 1: be used to keep Paul humble. Now I know you're thinking, 114 00:08:02,480 --> 00:08:06,360 Speaker 1: but Heather, maybe God's allowing my body image is shoes 115 00:08:06,400 --> 00:08:09,920 Speaker 1: to be used to keep me humble the front. Hear me. 116 00:08:11,360 --> 00:08:14,840 Speaker 1: This wasn't rooted in sin. There is nothing Paul needed 117 00:08:14,840 --> 00:08:19,640 Speaker 1: to repent of here. Okay. Number two. Paul asked for 118 00:08:19,680 --> 00:08:23,000 Speaker 1: it to be removed and God said no, not yet, 119 00:08:23,280 --> 00:08:25,600 Speaker 1: not keep working on it. It was a clear no. 120 00:08:26,400 --> 00:08:29,080 Speaker 1: But it's paired with a promise, and the promise is 121 00:08:29,120 --> 00:08:34,240 Speaker 1: my grace is enough. My power shows up best when 122 00:08:34,400 --> 00:08:36,559 Speaker 1: you are weak, and some of you are Like again, Heather, 123 00:08:36,679 --> 00:08:39,280 Speaker 1: you're talking about my body image is shoes. I have 124 00:08:39,480 --> 00:08:41,840 Speaker 1: prayed and I've asked God to have them removed way 125 00:08:41,880 --> 00:08:46,080 Speaker 1: more than three times, and God's not doing anything. I'm 126 00:08:46,120 --> 00:08:51,280 Speaker 1: still struggling right. But here, my friend, God would never 127 00:08:51,400 --> 00:08:57,240 Speaker 1: say his grace is enough for a situation where you 128 00:08:57,280 --> 00:09:03,000 Speaker 1: are stuck in sin that requires repentance and confession, and 129 00:09:03,080 --> 00:09:07,560 Speaker 1: if you're still not sure. That wasn't the response number three. Here, 130 00:09:08,480 --> 00:09:13,200 Speaker 1: Paul's response was acceptance. If Paul had a sin issue 131 00:09:13,240 --> 00:09:17,960 Speaker 1: to deal with, his response would have been repentance. But instead, 132 00:09:18,080 --> 00:09:21,520 Speaker 1: Paul says, I will boast all the more gladly about 133 00:09:21,559 --> 00:09:25,720 Speaker 1: my weaknesses so that Christ's power may rest on me. 134 00:09:26,800 --> 00:09:29,439 Speaker 1: He didn't confess, he didn't put the sin to death. 135 00:09:30,080 --> 00:09:34,760 Speaker 1: There's no sin here. He's learned to be content in 136 00:09:34,960 --> 00:09:37,840 Speaker 1: this affliction, whatever it is, and he's learned to even 137 00:09:37,880 --> 00:09:39,720 Speaker 1: see purpose in it. He knows he's trying to keep 138 00:09:39,800 --> 00:09:45,880 Speaker 1: him humble. That's the whole shape of what a thorn is. 139 00:09:45,920 --> 00:09:49,880 Speaker 1: In the biblical sense. It's an affliction permitted by God, 140 00:09:50,320 --> 00:09:53,040 Speaker 1: and you begged God to remove it, but it's not 141 00:09:53,240 --> 00:09:56,800 Speaker 1: being removed, and so you have to learn to carry 142 00:09:56,880 --> 00:10:01,120 Speaker 1: it with contentment because God's grace it proves sufficient in 143 00:10:01,160 --> 00:10:04,880 Speaker 1: the carrying. Okay, so hold on to that shape, hold 144 00:10:04,880 --> 00:10:07,400 Speaker 1: on to those definitions, because we're about to compare it 145 00:10:07,400 --> 00:10:14,440 Speaker 1: to something very different right after this quick break. Okay, 146 00:10:14,440 --> 00:10:19,040 Speaker 1: now let's take a look at what scripture actually says 147 00:10:19,120 --> 00:10:23,040 Speaker 1: talks about sin, and specifically, this is sin that I 148 00:10:23,080 --> 00:10:25,040 Speaker 1: talk about a lot on this podcast. If this is 149 00:10:25,080 --> 00:10:27,800 Speaker 1: a brand new concept for you, if you're new to 150 00:10:27,840 --> 00:10:32,199 Speaker 1: the show, I talk about idolatry because I have found 151 00:10:32,520 --> 00:10:34,840 Speaker 1: personally my story. I share it in my book Compared 152 00:10:34,840 --> 00:10:38,520 Speaker 1: to Who through my Body Image workbook, I talk about this, 153 00:10:39,120 --> 00:10:42,560 Speaker 1: But idolatry, friend, is what I see over and over 154 00:10:42,600 --> 00:10:46,280 Speaker 1: and over again, is the sin that is keeping women 155 00:10:46,360 --> 00:10:51,720 Speaker 1: and probably men to stuck with body image issues. So 156 00:10:51,880 --> 00:10:55,560 Speaker 1: more honest about kind of the mechanics of what's going on, 157 00:10:55,760 --> 00:10:59,640 Speaker 1: what's behind our body image issues, that's normally what we find. 158 00:11:00,120 --> 00:11:02,520 Speaker 1: So let me just break this down for you. Idolatry 159 00:11:02,720 --> 00:11:07,959 Speaker 1: in the simplest sense is taking something good, even something 160 00:11:08,120 --> 00:11:12,679 Speaker 1: just genuinely good, a good gift from God and turning 161 00:11:12,760 --> 00:11:16,000 Speaker 1: into something more. So. It could be like caring for 162 00:11:16,040 --> 00:11:19,600 Speaker 1: your body, or wanting to be healthy, or wanting to 163 00:11:19,760 --> 00:11:24,920 Speaker 1: feel confident, or wanting to feel loved. Those are good desires. 