Tens of thousands of people will make New Year's resolutions to get fit and healthy. Millions of dollars will be spent on gym memberships and dietary supplements in the coming weeks. Some people will struggle more than others to stick to the plan. The problem with the stick-to-itiveness is that it is often based on one's will power. What so many of us have experienced is the running out of our will power...by lunchtime on January 1. What we need most isn't more will power to get to the gym in the morning or to avoid an extra helping of our favorite food. What we need most is to find our satisfaction in a Savior who daily bears our burdens (Psalm 68:19). It's not about the food. It's not about the gym. It's about how we navigate the journey toward a healthy lifestyle.

For me, that journey has been a lifelong struggle. I'm not prone to talking about my own struggle with food in a public forum but in recent months, God has led me to do so. Trust me when I tell you that it hasn't been without great fear and anxiety. It doesn't seem to comfort me that the vast majority of women struggle with their body image as well as their relationship with food. Perhaps the fear and anxiety is because this is my story. This is my body. This is my relationship with food.

For as long as I can remember, I was the person who did not make resolutions about getting healthy because I knew I would just fail in the end. Of course, this wasn't a great attitude and didn't serve me well as it delayed any attempt to take care of myself. I suppose I wanted to avoid the inevitable shame that would result from failing to stick to the plan. Shame is a pretty powerful force that was paralyzing me from taking steps on the journey toward a healthy lifestyle. The problem was what I was focusing on as I tried to move forward. The focus was often on the food or the gym but not on my Savior-not on the one who daily bears my burdens.

I had to ask myself some tough questions: How does gluttony affect my physical and spiritual life? Calling it gluttony stings but that is what it is. When I overeat, who am I stealing from? Am I willing to trade in my earthly food for a lifestyle of confession? Where is my treasure? A donut? A bacon cheeseburger? If my treasure is food then my heart is there with it (Matt 6:21). Can anyone identify with me? God tells us that there is no struggle that is not common to man. Jesus came to this earth and experienced what we experience but was without sin. He faced the temptation of gluttony. He faced the choice to eat more than he needed to and to abandon taking care of His body. Friends, take heart! We have a Savior who understands our predicament so much more intimately than we can fully comprehend. Indeed, there is freedom from the confines of a human resolution based on our will power.

My personal weight loss journey began by realizing that I needed to find satisfaction in something other than food. I realized that my choices were leading me down an unhealthy road that was resulting in higher health care costs, a depressed mood, and a defeatist outlook on life. The weight I have lost in the last few years has not been without struggle and in many ways, writing this newsletter encourages me not to abandon finding satisfaction in God. The journey has been full of thousands of tiny choices that haven't always been easy to make. It is a struggle, indeed!

This past fall I led a retreat based on Proverbs 4:23, "Above all else, guard your heart for it is the wellspring of life." Our teaching time focused on how the guarded heart is about renewing our minds with God's truth so that we can take a focused approach to living life in Christ. King Solomon tells us in Proverbs 4:25-27, "Let your eyes look directly forward, and your gaze be straight before you. Ponder the path of your feet; then all your ways will be sure. Do not swerve to the right or to the left; turn your foot away from evil." The focused approach is about paying attention to what we look at and to where we go.

Hebrews 12:2 tells us where to look: "Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God." Hebrews 4:16 encourages us where to go: "Let us then approach God's throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need." It doesn't matter what the struggle is or isn't. At the end of the day, the question remains: where are we looking for satisfaction? In the context of the food struggle, God is asking us to go to the throne of grace and not to the refrigerator. He's asking us to fix our eyes on Him and not on the kitchen cabinets. He's not calling food bad nor missing a workout a failure. In fact, there aren't necessarily bad foods and good foods. It's what we do with the food that matters most. Is eating an act of worship? Whether it's another piece of chocolate cake or an extra helping of vegetables, the question is still the same: who satisfies my soul? He's calling His children to find satisfaction in Him and to turn away from condemnation toward the joy set before them.

I definitely haven't written anything new here but it is my hope that my own struggle encourages you to embrace the God who says that He is your portion and your cup forever (Psalm 73:26)! I join you in the ongoing struggle to remember where to look and where to go. Let's remind ourselves daily-minute by minute!-that our greatest need isn't for a healthy body. It's for a Savior-one who can give us the strength to take healthy steps on our journey.

John Piper notes, "False comforts lead to artificial healing. But the truest diagnoses lead to the deepest cures." It is my prayer that 2012 will be a year full of the deepest cures for each of us brought about by the renewing truth of God's word. Come lunchtime on January 1, let's remember that we can go to the throne of grace with confidence knowing that we are fully satisfied in Christ.

With Defiant Joy!

Susan

p.s. If you're struggling with food issues, here are some encouraging truth statements to hold on to through the battle.