That number on the scale you’ve been battling with? That number doesn’t define you.

That number you’ve wrestled with for more years than you want to count. That number that seems to go up and up. That number you’re never satisfied with.

That number doesn’t define you.

Those tight jeans don’t define you. That muffin top doesn’t define you. That stomach that’s bigger than you want it to be. Nope, that’s not how to define yourself.

Every woman I know, okay except maybe one, is wrestling all the time with this number on the scale.

She’s looking at a picture of herself and thinking, Ugh, I don’t like the way I look. No more pictures of me. Or she’s avoiding going out because she doesn’t have anything that fits, or she doesn’t want people to see her at this weight.

Once upon a time I was a skinny, skinny girl who could eat anything without gaining weight. In college my friends and I would walk to Wendy’s where I would get the largest fry possible along with a double cheeseburger. I could eat it all without gaining anything. And I did it all the time.

I am not the skinny girl anymore. And here’s the thing. That skinny girl was SO MANY YEARS AGO. Nevertheless, I sometimes still think about her with longing.

How crazy is that? This is not rational. What in the world are we doing to ourselves wishing we were that skinny girl from long ago? And I bet the truth is that the girl who is skinny, she wishes she were skinnier.

But we do this, don’t we? We let our weight define us over and over and over.

And we feel discouraged and defeated.

And eat some chips. Or in my case, some chocolate chip cookies.

And we feel bad.

And we resolve to do better.

But we don’t.

And we’re stuck again in this never-ending loop that does nothing to help us.

Maybe you are completely tracking with this or maybe you struggle with something else about your appearance. Your nose is too big. Your legs are too short. Boobs are too big or too little. 

But it’s something. 

So if that number doesn’t define us, what does?

Sweet friend, we are made in the image of God.

And that means we are beautiful.  

Not perfect, whatever that is, but beautiful.

I know it’s easy to read that and think, Whatever. That’s some great Christian gobbledygook. But really; how is that going to help me in this battle with the scale?

I’m suggesting here some practical steps to define yourself by what God says, not by the number on the scale.

We start with thinking about what we’re thinking about.

Some of us – most of us? – have some kind of thought when we are looking at that disappointing number on the scale. I usually think, I’m never going to lose weight. Or I haven’t been eating anything bad, but I’m still not losing weight! What’s the point!

What’s your go-to thought?

Now think about how that thought makes you feel.

If you’re like me, once you have a thought, it’s usually followed by a feeling.

I feel discouraged, disappointed, sad, ashamed. What about you?

Now here’s the good part:

We take that thought captive to the Lord.

This tool comes from 2 Corinthians 10:5, “We are destroying arguments and all arrogance raised against the knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ” (NASB).

 Taking that thought captive means praying about this thought. In your prayers, you leave your negative thought with Jesus and replace it with God’s truth found in His Word.

Here’s an example prayer:

Lord, I am coming to You once again discouraged by what the scale says. I want it to be a smaller number, but it’s not. I know that it would be easy for me to get stuck in discouragement or shame about this.

But I’m not going to do that this time. I’m going to leave that thought with You. I’m going to instead choose to believe what You say about me.

You say I am made in your image. You say I am a masterpiece. You say I am fearfully and wonderfully made.

Lord, today I’m choosing to leave my negative thoughts with You. I’m going to replace those with Your truth.

Amen

And this is a strategy you follow over and over. Each time you battle the defeating thought, you replace it with God’s truth.

I can tell you from experience, practicing this strategy works! You don’t have to stay in the stuck spot.

If you’ve battled the number on the scale and have some truth-filled strategies, I’d love for you to share!

Thanks for being here!

Melanie

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