164 00:11:24,920 --> 00:11:27,960 Speaker 1: It could even be a desire to lose weight. That's 165 00:11:28,080 --> 00:11:32,920 Speaker 1: not a bad desire. But what happens in idolatry is 166 00:11:33,000 --> 00:11:37,080 Speaker 1: instead of looking for really what God can only give, 167 00:11:37,240 --> 00:11:40,360 Speaker 1: like security and worth and identity and peace and salvation, 168 00:11:40,840 --> 00:11:44,280 Speaker 1: instead of seeking those things from God, we seek them 169 00:11:44,800 --> 00:11:48,240 Speaker 1: from something else, something that can't deliver. And in the 170 00:11:48,280 --> 00:11:56,640 Speaker 1: case of body image idolatry, we are seeking that security, worth, identity, peace, rest, salvation. 171 00:11:56,760 --> 00:11:59,559 Speaker 1: We're seeking that from the way our body looks or 172 00:11:59,559 --> 00:12:02,560 Speaker 1: the way our body feels, or the number we see 173 00:12:02,600 --> 00:12:04,280 Speaker 1: on the scale or the reflection we see in the 174 00:12:04,320 --> 00:12:09,040 Speaker 1: mirror or that size tag in our clothes. We are 175 00:12:09,400 --> 00:12:15,480 Speaker 1: asking something that can't deliver God's promises to try to 176 00:12:15,520 --> 00:12:20,800 Speaker 1: deliver on God's promises, and we are therefore making it 177 00:12:20,880 --> 00:12:24,079 Speaker 1: an idol. The tricky thing about living in the United 178 00:12:24,080 --> 00:12:27,960 Speaker 1: States in the day and age is, especially in Christian culture, 179 00:12:28,040 --> 00:12:30,360 Speaker 1: we tend to think we don't have any idols because 180 00:12:30,400 --> 00:12:34,959 Speaker 1: we don't have any statues, right, We're not physically bowing 181 00:12:35,040 --> 00:12:39,680 Speaker 1: down and worshiping something. But what God looks at right 182 00:12:39,840 --> 00:12:42,959 Speaker 1: is our heart. And we can tell what our heart 183 00:12:43,000 --> 00:12:47,440 Speaker 1: is worshiping by where we give our time and attention, 184 00:12:48,200 --> 00:12:50,600 Speaker 1: what we spend all of our time thinking about, what 185 00:12:50,640 --> 00:12:55,520 Speaker 1: we spend all of our money on, what consumes us. 186 00:12:55,960 --> 00:13:01,440 Speaker 1: And when we are consumed by something life body image issues, 187 00:13:01,800 --> 00:13:05,080 Speaker 1: like changing the number on the scale, it can become 188 00:13:05,120 --> 00:13:10,240 Speaker 1: an idol because we start to believe that changing the 189 00:13:10,320 --> 00:13:12,679 Speaker 1: number on the scale will save us. Now, okay, it's 190 00:13:12,679 --> 00:13:15,160 Speaker 1: not salvation, Like, we don't believe getting a lower number 191 00:13:15,160 --> 00:13:16,720 Speaker 1: on the scale is going to send us to heaven. 192 00:13:16,800 --> 00:13:21,120 Speaker 1: Of course not, but we do kind of believe getting 193 00:13:21,160 --> 00:13:23,400 Speaker 1: a lower number on the scale might send us to 194 00:13:23,520 --> 00:13:27,400 Speaker 1: some sort of earthly version of heaven. Right, we might 195 00:13:27,400 --> 00:13:30,000 Speaker 1: be able to live heaven on earth if we can 196 00:13:30,080 --> 00:13:33,520 Speaker 1: live here in a size four instead of a size fourteen. 197 00:13:34,360 --> 00:13:40,520 Speaker 1: And wow, that lie, that promise is so subtle, but 198 00:13:40,640 --> 00:13:46,200 Speaker 1: it's so convincing, and it's so lucrative, and it's so 199 00:13:46,880 --> 00:13:51,359 Speaker 1: again subtle, right because it seems like a good desire. 200 00:13:52,240 --> 00:13:55,920 Speaker 1: And that's the tricky thing about idols. Often it's good 201 00:13:55,960 --> 00:14:03,000 Speaker 1: desires that become inordinate desires, desires that place our true Savior, 202 00:14:03,040 --> 00:14:07,200 Speaker 1: our true hero, our true God with little g gods 203 00:14:07,280 --> 00:14:11,240 Speaker 1: making promises they can't deliver on. So Colosh's chapter three 204 00:14:12,160 --> 00:14:16,840 Speaker 1: names us outright. Paul calls greed idolatry. And it's not 205 00:14:16,960 --> 00:14:21,960 Speaker 1: greed is like idolatry. It's greed is idolatry because the 206 00:14:22,000 --> 00:14:24,840 Speaker 1: mechanism is the same. We take a desire and we 207 00:14:25,040 --> 00:14:28,520 Speaker 1: elevate that desire to the seat that should belong only 208 00:14:28,600 --> 00:14:33,600 Speaker 1: to God. And that's the exact mechanism at work. When 209 00:14:33,640 --> 00:14:37,200 Speaker 1: our worth rises and falls with the number on the scale, 210 00:14:38,120 --> 00:14:40,320 Speaker 1: or when a bad glance in the mirror can ruin 211 00:14:40,360 --> 00:14:43,840 Speaker 1: your whole day, maybe when you'd rather skip the pool 212 00:14:43,840 --> 00:14:46,760 Speaker 1: party than be seen in a swimsuit, When your mood, 213 00:14:47,240 --> 00:14:52,480 Speaker 1: your confidence, your sense of being okay is completely tethered 214 00:14:52,520 --> 00:14:55,520 Speaker 1: to how your body looks or how your body performs. 