Psalm 139 Can Help You To Lose Weight

By Julie Morris, RN

Psalm 139 has been an awesome help in my weight-loss journey and it can help you too. Read each verse, followed by the thoughts I wrote years ago in my personal journal. Then try writing your own thoughts.

“O LORD, you have searched me and you know me….you are familiar with all my ways….You have laid your hand upon me.” (Lord, you know me. You know all about me, all of my negative thoughts and bad choices. You are always with me, reaching out to me, holding me—when I let you.)

“Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too lofty for me to attain. Where can I go from your Spirit?” (I hate to admit it, but sometimes it scares me to think about how close you are, and I try to run away because I don’t feel that I can measure up.)

“If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there….Even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast.” (If I go to McDonalds or Taco Bell, you are there.  If I decide to go on one of my weird diets, you are there. If I run around from morning to night, so busy that I don’t have time to think about how much I’m eating, even there your hand will guide me. And unless I am determined to pull away, your right hand will hold me fast.)

“If I say, ‘Surely the darkness will hide me…’ even the darkness will not be dark to you….” (If I say, “Surely I’ll feel better about myself if I sneak a Snickers and I won’t be so depressed if l down another donut,” even my dark thoughts won’t be too dark for you to penetrate.)

“For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made….”  (You created my body and know all about my slow metabolism. You know what I need to do to speed it up and slow my eating down. Because of you, I’m not doomed to be overweight and unhealthy!)

“All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be….” (You have a plan for each of my days, and even if I have wasted many of them, it’s not too late for me to change. If I cooperate with you, one day at a time, you will help me to lose my harmful extra pounds and keep them off.)

“How precious to me are your thoughts, O God!” (How precious you are to share your thoughts with me, O God! You whisper words of instruction to me through your Word, Christian friends, and sometimes even magazine articles that I’m reading—encouraging me to make healthier choices.)

“If only you would slay the wicked, O God!” (Sometimes I get off track. I get self-righteous and blaming and I deal with my own shame by pointing at others. When I do that, I stray to the refrigerator—away from the path you have laid out for me.)

“Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.” (I am making a decision right now to quit running from you and the healthy life you want for me. Instead, I open myself up to your scrutiny by saying this: Search me, God. Test me. Lead me. Help me to eat in a healthy way so I will live longer and better—guided by you in all I do.)

Julie Morris julie@guidedbyhim.com lost her unhealthy extra pounds 25 years ago and has been helping others to lose theirs since that time. Author of 12 books and dynamic motivational speaker, she is the founder of Step Forward www.stepforwarddiet.com, a Christian weight-loss program and Guided By Him www.guidedbyhim.com, a lighter and easier version of Step Forward. Julie is The Christian Pulse Health and Fitness Team Leader © 2009.