One of my favorite facets of Thin Within is its ability to integrate the practical application of God’s word with the spiritual component of His truth.  In other words, the foundation of this program is balanced.  Throughout the pages of  Thin Within are countless opportunities to learn and grow spiritually coupled with the reality that we have a responsibility to do our part of the program for it to have its complete work in us.  God can be nothing but faithful to us.  He will lead us in all truth.  He will change us from the inside out as we let him renew our minds with truth.

For many of us, however, we’re spiritually growing leaps and bounds through this program, and yet our weight still remains an issue.  Tell me I’m not the only one!

In a blog post that Heidi Bylsma posted in January of 2007 she said the following:  “In my case, when I don’t release weight, first I have to ask the Lord, honestly, if I am submitting to his will. This goes beyond this notion of 0-5 eating for me. I can *fake* 0-5 eating pretty well. You know what I mean? I can rationalize things…I have found that a subtle “dieting mentality” comes in and “helps” me with this…it will casually do an estimation of calories and whatever and say “See? I have ‘suffered’ and so I should release weight.”  But the reality God is trying to bring home to me is, the Lord wants me to love HIM more than I love food. No, it doesn’t mean He doesn’t find joy in my enjoying food, but delighting in food more than Him…well, that is a problem. He has laid on my heart that He has given me parameters within which eating food is to be enjoyed. It is like sexual intimacy…there are certain parameters. Within those parameters, it gives God joy for me to enjoy intimacy, which He created. I believe He delights in my enjoyment of food within godly parameters as well. Outside of the parameters of marriage, “sex” is indulging my fleshly lusts and is sin…Outside the parameters of my body calling for food, eating is indulging a fleshly lust and is sin. Or that is how He has broken it down for me. I need it made really simple! LOL!  It helps me to ask WHY am I eating right now? Am I eating because I am hungry and my body needs nourishment? Am I eating because I simply want to enjoy the taste (which is so fleeting!)? God has laid it on my heart to enjoy the taste of food (YES!), but only when my body needs nourishment. How perfect is that?  I can oooh and aaah about the incredible flavor of cheese enchiladas all I want when I am hungry! YIPPEEE! I get hungry pretty routinely! There will be loads of opportunities in my life to enjoy enchiladas with a totally pure conscience, eating them because my body needs sustenance! Why do I want to mess with that?  When I don’t release weight, I have to honestly evaluate if I have been truly loving eating beyond the parameters God has for me. Am I living like my body is my own to do with as I please?”

This is the very issue many are dealing with, we still want what we want, when we want it, and thinking we can have it both ways, fail to realize that when we let our flesh (our old carnal man) have the final say, we hinder the mighty work God is wanting to accomplish in us.  This is a sobering realization when it comes right down to it.  Why, when God has gone to such great lengths to extend a covenant relationship to me would I want to violate that by not living today like I belong to God?  I’m praying for you and me today that we’ll “just say no” when our old carnal man rears his ugly head and tells us to do as we please.  I pray we remember just what God has provided for us each time we let him have the final say.

What about you?  Are you walking in your new life or your old life today?  Are you letting your old carnal man rule your food-related choices?  Let’s choose to “live today like we belong to God,” remembering what happens when He has the final say in our choices.