215 00:14:56,680 --> 00:15:02,440 Speaker 1: It's not just vanity. It's worship that is misdirected. Its 216 00:15:02,520 --> 00:15:08,040 Speaker 1: worship pointed at your body and your appearance rather than 217 00:15:08,040 --> 00:15:11,680 Speaker 1: the place it belongs on the Lord. And here's why 218 00:15:11,680 --> 00:15:17,000 Speaker 1: this matters so much. Scripture never tells you to ask 219 00:15:17,040 --> 00:15:22,440 Speaker 1: God to help you carry your idolatry with contentment. You're 220 00:15:22,480 --> 00:15:25,880 Speaker 1: what I'm saying there, right. The Bible doesn't say keep 221 00:15:25,920 --> 00:15:28,160 Speaker 1: your idolatry, just says God to help you be content 222 00:15:28,200 --> 00:15:30,880 Speaker 1: with your idolatry. Right, Like nobody in the New Testament 223 00:15:31,000 --> 00:15:33,280 Speaker 1: says three times I pleaded with the Lord to remove 224 00:15:33,360 --> 00:15:36,240 Speaker 1: my greed and he said no, So I've learned to 225 00:15:36,240 --> 00:15:38,440 Speaker 1: be content in my greed. Like that would be absurd, 226 00:15:39,080 --> 00:15:42,240 Speaker 1: because greed isn't a thorn in the flesh. It's sin, 227 00:15:42,480 --> 00:15:47,200 Speaker 1: and sin isn't managed. We put sin to death. Paul 228 00:15:47,200 --> 00:15:50,080 Speaker 1: says it so plainly in Calautions, put to death whatever 229 00:15:50,200 --> 00:15:53,120 Speaker 1: belongs to your earthly nature. And Ephesians he talks about 230 00:15:53,160 --> 00:15:54,840 Speaker 1: putting off the old self and putting on the new. 231 00:15:55,080 --> 00:15:57,840 Speaker 1: In Roman, he says, sin shall no longer be your master, 232 00:15:58,280 --> 00:16:01,640 Speaker 1: because you are not under the law under grace. It's 233 00:16:01,680 --> 00:16:03,880 Speaker 1: not sin will always have some mastery over you and 234 00:16:03,920 --> 00:16:07,160 Speaker 1: you'll just have to endure it. But genuinely it says 235 00:16:07,200 --> 00:16:10,520 Speaker 1: it will no longer be your master. Then for Sean 236 00:16:11,000 --> 00:16:13,840 Speaker 1: we get maybe the clearest promise of all I love 237 00:16:13,920 --> 00:16:16,440 Speaker 1: this verse for Seohn one to nine. If we confess 238 00:16:16,480 --> 00:16:19,240 Speaker 1: our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us 239 00:16:19,280 --> 00:16:24,200 Speaker 1: our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. Cleanse 240 00:16:25,120 --> 00:16:30,520 Speaker 1: pictures soapy, sudsy water rinsed clean not help you cope 241 00:16:30,560 --> 00:16:37,680 Speaker 1: with cleanse. Do you see the difference A thorn gets uh, No, 242 00:16:38,560 --> 00:16:43,440 Speaker 1: my grace is sufficient for you. Sin gets uh Yes, 243 00:16:43,560 --> 00:16:46,000 Speaker 1: confess it and I will cleanse you. Those are two 244 00:16:46,040 --> 00:16:51,440 Speaker 1: completely different promises for two completely different problems. Okay, here's 245 00:16:51,440 --> 00:16:56,760 Speaker 1: why this matters so much. First, calling your body magicues 246 00:16:56,800 --> 00:17:00,640 Speaker 1: a thorn quietly lets you off the hook from doing 247 00:17:00,680 --> 00:17:04,879 Speaker 1: the one thing that can actually lead to freedom, and 248 00:17:04,920 --> 00:17:08,119 Speaker 1: that's confession. You see, if I believe my obsession with 249 00:17:08,200 --> 00:17:11,439 Speaker 1: my body is just a thorn, It's an affliction. God's 250 00:17:11,480 --> 00:17:15,760 Speaker 1: permitted it. It's not going to remove it. My job 251 00:17:15,840 --> 00:17:18,040 Speaker 1: is to just endure it. I pray for grace to 252 00:17:18,160 --> 00:17:21,840 Speaker 1: carry it. Some of you are taking thoughts captive and 253 00:17:22,040 --> 00:17:25,119 Speaker 1: just praying for grace to keep enduring it. You know, 254 00:17:25,680 --> 00:17:28,400 Speaker 1: maybe you'll even find in there some sort of strange 255 00:17:28,440 --> 00:17:31,400 Speaker 1: spiritual pride for how long you've suffered with these issues, 256 00:17:31,480 --> 00:17:34,359 Speaker 1: and how long you've carried these issues, and how long 257 00:17:34,440 --> 00:17:38,400 Speaker 1: you've been afflicted with this thorn. But friend, if it's 258 00:17:38,520 --> 00:17:43,800 Speaker 1: actually idolatry. Your job is not endurance, it's confession. It's 259 00:17:43,920 --> 00:17:47,919 Speaker 1: naming honestly before God. I have been asking my body 260 00:17:47,960 --> 00:17:51,240 Speaker 1: to be my savior. I have trusted my appearance to 261 00:17:51,280 --> 00:17:53,959 Speaker 1: give me Lord what only you can give me that rest, 262 00:17:54,600 --> 00:18:00,840 Speaker 1: that hope, that peace, that joy. But instead of asking 263 00:18:00,880 --> 00:18:02,960 Speaker 1: and believing all those things come from you, I have 264 00:18:03,160 --> 00:18:07,399 Speaker 1: made an idol here. And that's a completely different posture. 