What do you like about your BODY?
Many of us struggle with liking our physical body. Consider this, what do you like about your physical body? Your answer may not be associated with your physical body. You might say, “I am kind”, “I am servant hearted”, “I am empathetic”, “I am organized”, etc. We often focus on what we don’t like about our bodies, and fail to recognize what we do like. I encourage you to take a minute now and think about what physical characteristics you like about your body.
God made your body
We must remember that God made us (Genesis 1:26-27). Psalm 139:14 tells us “I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well.” He made us in his image and we are to celebrate our physical bodies. Our physical bodies are unique and God used his immense creativity in making them! Genesis 1:31 tells us “And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good.” I hope you recognize today that God made you and he thinks your body is “very good”!
God loves you
God made us in His image and he calls his creation “very good”. As we remember this foundation, let us also remember that He loves us! Love is a very common theme throughout the Bible and all through it we see that God’s love is steadfast. The phrase “steadfast love” occurs 193 times in the ESV Bible. Steadfast means unchanging, always present, unfailing. We see the love of God described in detail in the Psalms. Here are just a few verses that give us a deeper understanding of God’s love for us.
“But I have trusted in your steadfast love; my heart shall rejoice in your salvation.” Psalm 13:5
“Many are the sorrows of the wicked, but steadfast love surrounds the one who trusts in the LORD.” Psalm 32:10
“But I am like a green olive tree in the house of God. I trust in the steadfast love of God forever and ever.” Psalm 52:8
“Let them thank the LORD for his steadfast love” Psalm 107
“For his steadfast love endures forever.” Psalm 136
A picture of love
By no means are these Psalms exhaustive, but they do give us a good picture of the extent of God’s love for us. We learn from these Psalms that we are called to trust in his steadfast love (Psalm 13:5, Psalm 52:8) and his love surrounds us (Psalm 32:10). His love is better than life itself (Psalm 63:3). We are called to thank him for his steadfast love (Psalm 107) and lastly, his love endures forever (Psalm 136).
We also must remember that God loved us so much that he paid the debt for all of our sins. Romans 5:8 “but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” This is an amazing evidence of how much he loves us! It is helpful to remember that God loves you. ALL of you. Not just your character, but also your physical body.
When we deeply understand God’s love for us, we can start to see ourselves like he sees us and we can be thankful for our whole body, physical, spiritual, and mental. God does care about how we take care of our bodies! Let us find joy in doing this well for His glory. Amen!
Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved. May not copy or download more than 500 consecutive verses of the ESV Bible or more than one half of any book of the ESV Bible.
Very good reminders!
Yes! For me too!
Thank you for the very encouraging words and reminder of being “fearfully and wonderfully made”
I know, right? I think we all need to hear those words more often than we do!