Ever felt like your worth was tied to the numbers on a scale or the size of your jeans? Discover a fresh perspective on self-worth and spiritual well-being in this eye-opening episode of Revelation Within On the Go. We believe you'll gain new insights as we have journeyed from Thin Within to Revelation Within, moving beyond societal and church-imposed standards of physical fitness. Uncover the liberating truth that your true value lies in being "fearfully and wonderfully made," and not in your appearance. Our discussion even challenges the notion of clothing sizes, reinforcing that everyone deserves to feel worthy and loved just as they are, because of the Master Artist who made them.
Reflecting on Ephesians 2:10, we explore the profound truth that we are God's masterpieces. Through heartfelt stories and spiritual wisdom, we'll guide you to embrace your intrinsic worth in Christ. With tools like the "Who Am I in Christ" list, we emphasize the importance of renewing your mind with biblical truths about your value. Tune in to learn how God's grace can transform your self-perception and actions, guiding you to a life free from shame and self-condemnation. This episode is a must-listen for anyone searching for deeper fulfillment and a more meaningful relationship with God.
Ever felt like your worth was tied to the numbers on a scale or the size of your jeans? Discover a fresh perspective on self-worth and spiritual well-being in this eye-opening episode of Revelation Within On the Go. We believe you'll gain new insights as we have journeyed from Thin Within to Revelation Within, moving beyond societal and church-imposed standards of physical fitness. Uncover the liberating truth that your true value lies in being "fearfully and wonderfully made," and not in your appearance. Our discussion even challenges the notion of clothing sizes, reinforcing that everyone deserves to feel worthy and loved just as they are, because of the Master Artist who made them.
Reflecting on Ephesians 2:10, we explore the profound truth that we are God's masterpieces. Through heartfelt stories and spiritual wisdom, we'll guide you to embrace your intrinsic worth in Christ. With tools like the "Who Am I in Christ" list, we emphasize the importance of renewing your mind with biblical truths about your value. Tune in to learn how God's grace can transform your self-perception and actions, guiding you to a life free from shame and self-condemnation. This episode is a must-listen for anyone searching for deeper fulfillment and a more meaningful relationship with God.
Learn more about our Revelation Within Community: https://www.revelationwithin.org
Speaker 1:
Hi, welcome to our podcast Revelation Within On the Go. I'm Heidi Biles-Maepperson, one of your hosts and the owner and lead coach of the Revelation Within ministry.
Speaker 2:
And I'm Christina Motley, your other host, also a Revelation Within coach and Heidi's partner in all of Revelation Within on the go. We're so glad you're here.
Speaker 1:
Oh well, we are making some adjustments as we go along. As many of you may know, we rebranded a year ago.
Speaker 2:
Oh, my goodness, hasranded a year ago.
Speaker 1:
Oh, my goodness, has it been a year? Yes, may. Wow. Last May From Thin Within to Revelation Within, and this year has been filled with all kinds of adjustments. And what does it mean to go from Thin Within to Revelation Within and we are at a new place with yet another bit of our messaging, and so we wanted to talk a little bit about that today. You may have seen the new logo and that is a tagline, and the tagline is it's not about your weight, it's about your worth.
Speaker 2:
Wow, that is awesome. That is awesome. Why do you say that is?
Speaker 1:
awesome, christina, because you know what, if I want to lose weight, is it okay to want to?
Speaker 2:
lose weight, absolutely, absolutely. The thing is, I think back to my own journey and all the years that I thought it was all about my weight and constantly, no matter what I did, no matter what size I was, no matter if I was up or down or what the number on my jeans said, I could never find peace. I never found peace. That's what I used to think about. I used to think it is, it's all about my weight, it must be, and the world tells us that it is all about your fitness level and your weight and how much you can do.
Speaker 2:
Your performance.
Speaker 1:
And even the church does that too, except it's also thrown in with a little bit of self-righteousness. It's like if you are really going to care for the temple of the Holy Spirit, you're going to be thin, you're going to be fit, you're going to be healthy, and if you're not any of those things, there's something wrong with you spiritually. You haven't gotten yourself quite in alignment with God. That's tricky. That kind of judgment is tricky, and it's very much. I think it's a counterfeit message. I don't think it's from God.
