Warning: the following post contains a lot of authentic truth from my life that may set you free in some areas of yours.  You should not read on if you do not long for this same freedom in your life. 🙂

So here’s the truth:  I LOVE food.  Always have and always will.  God did, afterall, create food to fuel our body.  It was His idea!  But like many things in life satan has come in and tried to twist the truth and bring confusion in this area.  Those lies have consumed us, derailed us, engulfed us and bound us. Men and women alike have made food an idol that it was never meant to be.

Here’s the next truth:  I’m addicted to being skinny.  I will never forget the moment in high school when I learned that that thing I love(food) has the power to break me of this dream I have of being skinny. In that moment, another idol walked into my life. It was an idol I began to chase for years. I would catch it for a moment then that love for food would rear its ugly head and around and around we would go. It was literally a battle of the idols.

An idol is defined as “an image or representation of a god that is used as an object of worship“. As my friend Alisa Keeton says “Idols CONSUME you as you pursue them, DISAPPOINT you when you get them and DEVASTATE you when you lose them“. Raise your hand if you can relate to being consumed, disappointed or devastated by something? I know we all have in more areas than just food and body image.

I wish I could tell you I am 100% free from both of these idols but that is simply not the truth. You see, i’ve learned we all have a bent towards worshipping certain idols that are not the one true God. Why do we worship other things beside God?  

What is the hole in my soul?  It’s a need to be known, loved and accepted.  If you have ever lost weight and gotten fit you have experienced the attention that comes with it. If we aren’t careful, that attention can easily be a counterfeit for God’s love. But the problem with counterfeits is that they eventually get brought into the light and revealed for what they are. Thus continues this viscous cycle of seeking to fill that hole.

Some days I find it comical that God chose me to work AND do ministry in the fitness industry. Shouldn’t he have chosen someone who has been thin naturally all their life(insert eyes rolling here) and who doesn’t struggle with not finding their identity in it?  No, He needed someone who GETS it. Who gets the struggles.  Who gets the painful thoughts that run through your mind when you feel like a failure yet again for letting these idols get out of control.

As I was praying over this a few days ago and how to smash the idols once and for all I saw an image of the two idols facing off with each other, trying to see which one would win for the day. God and me were watching. At one point He looked over at me and said “would you like me to destroy them?” Of course I said “yes!” at which point Jesus walked in. He stood between the two idols and they bowed down to Him.

I’ve been in awe of that vision ever since God showed it to me. It reminds me of the Bible verse from John 8:36

So if the son sets you free, you will be free indeed.

Do you have two(or more) idols in your life that are always waging war inside of you? Are you tired of fighting the battle on your own? Stop fighting it alone my friend. The Bible also says “Where the spirit of the Lord is there is freedom“(2 Cor.3:17). We cannot overcome these wars on our own. Invite God into that area your life today and watch Him demolish every idol and stronghold.

While I know this is an area I will always need to submit to Christ I have gained so much freedom by submitting my will to Him on a daily basis. When these idols rear their ugly head I get down on my knees and ask Jesus to forgive me and set me back on solid ground. He is here waiting for you too.

P.S. You do not have to walk this journey alone. I am excited to announce that my First Fruit Fit Club launched this month!  With your membership you will have access to a workout calendar, workouts lead by me in some of my favorite formats and a Facebook group where you can connect to other like minded women walking out this journey with Christ at the center. Click on Train with Me to find the membership options and use code JULY5OFF for $5 off! (And just so you know, you are free to try it out and cancel it at any time!)