265 00:18:08,200 --> 00:18:11,879 Speaker 1: But it's the posture that Scripture says leads to actual cleansing, 266 00:18:12,480 --> 00:18:15,240 Speaker 1: not just management. I wrote a book called the Forty 267 00:18:15,280 --> 00:18:18,160 Speaker 1: Day Body Image Workbook a few years ago. It's called 268 00:18:18,240 --> 00:18:21,159 Speaker 1: forty Day Body Image Workbook Help for Christian Women Who've 269 00:18:21,200 --> 00:18:24,480 Speaker 1: tried everything. And the reason I wrote this book is 270 00:18:24,480 --> 00:18:27,639 Speaker 1: because I kept meeting over and over again Christian women 271 00:18:27,720 --> 00:18:33,280 Speaker 1: who tried everything but confession that never even occurred to 272 00:18:33,320 --> 00:18:36,480 Speaker 1: them that they could have a body image idle. And 273 00:18:36,560 --> 00:18:39,000 Speaker 1: what we do we do a forty day journey. I'd 274 00:18:39,080 --> 00:18:41,640 Speaker 1: love for you to join as we started again in September, 275 00:18:41,680 --> 00:18:44,800 Speaker 1: it's forty days of walking through my Body Image Workbook. 276 00:18:45,320 --> 00:18:49,080 Speaker 1: In group zoom calls, you get to ask questions, you 277 00:18:49,160 --> 00:18:51,119 Speaker 1: get to engage with other women who are struggling with the 278 00:18:51,119 --> 00:18:55,800 Speaker 1: same things. But what we do is we dig into 279 00:18:55,840 --> 00:18:59,600 Speaker 1: the heart of this idolatry and expose it for what 280 00:18:59,720 --> 00:19:02,000 Speaker 1: it is, and over and over again. Every time we 281 00:19:02,040 --> 00:19:04,440 Speaker 1: do this, four times a year, every time we run 282 00:19:04,520 --> 00:19:09,480 Speaker 1: these groups, it's just amazing to watch women have kind 283 00:19:09,520 --> 00:19:11,879 Speaker 1: of a light bulb moment where it's like, all of 284 00:19:11,920 --> 00:19:14,440 Speaker 1: a sudden, like, oh, I see it now. I didn't 285 00:19:14,480 --> 00:19:16,639 Speaker 1: see it before, but oh, I see it now. So 286 00:19:16,680 --> 00:19:18,920 Speaker 1: if you're hearing this and you're like, I don't see it, 287 00:19:19,400 --> 00:19:22,840 Speaker 1: maybe I don't know. I would really invite you to 288 00:19:22,920 --> 00:19:25,560 Speaker 1: join us on the next forty day journey that starts 289 00:19:25,600 --> 00:19:28,639 Speaker 1: September fourteenth, Grab the work book and just be ready 290 00:19:28,680 --> 00:19:30,800 Speaker 1: to dig in with us. You can learn more about 291 00:19:30,840 --> 00:19:33,840 Speaker 1: it on my website improvebody image dot com. Doesn't matter 292 00:19:33,840 --> 00:19:36,520 Speaker 1: how old you are or we've had women almost eighty, 293 00:19:36,560 --> 00:19:39,879 Speaker 1: we've had women as young as sixteen on there. Just 294 00:19:40,320 --> 00:19:43,760 Speaker 1: be a part of that and let us be a 295 00:19:43,800 --> 00:19:48,439 Speaker 1: community for you to help you find this route and 296 00:19:48,560 --> 00:19:53,000 Speaker 1: confess it and start to take a new path forward 297 00:19:53,080 --> 00:19:56,439 Speaker 1: out of these body image issues. But we were talking 298 00:19:56,440 --> 00:19:59,679 Speaker 1: about why this is so dangerous to confuse the thorn 299 00:20:00,280 --> 00:20:03,120 Speaker 1: the sin of idolatry. And here's the second reason. If 300 00:20:03,119 --> 00:20:05,479 Speaker 1: you continue to call your body image is use the thorn, 301 00:20:06,359 --> 00:20:10,080 Speaker 1: You're gonna be robbed of hope. Paul's thorn never went away. 302 00:20:10,200 --> 00:20:12,639 Speaker 1: He has three times. The answer is no, permanently for 303 00:20:12,640 --> 00:20:14,000 Speaker 1: the rest of his life as far as we know. 304 00:20:14,920 --> 00:20:17,640 Speaker 1: And so if you've filed your body image struggle under 305 00:20:17,800 --> 00:20:21,440 Speaker 1: this is my personal thorn, then you have functionally told 306 00:20:21,440 --> 00:20:24,760 Speaker 1: yourself this will never change. I'm stuck with this forever. 307 00:20:24,920 --> 00:20:27,720 Speaker 1: The best I can hope for is grace to survive it, 308 00:20:27,840 --> 00:20:32,919 Speaker 1: grace to endure it, oh friend. And then aging is 309 00:20:32,960 --> 00:20:38,320 Speaker 1: gonna come and continue right, or you'll face some sort 310 00:20:38,359 --> 00:20:44,240 Speaker 1: of sickness or disease that changes your body and it's 311 00:20:44,280 --> 00:20:49,240 Speaker 1: gonna feel hopeless. Because if you've just told yourself, I'm 312 00:20:49,280 --> 00:20:51,520 Speaker 1: just always gonna hate what I look like. I'm just 313 00:20:51,600 --> 00:20:54,280 Speaker 1: always gonna feel bad in my body. This is always 314 00:20:54,280 --> 00:20:57,359 Speaker 1: gonna be an area of struggle for me because this 315 00:20:57,520 --> 00:21:01,439 Speaker 1: is my thorn and I have low self confidence and 316 00:21:01,600 --> 00:21:04,199 Speaker 1: oh woe is me turn into e or I'm just 317 00:21:04,320 --> 00:21:09,240 Speaker 1: gonna have to struggle, Oh friend, You're missing out on 318 00:21:09,600 --> 00:21:16,399 Speaker 1: scriptures promise the promise to help you defeat sin well, actually, 319 00:21:16,400 --> 00:21:18,760 Speaker 1: you don't have to defeat it. Jesus defeat a sin. 320 00:21:19,800 --> 00:21:23,520 Speaker 1: You just get to receive what he did on your behalf. 