Speaker 2:
No, no, no, no. I was joking with someone the other day about jeans, because jeans, for whatever reason, especially with women, I think it's just such a big deal to us what that number says, and we will try to squeeze into a certain size rather than getting something more comfortable or bigger. And then our bodies shift and change over time. So I've decided that we should come up with our own jeans brand and there will be no sizes at all.
Speaker 1:
Yeah letters instead or something, or color squares, or you know. This is the triangle size and it doesn't have anything to do with shape of your body.
Speaker 2:
No, it just has to do with yeah, you could, I don't know, it could be measurements or something maybe, but no actual size on it, and the tag would read fearfully and wonderfully made. Yeah, okay, do it Right, and you might have to. You might have to spend half an hour trying on a few different kinds to kind of get the one that's just right for you, but it won't have a size on it. I mean, I knew somebody who cut off all the tags of their jeans so they couldn't see the sizes, but of course they bought them a certain size, so they kind of know. But there's just that whole idea of why is our weight and our size become so important in this country? And doesn't it seem like the more emphasis we put on that, the worse things get?
Speaker 1:
Yes, Well, and that's actually true statistically, because in this country we have put more money into dieting and exercise plans and fitness plans. At the same time, our obesity rate has skyrocketed. Does that tell us? I think it tells us something. It tells us it doesn't work.
Speaker 2:
Right, well, not only does it not work, but it makes things worse.
Speaker 1:
Right. I really believe that it comes back to the world, tells us, and those people who are thinking with a worldly mindset so it might include Christians and it does at times have diagnosed our problem as a food and eating problem, whereas God has a different perspective on it. It's a stronghold problem, it is a thinking problem, it is a heart disposition problem. Where do I go when I have a lack in my life, when I'm feeling empty? Do I go to food? Do I go to the Lord? And so really, really, it's not about my weight. If I think that my problem is a food and eating and weight problem, then I'm going to have a different solution than if it's really a stronghold problem. Yeah, absolutely. We want to really put that front and center in our ministry that it's not about your weight, it is about your worth. Now, why would we go there? What does worth have to do with it?
Speaker 2:
Yeah, well, when I think of worth, I kind of go to the opposite first, and I think that's because I struggled with it for so long, and so I go to worth, worthless, and I go to shame because, for so many years really, since I was a teenager, I felt shame about my size and my weight and all of that.
Speaker 2:
And so it's like, where was I getting my worth from? And into my twenties, and into my thirties and having three babies, and into my forties. And that's where it stopped finally, in my forties, because I learned how to renew my mind and I changed my focus to what are God's thoughts, like you were just talking about Heidi, what's God's perspective on my worth? Before that, I went ahead with what does the world say? My worth is? Oh, my worth has to do with how much I can do in a day. My worth has to do with if I can climb that mountain or not. My worth has to do with how many kids I have or don't have. My worth has to do with, again going back to my size. What does that number say on the jeans? That's my worth. That's what I thought my worth was.
Speaker 1:
Yeah, it's my performance, it's me myself and I and my performance, and nowhere in the scripture can I get an endorsement of that perspective. In fact, I see Paul go quite to the other extreme where he says you know, look at me, I was a Pharisee of the Pharisees and I was this and I was that, but I counted all cow dung compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus, my Lord, for whom I have lost all things. I mean, that's his perspective on all those things we get our word from. Of course he could have gotten his sense of worth and value from having accomplished all those things, but he said no, I'm counting it as cow dung compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ.
Speaker 1:
And I think that's where God wants us. He wants us to count all of our performance and our accolades and all the things we've accomplished in our lives as not anywhere near as awesome as the surpassing greatness of knowing Jesus more intimately. And that's what we're really all about.
