Today’s lesson was basically a piggy back on to yesterday’s. The Lord nourishes us through his word and our application of it, so the author offered scripture after scripture with the question being: “Think on [the scripture] and write down how you will apply them in your life…”
I won’t share any more on this lesson here, but rather share something else that God has laid on my heart in a new journal entry.
Who do you think you are? Do you think of yourself as a fat person? A slob? A glutton? Or do you embrace the identity that Christ died to attribute to you, to infuse into your reality? If you have identified Jesus as your Lord and Savior, then you are a saint, saved by grace, a part of a royal priesthood, a daughter (or son) of the King, holy and precious, redeemed and called before the foundation of the earth!
So who DO you think you are?
When I was training for marathons, I embraced the identity of “runner.” Because of who I felt I was, the shoes I wore on my feet *all* the time were different. (There are certain shoes that identify a person as a runner. :-)) I wore certain clothes with specific labels and logos. I read certain books and had certain types of magazines sent to my home. I ate a specific way and specific things…sometimes even on the run! Not many people do that if they aren’t training for a long run!
When I thought of myself as a glutton, do you know how I lived? I lived like I *was* a glutton. I hid myself behind baggy clothes, sat on my rear a lot, didn’t want to go anywhere and definitely did NOT run, let alone eat on the run. I ate in the car, ate standing in the kitchen, ate all the time…after all I was convinced I was undisciplined and a sloth. So…well, I lived like I was.
We are likely to LIVE like that which we believe we ARE.
This is a truth taught in scripture and it is highlighted in the Thin Within book and in this lesson of The Lord’s Table workbook, as well.
When the Lord takes over a life, he doesn’t just save us from eternal judgment. He saves us from what we have been. He attributes to us an entirely NEW identity. Sure we struggle with sin at times, but our sin DOES NOT DEFINE US. GOD defines us!
Here is a truth, though. The same grace that brings salvation also teaches us to say no to ungodliness. There will be, babystep by babystep, progress toward living a more surrendered life. The Lord’s Spirit imparted to us ensures this is so.
So sure, we WERE gluttons. We WERE sloths. But NO MORE! You may argue “But I KNOW I am a glutton and a sloth! I prove it all day every day!”
I challenge you…embrace the identity that GOD has imparted to you. BELIEVE GOD. (Notice I didn’t say believe IN God!). Believe what HE says is true about you. That HE CHOSE you before the foundation of the earth to be holy and blameless in His sight. In LOVE he predestined YOU to be adopted as His precious child! If you believe these things, what GOD says to be true of you, you will be amazed at how your actions will line up with these beliefs. I have seen it in my own life and I know you can see it in yours, too!
Christians are no longer who they used to be. (TLT, p. 119)
We do what is according to our nature. If we are sinners who are trying to be good we will inevitably fall. But if we are saints, who occasionally stumble and sin, then our nature is such that we hate sin, and our habitual pattern of life will be to walk in righteousness. (TLT, p. 119)
We should no longer see ourselves as overeaters…instead, come up with names that we can use to identify ourselves with our “new man!” (TLT, p. 120)
If we are in Christ we are not who or what we were. My identity is not in being a fat person any longer. (TLT, p. 120)
Choose to believe God today!
If we are not feeding on God’s Word our spiritual strength begins to wane, we become malnourished…If we weaken spiritually we lose our resolve to fight, we have no strength to overcome temptation, and we settle in to living under the power of sin… (TLT, p. 115)
If you have followed the blog here for any length of time, you may realize that while having lost 100 pounds and kept it off for over a year, I nevertheless don’t feel like “the work is done.” There is definitely some work to be done in my heart and mind. It is like the inside of the glutton still lives on, even though the body physically is where it should be. I know there *have* been many changes, but I see just how perilously close I am to becoming what I once was, I guess. My weakness is so clearly before me.
This really came home over the weekend. I felt no resolve. I was weakened and did “settle in” to a way of life I have resisted (by the skin of my teeth) for a long while. I spent a good deal of time processing yesterday’s lesson on perseverance (though I didn’t write that process here…I wrote about it at the Thin Within forums, instead).
One at a time, I have to stop leaning so hard on the crutches in my life. The only crutch that I want is my relationship with Jesus. He is to be my strength, my nourishment, that which I look toward, my soul delights in…I came face to face with how much this was NOT happening. I was excited about cookies, donuts, ice cream. There is nothing wrong with these things, but I was beginning to live for them again. I could see it. So, I felt the Lord’s leading to give these things…all of them to him for a week. It seems so silly now…making such a huge deal of it here. But it HAS been a HUGE deal to me!