321 00:21:23,880 --> 00:21:29,520 Speaker 1: Idols get torn down, hearts get genuinely progressively freed, not 322 00:21:29,600 --> 00:21:33,680 Speaker 1: when we get to heaven. Now Here this side of heaven, friend, 323 00:21:33,720 --> 00:21:37,680 Speaker 1: you are not sentenced to a lifetime of body obsession 324 00:21:38,359 --> 00:21:41,679 Speaker 1: the way Paul was probably sentenced to a lifetime of 325 00:21:41,720 --> 00:21:45,080 Speaker 1: some sort of physical ailment. That is not the category 326 00:21:45,160 --> 00:21:48,400 Speaker 1: you are in if you have body image issues. Third, 327 00:21:48,640 --> 00:21:53,600 Speaker 1: and this one's really important, Mislabeling your body image issues 328 00:21:53,720 --> 00:21:59,080 Speaker 1: as a thorn actually makes you less humble, not more humble. 329 00:21:59,680 --> 00:22:02,000 Speaker 1: The whole the whole purpose of Paul's thorn was to 330 00:22:02,080 --> 00:22:06,040 Speaker 1: protect him from pride. But if you are using the 331 00:22:06,600 --> 00:22:10,400 Speaker 1: it's just my thorn and the flesh to avoid the 332 00:22:10,520 --> 00:22:15,720 Speaker 1: humbling work of confession, then you've actually inverted the purpose. 333 00:22:16,800 --> 00:22:22,000 Speaker 1: True humility here isn't stoically enduring a struggle that you've 334 00:22:22,080 --> 00:22:27,000 Speaker 1: decided is permanent. True humility is admitting out loud to God, 335 00:22:27,080 --> 00:22:29,639 Speaker 1: maybe even to a trusted friend, maybe in one of 336 00:22:29,640 --> 00:22:33,399 Speaker 1: our groups, to a community that is safe, and talking 337 00:22:33,440 --> 00:22:36,520 Speaker 1: about these issues. You say, I built an altar on 338 00:22:36,680 --> 00:22:40,800 Speaker 1: my appearance and I need to tear it down. Oh friend, 339 00:22:40,800 --> 00:22:44,679 Speaker 1: that is a harder kind of humility than the quiet 340 00:22:45,280 --> 00:22:49,720 Speaker 1: endurance of my cross to bear. I'm a martyr, this 341 00:22:49,960 --> 00:22:54,080 Speaker 1: is just my issue. It'll never go away, oh friend. 342 00:22:54,119 --> 00:22:59,240 Speaker 1: But if you can find the humility to confess to repent, 343 00:23:00,240 --> 00:23:04,280 Speaker 1: that's gonna actually lead you somewhere. And i'd really I 344 00:23:04,359 --> 00:23:07,960 Speaker 1: want you to hear this with so much grace, because 345 00:23:07,960 --> 00:23:11,160 Speaker 1: this isn't me saying your struggle isn't real, or you're 346 00:23:11,160 --> 00:23:13,760 Speaker 1: a bad Christian for having body image issues from I 347 00:23:13,840 --> 00:23:18,000 Speaker 1: walked it for decades of my life. I'm also not 348 00:23:18,040 --> 00:23:20,920 Speaker 1: gonna tell you that confessing it means it's instantly gone 349 00:23:20,960 --> 00:23:23,040 Speaker 1: forever and you're gonna wake up tomorrow morning and you're 350 00:23:23,040 --> 00:23:27,480 Speaker 1: not gonna struggle anymore. That's not true. Sanctification is a process. 351 00:23:27,960 --> 00:23:31,439 Speaker 1: Idols get toppled, But sometimes we have to make a 352 00:23:31,480 --> 00:23:35,359 Speaker 1: practice of toppling the idol every single morning because overnight 353 00:23:35,400 --> 00:23:39,680 Speaker 1: our hearts can rebuild them again. And that's just normal, 354 00:23:40,160 --> 00:23:46,680 Speaker 1: that's just the Christian life. That is how we grow. Right, 355 00:23:46,800 --> 00:23:49,800 Speaker 1: we are going to be tempted to follow those idols again. Goodness, 356 00:23:49,840 --> 00:23:53,560 Speaker 1: spend five minutes on social media, and you are going 357 00:23:53,640 --> 00:23:57,000 Speaker 1: to be tempted to follow those idols again. And that's 358 00:23:57,040 --> 00:24:02,840 Speaker 1: why you need support. It's not just us confess, repent, 359 00:24:03,440 --> 00:24:07,760 Speaker 1: wake up tomorrow and never struggle again. You need community 360 00:24:08,200 --> 00:24:12,480 Speaker 1: and some tools and a framework and some support and 361 00:24:12,600 --> 00:24:20,679 Speaker 1: maybe a coach. You need some assistance in walking this 362 00:24:21,000 --> 00:24:27,960 Speaker 1: out to freedom. But every single time, the invitation is 363 00:24:28,200 --> 00:24:35,240 Speaker 1: for confession that leads to freedom, it's not toward permanent resignation. 364 00:24:35,960 --> 00:24:40,240 Speaker 1: Woe is me. This is my cross to bear. So 365 00:24:40,320 --> 00:24:42,159 Speaker 1: let's make this super practical because I know some of 366 00:24:42,200 --> 00:24:44,400 Speaker 1: you might be thinking like, Okay, I hear you. Other 367 00:24:45,000 --> 00:24:47,960 Speaker 1: maybe my body of masissues aren't my thorn in the flesh. 368 00:24:48,040 --> 00:24:50,719 Speaker 1: But I would really like just some sort of diagnostic quiz. 369 00:24:50,800 --> 00:24:52,920 Speaker 1: I'd like to know how do I tell the difference 370 00:24:52,920 --> 00:24:56,080 Speaker 1: then between a thorn and the flesh and something that 371 00:24:56,200 --> 00:24:58,879 Speaker 1: maybe I need to confess, maybe an adultry problem like 372 00:24:58,920 --> 00:25:00,800 Speaker 1: we talked about. So here's a few questions you can 373 00:25:00,800 --> 00:25:05,960 Speaker 1: honestly ask yourself. Okay, question what does this thing demand 374 00:25:06,000 --> 00:25:11,280 Speaker 1: worship or does it simply hurt? A thorn is painful, 375 00:25:12,040 --> 00:25:17,160 Speaker 1: but it doesn't ask anything of you. Like some have said, 376 00:25:17,160 --> 00:25:21,720 Speaker 1: maybe Paul's affliction, His thorn was eye problems. So I 377 00:25:21,800 --> 00:25:25,080 Speaker 1: don't know, I'm I'm I think I'm far sighted. No, 378 00:25:25,119 --> 00:25:27,440 Speaker 1: maybe I'm near sighted. I don't know. I can't see 379 00:25:27,480 --> 00:25:32,760 Speaker 1: anything without some contact lenses or glasses. Right, But I 380 00:25:32,800 --> 00:25:38,000 Speaker 1: have never once thought about worshiping my poor low vision. Right. 