Speaker 2:
Yes, Well, and there's so much relief in that, there's so much peace in that this world and even in our own families, like you said, in our churches sometimes and in our workplaces, there's a tremendous pressure to perform and to prove your worth. Wow, I mean, what a relief it is, how good it feels to look at the Word of God with this in mind. Lord, how do you see me? What is my worth according to your thoughts? And how incredible it is to realize that it's not based on what I can or cannot do, it's not based on how I look, it's not.
Speaker 2:
And that's amazing, and that's completely opposite of the whole world's view.
Speaker 1:
Right, and this is one reason why one of the classes we offer that's really intended to be people who are new to us.
Speaker 2:
It's God's Worth in you Masterclass, oh I love it, one of my very, very top favorites. Yeah, me too, but I really, really love that class.
Speaker 1:
I do too. And the Radiant Grace Planner. I love that as well, because it takes my eyes and lifts my face and causes me to look to Jesus and lifts my face and causes me to look to Jesus and then, as I look to him, I see, oh my goodness, he has attributed to me worth beyond measure. It really is beyond measure. I can't fathom what God has done, from beginning to end. That's what Solomon said, and he was supposedly the smartest man in the world. Basically, he has called me his beloved. I'm his beloved. What else does God call me, christina? What does he say about my worth? What does he say about your worth?
Speaker 2:
Yeah, he says that I'm chosen.
Speaker 2:
He actually chose me he says that I am blameless before him because of the work of the cross. He says that I'm a friend of God. What I'm a friend of God, I love that. He says that I'm a daughter of God, I'm beloved, and none of that is dependent on what I can or can't do. Heidi, in January you told a wonderful story about worth, and I think that it impacted a whole lot of people in our community, and it's one that I'll never forget. So will you share a little bit of that? It started out in your grandmother's garage yeah, my grandpa's garage.
Speaker 1:
When I was a child growing up, my grandparents lived in Little Italy, in Sacramento, and this old, old homes at the time maybe they weren't so old, well, yeah, they were. They were built definitely like in the 30s or 40s and I was born in the 60s. So anyway, and I just remember how they had a detached garage and it was filled with all kinds of things that intrigued me because I wasn't supposed to go in there, and I'm sure that's part of the allure right Of course.
Speaker 1:
And so in January, when we were looking at Ephesians 2.10, you are God's masterpiece, created in Christ Jesus for good works which God has prepared in advance for you to do, I began to really spend some time with the Lord chewing on this and he reminded me of my grandparents old garage and it made me think okay, so what if I were to have found, like when my grandparents passed away, I do remember going into that garage and pulling out things I wanted to keep that I would bring to my mom and she'd say, yeah, sure, go ahead, you can have that. All kinds of things like old cigar tins and bottles and railroad lanterns and all kinds of things.
Speaker 1:
I don't know they intrigued me because they were old and I just imagine in that old garage I could have found anything. What if there was an old painting on a canvas and framed, maybe even behind a drop cloth of some sort, all dusty and cobwebby and all of that leaning against a wall, kind of forgotten? And yet it was a painting that was originally painted by Van Gogh. And the question would be well, is that painting sitting there, forgotten in the garage, worth any less because it's not under lights or restored to its former glory, or is it still worth something? And you know, really, the answer is yes. Yes, because the masterpiece is a masterpiece, not because of its appearance, not because of who owns it now, not because of any of that, but because of the one who created it. So when I look at a master yes, when I look at Ephesians 2.10, it says I am a masterpiece.
Speaker 1:
A lot of times we have this tendency to think well, I'm not a masterpiece. Right now, look at the condition I'm in focusing our attention on appearance again. But yet that's not the case, because God has proclaimed us his masterpieces in Christ. I mean. Ephesians 2.10 is really clear. That word in the Greek is a beautiful word. That actually means poetry in motion, and I love that. What I imagined in January was as a kid, when I was about 12 and found all these different treasures in my grandparents' garage, taking them all home and stuffing them in places in my bedroom and one of the places I stuffed them was my own closet. And then, years later, when I moved away, I pulled some of them out and threw them in the garbage and some of them got given away. Those old cigar tins just didn't even fit anymore, right yeah.
