How God Helps You Overcome Obstacles in Wellness

Do you have any trouble areas, specifically surrounding your body or food, that you continually stumble over? 

Whether it’s obsession, neglect, or discontentment, it can be really discouraging to feel caged in behind roadblocks. After all, I’m guessing that you have things to do! You’ve got people to love on, goals to achieve, and always clothes to fold. For all that goodness and growth to occur, you need space for it—mentally, emotionally, and physically! 

I have a friend right now who is pregnant with her first child. From bow hangers to diaper warmers, she’s been preparing for months for every little necessity and desire this child might have. As her husband would tell you, there have been plenty of weekends spent cleaning out spaces so that this new little life will have room to develop and thrive. 

The same is true for plants too. You can’t just buy a daisy and throw it in a crowded garden bed of rocks and weeds. You’ve got to till the soil and give that baby space to flourish. Unfortunately, cleaning out requires effort, especially with soil that has been overlooked for a while. That’s why it’s important to continually tend to our hearts like we would a garden. Literal and figurative weeds and rocks that are left alone, no matter how deceptively pretty they appear, can crowd out goodness and get more embedded. It’s tempting to try to “grow around” the stumbling stones, but Jesus had a little something to say about that. 

In Luke 8:6 we jump into a lesson from Jesus in which he was discussing types of soil. In verse 6, he describes the 2nd type of soil:

“Some (seed) fell on rocky ground, and when it came up, the plants withered because they had no moisture.”

Turns out, water is sort of a big deal in the whole survival game! For plants, water carries nutrients to the roots, and if rocks are in the way, the water can’t really do its job.

Similarly, the rocks in our life can lead to a serious case of spiritual drought. Physically and spiritually, we need water to survive. In John 4:10 Jesus describes that He provides us with living water. I don’t know about you, but I need every ounce of that hydration! If it requires some rock removal, then get the shovels and wheelbarrows ready. Things that are of value are always worth fighting for!

In addition to getting rocks out of the way for greater access to water, Jesus offers another insight in verse 13.

“Those on the rocky ground are the ones who receive the word with joy when they hear it, but they have no root. They believe for a while, but in the time of testing they fall away.” Luke 8:13

In essence, Christ tells us that it’s possible to sprout in rocky soil, but without roots, we’re not going to last.

Creating Sustainable Health Habits

Do you ever feel like this in your health journey? One week you are making amazing progress only to completely fall away the next. This on-again, off-again rollercoaster can give you a chronic case of whiplash. Instead, what if Christ’s words in this parable could be applied to your health journey… one that is sustainable and durable?

Rather than quickly sprouting and wilting, doesn’t it sound delightful to have a health journey that is rooted next to Christ, the abundant source of living water? 

Can you imagine yourself as the trees described in Ezekiel 31 (verses 5 and 7)?

“5 This great tree towered high,

    higher than all the other trees around it.

It prospered and grew long thick branches

    because of all the water at its roots.”

"7 It was strong and beautiful,

    with wide-spreading branches,

for its roots went deep

    into abundant water.”

What true joy we receive when our hearts have room for the seed of God to root down and be nourished with Christ, the living water. It is there that we can anchor into the grace, love, and steadfastness of the Lord. There we give our bodies patience. We make steady, gentle choices, and treat our bodies with kindness and mercy. What a sweet end goal! Now let’s get real about how to get there! 

Action Plan

Step One: Evaluate the soil of your heart- a regular weed and rock check. 

Step Two: Acknowledge that rock removal can take time and can sometimes be too heavy to lift alone.

This Earth is not our forever home and our bodies aren’t our forever bodies, therefore there is a 100% chance we will all have struggles. Do your struggles,  physical or mental, surrounding your body ever feel really heavy? Sometimes my mind gets anxious and my body gets achy which leads me to feel overwhelmed. Whether it’s pain, burdensome weight, or an obsessive mindset, only God knows your particular struggle. The good news is that He also knows your solution. 

God is always willing to help us with anything He asks of us. Think back on the parable of the rocky soil as an example. In the lesson, Jesus identifies God’s desire for us to have hearts free from “rocks”. Here’s where it gets good. Did you know that you happen to have access to an expert rock remover? 

In Mark 16 1-4, Jesus had been buried and his friends were going to visit his grave. 

“When the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices so that they might go to anoint Jesus’ body. 2 Very early on the first day of the week, just after sunrise, they were on their way to the tomb 3 and they asked each other, “Who will roll the stone away from the entrance of the tomb?”

4 But when they looked up, they saw that the stone, which was very large, had been rolled away. 

See? God is in the business of moving large rocks and making the impossible possible! Whatever might be holding you back is never too big for God to roll aside. Just as the guards attempted to thwart the plan of God by caging in Christ’s dead body with a heavy rock, the enemy is going to try to do the same to you. However, you were not created to be trapped behind a rock in a dark tomb. Evil can’t stand against the power of our God. 

This leads to:

Step three: Keep the faith. Hold steady to the truth that God works, in His good timing, through His power, His Spirit, and His people for your good, your freedom, and His glory.

I have had rocks in my life that took a lot longer than 3 days to be rolled away, and at times I questioned if God ever would help me. Have you ever felt that way? Maybe you’ve got a particular struggle that seems like a permanent fixture in your life. It can be wearisome to wait for an answer, but in the frustration, we can still rest in hope because of the main rock that was rolled away from Christ’s tomb. That truth which symbolizes Christ overcoming the world, gives us something to hold on to when it feels like the world will overcome us.

The last step in the journey is simply to repeat steps 1-3 over and over again.  Like gardening, growth with the Lord is never a one-and-done job.  Just when one rock is removed another might roll on in or maybe an old one rolls on back. That’s ok. God is the continual gardener of hearts. His strength never fades or weakens. He is strong enough to not just roll your rocks to the side, but to lift your burdens and throw them far away.

Let God Remove Your Stumbling Stones

Imagine this scenario with me. Picture God lifting your heavy burdens and chunking them over a cliff into the ocean. As the rocks crash, the living water splashes back into your heart where the rocks once took up space. For a sweet bonus, the splash of God’s love and grace soaks anyone else in the path. What a beautiful ripple effect of His redemption. And here’s the best part: the bigger your rock, the bigger your splash!

What trouble areas surrounding your body or food are in your way, holding you back or caging you in? How can you allow God to roll these “stones” away? 

Need help taking your relationship with food, movement and your body to the Lord? Sign up for our Body Blessings Course.