381 00:25:38,440 --> 00:25:42,199 Speaker 1: It doesn't demand my devotion, It doesn't demand my time, 382 00:25:42,800 --> 00:25:48,120 Speaker 1: It doesn't demand my attention or tribute. An idol does. 383 00:25:49,400 --> 00:25:52,879 Speaker 1: And if your body image struggle has you constantly body checking, 384 00:25:53,600 --> 00:25:57,960 Speaker 1: feeling your stomach, checking mirrors, anything reflective as you walk 385 00:25:58,000 --> 00:26:02,400 Speaker 1: by it, if you're constantly caulating, constantly rearranging your day 386 00:26:02,440 --> 00:26:05,520 Speaker 1: around how you look or what you've eaten, or how 387 00:26:05,640 --> 00:26:07,760 Speaker 1: much more you need to exercise to burn off what 388 00:26:07,840 --> 00:26:13,439 Speaker 1: you've eaten, or friend, if seeing a number on the 389 00:26:13,480 --> 00:26:17,919 Speaker 1: scale can ruin your whole day and determine your mood 390 00:26:18,040 --> 00:26:21,440 Speaker 1: and make it harder for you to love people. That's 391 00:26:21,520 --> 00:26:26,679 Speaker 1: not the same as a painful thorn. That's self inflicted pain. 392 00:26:27,080 --> 00:26:32,200 Speaker 1: That's a body and a body image that's demanding worship 393 00:26:32,840 --> 00:26:36,960 Speaker 1: and attention and causing you pain because of what it demands, 394 00:26:37,640 --> 00:26:41,080 Speaker 1: not because of inherently what it is. Okay, second question 395 00:26:41,119 --> 00:26:44,240 Speaker 1: ask yourself. Does I promise rescue you? See, thorns don't 396 00:26:44,280 --> 00:26:48,080 Speaker 1: promise anything. Right, if you had eye disease, if you 397 00:26:48,119 --> 00:26:54,080 Speaker 1: had glaucoma or macular degeneration, it doesn't promise you anything. Right. 398 00:26:54,720 --> 00:26:58,719 Speaker 1: A disease doesn't promise you anything. An affliction to humble 399 00:26:58,760 --> 00:27:01,679 Speaker 1: you doesn't promise you anything. You just endure it. You 400 00:27:01,920 --> 00:27:06,960 Speaker 1: lean on God's grace. But idols always promise something. And 401 00:27:07,000 --> 00:27:11,600 Speaker 1: that's where it takes some careful listening, saying what do 402 00:27:11,680 --> 00:27:16,359 Speaker 1: I really believe I'm going to get if I do this, 403 00:27:16,640 --> 00:27:20,879 Speaker 1: or change this, or pursue this. Idols whisper If you 404 00:27:21,080 --> 00:27:25,960 Speaker 1: get this right, you'll feel secure, you'll be loved, then 405 00:27:26,000 --> 00:27:29,960 Speaker 1: you'll be enough. So if some quiet part of you 406 00:27:30,040 --> 00:27:35,480 Speaker 1: believes fixing your body will fix your deepest egg, that's 407 00:27:35,520 --> 00:27:40,000 Speaker 1: the signature of an idol, not a thorn. Third question, 408 00:27:40,760 --> 00:27:44,120 Speaker 1: is confession the right response or is contentment the right response? 409 00:27:44,880 --> 00:27:47,440 Speaker 1: This is the clearest test of all. Try to pring 410 00:27:47,520 --> 00:27:51,920 Speaker 1: both pairs and see which one fits actually right. Pray Lord, 411 00:27:52,040 --> 00:27:54,920 Speaker 1: I confess that I've made my body an idol. I've 412 00:27:54,960 --> 00:27:57,600 Speaker 1: asked it to give me identity and security and rest 413 00:27:57,680 --> 00:28:02,959 Speaker 1: in peace that come from you alone, and then pray, Lord, 414 00:28:03,080 --> 00:28:06,240 Speaker 1: help me be content in carrying this specific pain the 415 00:28:06,280 --> 00:28:09,680 Speaker 1: way Paul was content carrying his. For most of us, 416 00:28:09,800 --> 00:28:12,720 Speaker 1: when we're honest, the first prayer is the one that 417 00:28:12,840 --> 00:28:17,639 Speaker 1: actually names what is happening. The second prayer for most 418 00:28:17,680 --> 00:28:21,000 Speaker 1: body image issues is going to feel like it's letting 419 00:28:21,080 --> 00:28:25,600 Speaker 1: us off the hook a little too easy. Now here's 420 00:28:25,640 --> 00:28:27,919 Speaker 1: a very important caveat, because I don't want this to 421 00:28:27,920 --> 00:28:31,800 Speaker 1: get twisted into something harmful. There are real physical experiences 422 00:28:31,840 --> 00:28:36,000 Speaker 1: of the body, chronic illness, disability, disfigurement from an accident 423 00:28:36,080 --> 00:28:40,000 Speaker 1: or medical condition, maybe even the ordinary changes of aging 424 00:28:40,840 --> 00:28:44,880 Speaker 1: that are genuinely more like a thorn than an idol. 425 00:28:45,000 --> 00:28:47,880 Speaker 1: Those are afflictions that perhaps we do need to grieve 