Speaker 1:
And what if one of those things lost, forgotten in the back of my closet, had been that Van Gogh, underneath that drop cloth sitting there and I go out to the trash can and stick it in there? And my mom was really an art aficionado, she loved art and I could just picture, if this had happened like this, her walking out to the garbage can to wheel it out to the curb or take it out to the curb and finding this Van Gogh. She would know in a heartbeat that it was a precious treasure and it's like you know. Got to blow the dust off of it, got to have it restored, maybe, but it's still a masterpiece, no matter what condition it may be in right now. It was made by the master, so it's a masterpiece. We too are masterpieces made by the master.
Speaker 1:
I love that I love, love, love that.
Speaker 2:
I love it too. I love that story, and that's a beautiful picture of the way that God designed us and the way that he loves us. It's beautiful, yes.
Speaker 1:
When those kinds of thoughts are in my mind, when I am thinking God's thoughts after him about me, in this case that I am his masterpiece. It has nothing to do with my performance and everything to do with his choice and other thoughts like that. It puts into perspective the things that I normally focus on and where I'd go is self-consciousness about my body size, about my body shape and all of that. So I want to take captive those kinds of thoughts, the ones that say it's about my weight. I want to take those thoughts captive, surrender them, like 2 Corinthians tells us, to obedience to Christ. And then what does he tell me? He tells me I'm a masterpiece. And so those are the thoughts I want to tell myself.
Speaker 1:
Now. Do I really really honestly, truly believe that if I have that perspective, that I am of worth, I am a value by a God that is supremely worth more than I could ever imagine? Do I really believe knowing that, instead of fixating on my weight? Do I really believe that knowing those things and thinking on those things would make me fat, would make me overeat? It's kind of an interesting thought. A lot of people say but if I stop focusing on my weight, I'll just gain weight? Well, but what if you're focusing on the greatness of God?
Speaker 2:
on what he has said about you. What do?
Speaker 1:
you think, Christina?
Speaker 2:
Yeah, well, I was going to go a different direction with it. I mean absolutely with weight, yes, but what about those of us who are limited by some kind of illness or injury or something like that? There's also that sense of but I'm not enough, but I'm not worth what I was before, when I was stronger or could do more, those kinds of things. This is just such a relief, such a relief to know that my worth is not based on those kinds of things. The other thing that this kind of circles back to what you were talking about too, Heidi is that the more I focus on who I am in God's eyes, the more I focus on how God loves me and how I am his masterpiece because he's the master the more grateful I am for my body, and that changes my actions.
Speaker 2:
If I'm grateful for what God has given me, if I'm grateful that I can do this or that that I can move in this way, that I can serve in this way, if I'm grateful that my body works in the ways that it does, that's what I'm focused on, not so much focused on negative thoughts about myself. That's what I did for years. I thought. If I am mean to myself, I will change, and you know what it's. The opposite is true. We can't hate ourselves in a positive change, Right? So if you're kind and compassionate to yourself because you're focused on God's view of yourself, wow, that changes everything.
Speaker 1:
Yes, so we have decided that, because our ministry has been teaching this for some time, we're going to put that as a tagline in our logo, and it is not about your weight, it's about your worth. Now let's talk for a minute about those who still, you know, have this sense of yeah, but I'm not healthy. I know that my size is a hindrance. I have high blood pressure, I have diabetes or I'm pre-diabetic, whatever it might be. What do we do with that in this case, in your opinion?
Speaker 2:
Yeah. Well, I think we do with it whatever God is calling us to. I think it is very much between us and the Lord and I'm kind of going through a little mini season right now. With that. I'll just share a little bit. I'm going through menopause first time. No, yeah, I mean it's my first time, it's my only time, but I don't have any experience with this. I wish I did. I wish I could look back and say well, last time I did this, so I'm going to try this.
Speaker 1:
You have no file for it is what I say I really don't.
