I’m not
saying I won’t ever fall, but if I do, it will be because I began, again, to
lean to my own understanding and succeed in my own strength.
How do we
trust God and win in this very personal battle of overeating? How do we learn to trust Him? It sounds so simple…but HOW is it done??
First we
change the way we think. We have to get
educated in the Word…it’s the only way we will walk in true victory. (And I don't mean just knowing what's printed there, I mean believing that it's true, and it includes YOU.) I’m not denying that there are people have
lost a lot of weight and kept it off through surgery, or by being wrapped up in
counting every calorie, fat gram and/ or carb that goes into their mouths. I just don’t see freedom in that. Do you?
To be
victorious, we simply must (and I’m preaching to myself, here) know what’s in
the Bible, and what the Word says about us; and what belongs to us as His children. One of the fruits of the spirit is self-control! Fruit does not strive to grow. When planted and watered, it just grows. We need to plant ourselves in His Word!
Galatians 5:1: For freedom did Christ set us free: stand fast therefore, and be not
entangled again in a yoke of bondage.
Push religiosity
aside, and just believe like a little child that there is a life that Jesus Christ
died for us to have! We can live above
obesity, and the low self-esteem, hopelessness, desperation and deep
discouragement that comes with it.
Friends, we CAN get out of this pit, and STAY of this pit of obesity,
and leave all the personal junk that comes with it in that pit!
Ps 40:1,2: I
waited patiently for the Lord;
and He inclined to me, and heard my cry.
He also brought me up out of a horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and
set my feet upon a rock, and established my
steps.
When we
know what the Bible says about us (His children) then we can recognize things in
our lives that are fiery darts, not arrows of Truth. It’s up to us to guard our heart (our
minds), and it’s up to us to cast down wrong thinking. When
the wrong thoughts come in our brains, we do not have to invite them in for a
diet coke and a slice of cake!! If you
can’t find it in your brain to think the right thoughts, then say it right
thing out loud, and say it twice, if you have to…say it four times or ten, but
say it!
Toxic thought:
I can’t do this. I’ve been trying
for years to lose weight, every diet I’ve ever tried has been a failure, and I
am now bigger than I’ve ever been. I was
doing so well last year! I lost 50
pounds, but now I can’t even make it one day without binge eating!
Power thought:
He is the Lord my God who gives me strength to do everything that is
required for me to be able to obey Him.
I am His child, and he cares that I am facing this problem. He has a future and a hope (Jeremiah 29:11) that
was tailor-made just for me, and He knew I was coming before He created time
(Psalm 139)
Need another
power thought?
Psalm
29:4-11: The voice of the Lord is powerful, full of majesty, it breaks cedars,
divides the flames of fire; the voice of
the Lord shakes the wilderness; it makes the
deer give birth! The Lord sits as King forever, and He will give
strength to His people; The Lord will bless His people with peace.
This is the same voice that says we are free in Him!
The Lord seems to have us on the same path. I've been saying for a while that God is using this weight loss struggle to draw me closer to Him, to cause me to know Him better and love Him more.
ReplyDeleteI've been revisiting several books that I read decades ago. Like "Absolute Surrender" by Andrew Murray. Just giving oneself over to God...and to His will.
Last night, I began to reading the book, Made to Crave." It's a keeper. Basically, we were made to crave God...instead, we try to satisfy that craving with food. BUT "we are made for more" than that. We are children of the Glorious Father, dearly loved by God.
Shoving sugary food into our mouths, seemingly held captive by it, is far below what God meant for us. It doesn't fit our identity. :)
For some time, I've felt that when I get a craving, it should trigger a time of prayer and turning to God, rather than turning to the food. That's petty much the theme to that book.
I have often talked myself into believing that I was over-spiritualizing this whole food thing. (Which conveniently left me able to indulge in what I craved.)
The books I've mentioned and others...along with this post!...have been a nice confirmation for me.
So nice to have to have the Lord bring these words my way. :)
Deb
Totally agree! We do need to immerse ourselves into his word and his promises and let them penetrate our heart in every aspect of our lives, especially that which we need freedom from, whether weight, another addiction, fear, anxiety, etc. Personalizing the scriptures like you did is a good way to do so too to let them speak individually to us! Keep on preaching :)
ReplyDeletebetty
what to eat for fatty liver disease what to eat for fatty liver disease what to eat for fatty liver disease
ReplyDeleteMy blog post hepatic steatosis medical dictionary