Armed with Truth: Winning the War with Your Body.

“I’m tired of warring against myself and the wonderful body I’ve been given.”

”Oh that you would slay the wicked, O God! O men of blood, depart from me! They speak against you with malicious intent; your enemies take your name in vain. Do I not hate those who hate you, O Lord? And do I not loathe those who rise up against you? I hate them with complete hatred; I count them my enemies.” - Psalm 139:19-22 (ESV)

I never understood this section of Psalm 139. The chapter was flowing smoothly until David jumped into this violent outburst. Since I didn’t get it, I tended to ignore it. 

Until recently…

As God gave deeper revelation of this stanza, He highlighted for me the area of body image and the war on the mind. Let me explain… 

Enemies from Within

What I believe David is saying in this seemingly out-of-place rant is that he hates those enemies, those lies, that attack what God says about His creation. He despises any thought that denies the truth that he is loved and seen and cared for by God. 

I’ve stopped thinking David went mad when he wrote this four-verse departure from the otherwise pleasant psalm. Now, I agree with him. 

Psalters, we have the power to speak life or death over our bodies. According to David, we can fight and win this battle of the mind by coming out of alignment with the enemy and stepping into alignment with God.

David goes on to say, “Search me, O God; show me if I have any of those enemies within me” (my paraphrase). Sure, those enemies could be literal people or other external attacks on his value, but it seems like David recognizes at least some of those enemies are coming from within. 

His response is to give God permission to search his heart and bring to light any thoughts that are misaligned with the revelation he received earlier in the chapter about how God sees him. 

Let’s Practice

We can choose to come out of alignment with those lies and step into alignment with the truth of God’s Word by blessing our bodies rather than cursing them.

What parts of your body do you often find yourself cursing? 

Take time to intentionally speak blessing over your body. Give careful attention to your bones, muscles, organs, skin, hair, especially the areas that take the brunt of the curses. 

Be specific, allowing different parts of your body to move and come back to life as they are washed in blessing. Speak Psalm 139 over yourself. The Creator of the universe took the time to plan and design all of you with intentionality. 

What does it look like to physically come out of alignment with lies and into alignment with the truth? How does your body respond when you intentionally speak life over each part… in their current state… not praying for them to be changed?

• Psalm 139 says your hips, thighs, nose, feet, stature, fill-in-the-blank are fearfully and wonderfully made. 

• The same chapter declares no thought you think comes as a surprise to God. He is still willing to claim you, to place His hand on you in blessing. 

• Verse 7 expresses there is nowhere you can hide from God; and verse 18 promises that even knowing every intricate detail about you, seen and unseen, God will not turn His back and walk away. 

• God’s thoughts toward you are more than the impossible-to-count grains of sand covering the earth. His thoughts toward you are good. They are in line with His character; and He is good.

• God is worthy of praise because He did such a good job in creating you.

This is the truth! 

Keep Up the Good Fight

Even if it’s hard to believe at first, speak the truth anyway. 

Be kind to your body. Honor and bless it.

When you feel tempted to speak curses in opposition to what God has said, go to war against the lies. If not, you will be warring against yourself. 

We were created wonderfully. When we constantly tell ourselves the opposite, we speak death over ourselves rather than life (And we wonder why our bodies don’t hold up like we want them to!).

Oh, I get it. It isn’t easy. Renewing of the mind requires the Holy Spirit, time and perseverance to keep fighting the lies some of us have allowed to reign for so long. But it’s worth the fight.

Remember what a stark contrast this stanza is in the midst of a psalm that feels intended to wrap us in a blanket of love and security? It feels like an assault, much like the mental assault we experience when lies invade, telling us what our bodies should or should not look like and how they should or should not function. 

David is not gentle with these enemies. He hates, loathes, detests the lies that come in opposition to what God has said about who he is.

You can be gentle in loving your body. But by all means, be fierce in denouncing the lies. They aren’t cute. They aren’t funny. And they aren’t a small matter. They are to be hated with complete hatred and combated with truth. 

I don’t know about you, but I don’t want to be guilty of grieving God’s heart. And I’m tired of warring against myself and the wonderful body I’ve been given. I want to believe what God says about me.

God, I give you permission to search my whole heart and show me if there are any lies in me that are grieving you. Am I agreeing with anything out of alignment with what You have spoken? Please lead me in Your way, in truth, in life.