Speaker 2:
It's my first time, and not only that, but I'm also still in treatment for Lyme disease and some of the medicines that I take mess around with my stomach and it's been pretty uncomfortable lately and so I got a couple things going on. I'm definitely my body is changing. My body feels different than it has in the past. I feel like I went through a lot of years where I was just about the same, things were kind of the same for a long time and they're not the same now, and sometimes I'm like is this my body? I don't even recognize the way it feels today. Some of the other things I'm dealing with are Lyme symptoms, like feeling really sore, sore and stiff and kind of dealing with that. And again it's like some days I don't really recognize myself. It's like my body has really changed and is in the process of changing.
Speaker 2:
So what do I do with that? Do I just kind of say, well, whatever, I'm just going to kind of let whatever happens happens. Or am I going to go to God and ask him what do you think, lord, what's your perspective? I want to be strong and healthy, as I can be. He's chosen not to heal me from the Lyme disease right now. So this is what I have. This is what I have right now and this is my only body I can do life in. So I'm going to go to him and say what do you think? What are you calling me to? What are the best ways that I can take care of my body during this season? I want his thoughts on that and I want to follow through on that, because I'm grateful for what I have. I'm grateful for what he's given me. How about you?
Speaker 1:
Heidi. Well, I was just going to say I think it's really, really important that when we have this desire to change shapeshift I'm just going to call it shapeshift that we invite him in, because he knows our bodies intimately. He knew I was going to be on antibiotics for the rest of my life, starting in 2014. Here we are, 10 years later, and my body has responded to the fact that the antibiotics are killing my gut microbiome and that has a lot of impact on my body. I do not recognize my body either, Not just physically in the way it looks, but in the way it feels, in the way it digests and so on. And even if you don't have health problems of any kind or concerns of any kind about food and eating, to invite God in is so vital. We, as Christians, we want to give Him a say. This body is fearfully and wonderfully made. It is His masterpiece.
Speaker 1:
And really the master should have the right to decide if there's going to be any dab of paint added to his masterpiece or any additional carving done to his masterpiece. And if I just run after everything that promises me the body that I wish I had, I might not be doing something that he's going to support me in. I think a lot of us have run after the silver bullet for decades and wondered why God didn't support us so often. I would say things like my body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, so I need to lose this weight and get fit in order to honor God. I do not think that's in the scripture. I do not think that's what God intends us to read into the scripture. But I wouldn't even invite him in Now. He wants to be invited in. He wants to be invited into everything.
Speaker 1:
So the best place to start when I feel like I am not content with the body, physically, that I have the shape and size that I am, or the number, whatever I want to say God, what would you have me do?
Speaker 1:
And I know that when I invite him in and I ask him for the strength to do what he's calling me to do, and only what he's calling me to do.
Speaker 1:
He will be my strength in it. He will give me what I need to accomplish what he's calling me to, but he's not going to necessarily give me the strength to accomplish some crazy plan that some trainer at a gym gave me because he or she felt that that's what I need, because I've been on antibiotics or whatever for 10 years. I need to hear from him. He knows my body, he knows it intimately, and that's one reason why, if we say that it's not about your weight, it's about your worth, we are inviting you into a shift of perspective, because so many of us have bought into that that it is about my way and we need a chance to be encouraged to wait what it's not. Maybe God has something else for me, maybe it's a real beautiful thing. Maybe I am his masterpiece right now as I am, and again piece right now as I am, and again he's going to tell me what I need to do to operate to my best ability.
Speaker 2:
I really believe that. Yeah, absolutely Well. And not only that, but we're made in God's image. What is that? That just blows me away. I think well, what do you look like, lord? But for us to be constantly cutting ourselves down and condemning ourselves for the way we look, I mean, if you think about who God is, think about who he is, who he presents Himself to be in the Word of God, that doesn't line up with His character. It doesn't line up with all the truth that Heidi just shared about being his masterpiece, being fearfully and wonderfully made. I mean, the Bible tells us exactly what God thinks of us and how he sees us.
Speaker 2:
We don't have to guess.
Speaker 1:
It's right there.
