It’s not about me.
When God put a seed in my mind to write a devotional for eating disorder recovery, it wasn’t my idea. It was His. Weeks later, when a stranger sent me a message after finding my blog while Google searching for an eating disorder recovery devotional for her daughter—it still wasn’t my idea.
Yet, I was the one God chose to write it.
Did I feel qualified? No. I don’t have a background in Psychology. I didn’t go to seminary school.
Only I DID recover from an eating disorder. It was a brutal battle that initially led me further from God, not closer. Fear. Shame. Lies of the enemy. All of the above had me believing that I needed to recover before I could restore my relationship with God. But the exact opposite was true.
I needed to reconcile with God before I recovered, for His strength and help and hope to recover.
And so, I said yes. I wrote for the girl who is struggling now. For the woman who thinks recovery is impossible—as I once did. I wrote for the lives I want to be freed. I’m crying as I type this because I remember what it was like to feel so alone. So, without God. So hopeless and blind to the truth.
In 2 Corinthians 1:3-4 (NIV), Paul makes a powerful statement: “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God.”
It’s not about me.
As I wrote this devotional, I also taught myself how to self-publish a book. It felt too urgent to go the traditional publishing route, which could take years. The world needed it ASAP.
I admit I was terrified. Writing a literal book. Stumbling through the steps of self-publishing and wondering all the while if I was doing it “right.” But God only wanted my obedience, so that’s what I gave.
Obedience is an act of love. Love for God. Love for the ones God knew needed the words I typed. Love that longed to see relationships with God restored. Obedience is why my devotional exists—though I hesitate to call it “my devotional” because every word is God-breathed.
Recently, I felt a nudge to re-read the book of Nehemiah. A book that starts with Nehemiah’s heart to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem for his fellow Jews who returned home after the Babylonian exile.
Did you know? Once Nehemiah dedicated himself to lead the people and rebuild the walls, the seemingly impossible feat was completed in just 52 days (Nehemiah 6:15). Over 2.5 miles of thick wall, high enough to defend a city. All accomplished in less than two months. Is your mind as blown as mine?
But then it hit me. From start to finish, the final draft of my devotional book took me only 55 days to write. Even now, that feels unimaginable, and I lived it!
Friend, nothing is too impossible for God.
What could God accomplish through you—for others—in the next 52 days (give or take) if you are simply willing to say YES?
What is your “walls of Jerusalem”?
About the Author:
Jayme Muller is a Christian author, blogger, and speaker who resides in Knoxville, Tennessee, with her husband and their Old English Bulldog. In 2016, she recovered from a decade-long struggle with bulimia and now spreads hope that recovery is possible. Jayme is also on a mission to encourage women to let go of fear, comparison, perfection, and performance and live in freedom with zeal.