426 00:28:47,920 --> 00:28:51,600 Speaker 1: and just carry with God's grace. They might not be 427 00:28:51,720 --> 00:28:54,440 Speaker 1: sins to confess. In fact, in most of those cases 428 00:28:55,320 --> 00:28:58,520 Speaker 1: they probably aren't. Aging's a little on the line there, 429 00:28:58,520 --> 00:29:02,480 Speaker 1: because aging has or anti aging, I guess I should say, 430 00:29:02,600 --> 00:29:08,600 Speaker 1: has become kind of the newest realm of body fixing, 431 00:29:08,800 --> 00:29:12,120 Speaker 1: if you will right, we're marketed too heavily around how 432 00:29:12,160 --> 00:29:15,880 Speaker 1: to avoid aging so that we can keep a certain image, 433 00:29:16,360 --> 00:29:19,280 Speaker 1: and that does become idolatry because it promises a lot 434 00:29:19,320 --> 00:29:23,880 Speaker 1: of things. So again, knowing which you're actually dealing with 435 00:29:24,000 --> 00:29:27,760 Speaker 1: in the case of aging is important, and so maybe 436 00:29:27,800 --> 00:29:29,840 Speaker 1: your prayer does need to be just let me be 437 00:29:29,960 --> 00:29:32,760 Speaker 1: content with this, or maybe it needs to be a 438 00:29:32,800 --> 00:29:36,360 Speaker 1: little of both. God, oh man, the fact that I'm 439 00:29:36,440 --> 00:29:41,800 Speaker 1: aging is causing me to look for hope and salvation 440 00:29:42,080 --> 00:29:46,200 Speaker 1: from anti aging tools instead of from you. I don't know. 441 00:29:46,080 --> 00:29:48,840 Speaker 1: You've got to decide that with the Lord for yourself. 442 00:29:49,560 --> 00:29:53,240 Speaker 1: I'm not saying that every bad or hard feeling you 443 00:29:53,360 --> 00:29:57,400 Speaker 1: have about your body is idolatry. In fact, in the 444 00:29:57,440 --> 00:30:02,080 Speaker 1: forty Day Journey, we go into gri because part of 445 00:30:02,200 --> 00:30:06,000 Speaker 1: accepting your body, and I don't when I say acceptance, 446 00:30:06,040 --> 00:30:08,360 Speaker 1: I don't mean resignation. I don't mean like, well, I 447 00:30:08,360 --> 00:30:10,080 Speaker 1: guess this is it. I'm gonna sit on the couch 448 00:30:10,120 --> 00:30:12,560 Speaker 1: and eat cheetahs because this is what my body looks like. 449 00:30:12,600 --> 00:30:16,400 Speaker 1: I don't mean that that's black and white thinking. But 450 00:30:16,560 --> 00:30:18,480 Speaker 1: part of coming to a place where you're like, this 451 00:30:18,560 --> 00:30:21,600 Speaker 1: is the body God gave me. I'm gonna steward it well. 452 00:30:22,040 --> 00:30:24,720 Speaker 1: He created me on purpose, for his purpose. He has 453 00:30:24,760 --> 00:30:27,920 Speaker 1: things for me to do. Part of that whole package 454 00:30:28,640 --> 00:30:33,640 Speaker 1: is grief. Where you're wrestling with what I call your ideals, 455 00:30:33,680 --> 00:30:36,840 Speaker 1: which are actually always your idols. You're wrestling those idols 456 00:30:37,160 --> 00:30:38,720 Speaker 1: and saying, yeah, but I really thought it was gonna 457 00:30:38,720 --> 00:30:40,360 Speaker 1: look like this. I really thought it was gonna age 458 00:30:40,440 --> 00:30:41,920 Speaker 1: like this. I really thought I was gonna be a 459 00:30:41,920 --> 00:30:43,840 Speaker 1: mom who looked like this. I really thought it was 460 00:30:43,840 --> 00:30:47,120 Speaker 1: gonna be a professional woman aged forty five who look 461 00:30:47,200 --> 00:30:48,440 Speaker 1: like this. I really thought it was gonna be a 462 00:30:48,480 --> 00:30:53,320 Speaker 1: grandma who looked like this. And none of those ideals 463 00:30:53,400 --> 00:30:56,160 Speaker 1: look like I thought they would look. And this hurts, 464 00:30:56,320 --> 00:30:58,400 Speaker 1: and this is painful, and I don't know what to 465 00:30:58,480 --> 00:31:02,080 Speaker 1: do with it. It's normal to have hard feelings about 466 00:31:02,120 --> 00:31:08,360 Speaker 1: your body from time to time. That doesn't mean that's idolatry. 467 00:31:09,520 --> 00:31:14,720 Speaker 1: But here we're talking about specifically naming a pattern where worth, security, 468 00:31:15,440 --> 00:31:20,600 Speaker 1: peace rest have become tethered to your appearance. And the 469 00:31:20,640 --> 00:31:24,280 Speaker 1: struggle isn't really about the body itself, but it's about 470 00:31:24,320 --> 00:31:26,760 Speaker 1: what's going on on the inside. It's about what you're 471 00:31:26,880 --> 00:31:32,320 Speaker 1: demanding the body to deliver. That's the pattern with a cure. 472 00:31:33,480 --> 00:31:36,480 Speaker 1: So let's find some hope as we wrap this up today. 473 00:31:37,640 --> 00:31:40,080 Speaker 1: If your body and struggle has the root of idolatry. 