Speaker 2:
In fact, one of our favorite tools at Revelation Within is the who Am I in Christ list. I've got that right in front of me right now. I have one in front of me right now too, because I use it so often. Maybe we should read just a few of those before we go yes, let's do that.
Speaker 1:
I'm going to start at the end of the list, because so often I start at the beginning and I want to get it all in. So I am delivered. I am God's child.
Speaker 2:
I am born again. I am Christ's friend. I am the righteousness of God. I have been justified.
Speaker 1:
I am more than a conqueror. I am a member of Christ's body. I am victorious.
Speaker 2:
I have been adopted as God's child. I don't really want to stop.
Speaker 1:
I am a light to others and can exhibit goodness, righteousness and truth. All of these have scripture references, so these are all rooted in God's word, what God says about me, and based on what we know about God, when the word tells us all about him. He is trustworthy, he's smart, he knows what he's talking about.
Speaker 1:
And if he says I am victorious in 1 John, 5, 4, then I am victorious. If he says he's given me everything I need for life and godliness in where is it 1 Peter then I know he is right. He really has. If he says that in my weakness his strength is made perfect in me, then I know that's really true. So these are things that God says about my worth and my value, and when I am steeped in these truths, I want to live my best life. I want to invite him in.
Speaker 1:
I want to ask him how would you have me navigate through this challenge without overeating, or how can I go to this party? Or how can I? Whatever it might be? He will share with me what I need to know, more than Weight Watchers, more than Jenny Craig or whoever's out there. Now you know, those are the world's solutions to the I'm overweight problem. And if I go to God with my stronghold problem or if I go with him with my desire to lose weight, I mean even that he will speak into my life. He will use his word, he will use wise, godly friends. He will also speak to me through his Holy Spirit, who, he says, is in everyone who proclaims Christ as their Lord. So I have all I need, like he says, for life and godliness. I do have what I need.
Speaker 2:
Yes, we do and we have, you know, like this list that we've shared, we have pages and pages of references from the word of God that tells us exactly who we are and how God sees us. We're not just pulling this out of thin air. I absolutely love renewing my mind with these lists because, as you said, Heidi, I mean it changes our perspective on our bodies, which changes our actions. It really does.
Speaker 1:
It really does. And you know what else I love about what we teach while we're going on about worth is I can experience God's grace any moment of any day in my life. Right now, it's not just one and done when I come to Christ to become a Christian. It's when I feel like and many of us feel like but I'm carrying 50 extra pounds or 15 extra pounds or five extra pounds and I am a failure. Okay, what does God say to that? God? What do you have to say about that? He will speak into my life.
Speaker 1:
He has said that he has demonstrated his love for me in this, that even while I was sinning, he had Christ died for me, and that he has called me before the foundation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love, he predestined me to be adopted. His love for me is not dependent upon my size, my shape, my success, my performance at all, and instead he wants me to be rooted and grounded in him. Turning to him, asking him in to what do I do with this failure, and he will show me which I love. I love the look and learn tool that reminds me God's grace is plenteous, it is there in the moment for me when I say I messed up, I have proven it with my body. You know that I've overeaten time and time again, or whatever. God, what would you have me do now? And he says I want you to do. He doesn't beat us up and he doesn't want us to beat ourselves up.
Speaker 1:
Why?
Speaker 2:
is it?
Speaker 1:
that we think beating ourselves up is going to result in something good. It doesn't. We're not seeing Christ like when we beat ourselves up.
Speaker 2:
He does not condemn.
Speaker 1:
Romans 8,. One tells us there is no condemnation in Christ. And then anyway, I could go on and on about that. I get real excited. Is no condemnation in Christ? And then anyway, I could go on and on about that. I get real excited. The bottom line is it's not about my weight, it's about my worth, and he is trustworthy and tells me I am so worth so much to him.
Speaker 2:
Oh, I love that truth. I love that beautiful, beautiful truth, and that really is what we're all about here at Revelation Within. Yes, it's not about your weight, it's about your worth. So we hope that you've been encouraged by something that we've said today, and we're so glad that you've been here with us, and we'd love for you to join us at our next episode of Revelation Within.