474 00:31:40,120 --> 00:31:43,400 Speaker 1: Like I think this is the best news ever, right, 475 00:31:43,440 --> 00:31:47,080 Speaker 1: because we can tear idols down. We know a God 476 00:31:47,120 --> 00:31:51,360 Speaker 1: who topples idols, and he doesn't leave rubble there. He 477 00:31:51,440 --> 00:31:54,800 Speaker 1: rebuilds two Corinthians five, just a few chapters before the 478 00:31:54,880 --> 00:31:57,320 Speaker 1: Thorn passage, it says that if anyone is a new 479 00:31:57,320 --> 00:32:00,240 Speaker 1: creation in Christ, the old is gone, the new is here. Sure, 480 00:32:01,000 --> 00:32:04,600 Speaker 1: that's not the language of permanent affliction. That's the language 481 00:32:04,640 --> 00:32:12,080 Speaker 1: of genuine, ongoing transformation. Friend, Your cure is not a 482 00:32:12,120 --> 00:32:18,000 Speaker 1: better diet, a better exercise program, more will power, trying 483 00:32:18,040 --> 00:32:22,000 Speaker 1: to Jedi mind trick your way into being content with 484 00:32:22,120 --> 00:32:25,520 Speaker 1: the struggle that you've decided is permanent. The cure is 485 00:32:25,560 --> 00:32:30,400 Speaker 1: the same cure that we've always had for all sin. Confess, repent, 486 00:32:31,000 --> 00:32:34,760 Speaker 1: allow the ongoing work of the Holy Spirit in your 487 00:32:34,840 --> 00:32:38,880 Speaker 1: life to replace the false sense of where you're trying 488 00:32:38,920 --> 00:32:44,600 Speaker 1: to derive worth with the true one. It's slow, oh, friend, 489 00:32:44,640 --> 00:32:48,960 Speaker 1: it is so messy. You need support on the journey. 490 00:32:48,960 --> 00:32:51,080 Speaker 1: That's why we do the forty day Body Image Journey. 491 00:32:51,800 --> 00:32:55,680 Speaker 1: But really, this is it. You are not carrying a 492 00:32:55,760 --> 00:33:00,240 Speaker 1: thorn that God has permanently refused to remove. You not 493 00:33:00,440 --> 00:33:03,480 Speaker 1: have to just say His grace is sufficient and live 494 00:33:03,520 --> 00:33:07,480 Speaker 1: with your body of magisues. You're probably carrying an idol 495 00:33:07,480 --> 00:33:10,960 Speaker 1: that Christ has already defeated on the cross and is patiently, 496 00:33:12,000 --> 00:33:16,720 Speaker 1: faithfully waiting to help you tear down brick by brick 497 00:33:16,880 --> 00:33:21,320 Speaker 1: in real time. It's not a life sentence, it's a 498 00:33:21,400 --> 00:33:25,000 Speaker 1: rescue in progress. So here's what I hope you walk 499 00:33:25,040 --> 00:33:28,080 Speaker 1: away with today. Please stop calling your body of magissues. 500 00:33:28,120 --> 00:33:31,640 Speaker 1: You're sworn. It's not doing you any favors, and it's 501 00:33:31,680 --> 00:33:35,960 Speaker 1: actually not what Scripture is describing. Call it what it is. 502 00:33:36,680 --> 00:33:40,280 Speaker 1: It's disordered worship. It's a heart that's been asking your 503 00:33:40,320 --> 00:33:43,640 Speaker 1: body to be your savior. And then do what Scripture 504 00:33:43,640 --> 00:33:46,040 Speaker 1: actually invites you to do. Bring it into the light, 505 00:33:46,160 --> 00:33:50,080 Speaker 1: confess it, be cleansed, expect a change, because that is 506 00:33:50,160 --> 00:33:53,400 Speaker 1: exactly what the Gospel promises for sin. Brent, If this 507 00:33:53,440 --> 00:33:57,360 Speaker 1: episode challenged you, or challenged maybe something you've believed for 508 00:33:57,400 --> 00:33:59,520 Speaker 1: a while, I'd love to hear about it, and I'd 509 00:33:59,520 --> 00:34:01,760 Speaker 1: love for you to share it with someone else who 510 00:34:01,840 --> 00:34:06,760 Speaker 1: maybe has quietly resigned herself to the same struggle. She 511 00:34:06,800 --> 00:34:11,120 Speaker 1: doesn't have to stay stuck, and neither do you. Until 512 00:34:11,160 --> 00:34:16,799 Speaker 1: next time, Friend, you're not sentenced. You are being set free. Hey, 513 00:34:16,840 --> 00:34:18,520 Speaker 1: I'm glad you listened today. I hope you are too. 514 00:34:19,000 --> 00:34:21,640 Speaker 1: If the show blessed you, would you leave us a review? 515 00:34:21,880 --> 00:34:25,280 Speaker 1: Your five star reviews help other listeners find the show, 516 00:34:26,440 --> 00:34:30,080 Speaker 1: and we're excited about the season ahead. But most of all, 517 00:34:30,160 --> 00:34:32,959 Speaker 1: we want to partner with you and help you find 518 00:34:33,040 --> 00:34:35,600 Speaker 1: real freedom from your bodymage issues. So maybe this is 519 00:34:35,600 --> 00:34:38,920 Speaker 1: the first time you've ever heard about body image idolatry, 520 00:34:39,400 --> 00:34:42,200 Speaker 1: or maybe you're like, I'm ready. I am tired of 521 00:34:42,480 --> 00:34:44,879 Speaker 1: living with this. I thought maybe I had to live 522 00:34:44,880 --> 00:34:46,680 Speaker 1: with it because it was my thorn. Now I know 523 00:34:46,719 --> 00:34:48,440 Speaker 1: I can be set free. How do I start? You 524 00:34:48,520 --> 00:34:51,120 Speaker 1: start with the forty day Body Image Journey. You start 525 00:34:51,120 --> 00:34:54,279 Speaker 1: September fourteenth, Monday evenings. We want to see you there. 526 00:34:54,280 --> 00:34:56,879 Speaker 1: It's super affordable. Friend find out all about it at 527 00:34:56,960 --> 00:34:59,680 Speaker 1: the body Image Journey tab on my website improve body 528 00:34:59,719 --> 00:35:02,759 Speaker 1: image dot com. Hey, I'm glad you listened today. I 529 00:35:02,760 --> 00:35:06,160 Speaker 1: hope something today helped you stop comparing and start living. 530 00:35:06,400 --> 00:35:07,000 Speaker 1: Oh bye, Brad,