Everything is permissible for me”—but not everything is beneficial. “Everything is permissible for me”—but I will not be mastered by anything. – 1 Corinthians 6:12
I don’t want anything to master me except God. I want one Holy Obsession…HIM. Him alone.
Today’s lesson is a reiteration that the foundation of The Lord’s Table is that the Lord is the Bread of Life. Coming to Him to allow myself to be nourished will satisfy me in the deep places where I hunger.
However, this lesson goes a bit deeper. To read the Word isn’t enough. I have to DO what it says. So when I read 1 Corithians 6:12, for instance, and sense in my heart that there is something that has mastered me…(in my case “sweets”)…I have something I am called to do about it.
It is not just reading “the words of faith” that causes us to be nourished, but rather the applying of them to our lives. (TLT, p. 116)
Jesus said that his food was to do the will of Him who sent Him (John 4:31-34). How much more do I need to depend on this “food”…which is to do God’s will. When I sense what God’s will is, I am to act, to do it. Then my heart is nourished, my soul will flourish. Then I will be strengthened spiritually, as physical food nourishes physically, to be able to do the things I need to, such as to resist temptation…to say “No” to eating outside of godly parameters, for instance.
In order to live right, which certainly includes eating right, we must grow spiritually. In order to grow we must take in nourishment. We are nourished by God’s Word as we read and obey it and do God’s will. It is this application of Scripture, or the doing of God’s will, that brings nourishment to us. (TLT, p. 116)
What is God’s will for you right now? Will you do the hard thing and choose to do it? If you do His will, you will experience a deep nourishment in your soul that strengthens you to continue to make difficult (but God-honoring choices). It is worth it. I have seen this in my own life in recent days as I have given up my HUGE dependency on diet soda and, yesterday, going without indulging my desire for sugary foods. There is something that happens deep in a heart when we do what God lays on our hearts to do.
For me, this is part of my “making room for Him” this Christmas. I have allowed so many other things to crowd out room for Him in my heart. The choices I have been led to make are things I have heard Him asking me to do for a LONG time and have resisted. As I have resisted, I have weakened…there has been less resolve. Truly as if I am starving for nourishment.
But now, as I have chosen to do the hard thing, as I have taken a step of faith to offer more of myself to him (even with resentment at times), there has been a strengthening deep within. What this lesson teaches IS true…there is a nourishment that is infused into the deeper places of my heart when I DO what I know God is calling me to do. When I read His Word and apply it.
It is my prayer that whatever it is God may be calling you to do to honor Him and to make room for Him in your life, you will do it…and be doubly enriched, encouraged and blessed…NOURISHED!
Just some quotes from this morning’s lesson:
First of all, let me challenge the common definition of “progress.” If we were on a diet, or a weight loss plan or rogram, then “progress” would be defined as losing weight. After all, that is the purpose of the diet, and without weight loss we have made no progress. But we are not on a mere diet; we are making healthy changes in our whole lifestyle (spiritual and physical) so, progress should be defined as purposely enjoying the Lord, eating in a disciplined manner every day, making sure we get a moderate amount of exercise and remaining accountable for these life habits. (TLT, p. 111)
If you count progress as developing a lifestyle that honors the Lord, and now persist in your newly developed lifestyle [of 1.) Delighting the Soul 2.) Disciplining the Body 3.) Developing accountability — mentioned previously], you will lose the weight and you will keep it off. Learn to focus on habits and lifestyle, not on rapid weight loss and temporary progress. (TLT, p.112)
His strength is made perfect in our weakness, and we can do all things through Him including persevere. Will you? (TLT, p. 113)
This lesson provided an outstanding reiteration of the fact that the Lord alone can provide that which is satisfying. We have been duped by the lure of food and overeating. Overeating has gotten us to a place of difficulty and, often, despair. Mike Cleveland uses the story of the prodigal son to illustrate this.
If we are children of God then whenever we seek satisfaction in anything other than God Himself, He sovereignly brings us into difficulty for the purpose of bringing us to our senses. (TLT, p. 108)
This lesson illustrates the following principles:
1.) Sin’s promises are empty
2.) Pursuing sin’s allurements leads to difficulty in your life
3.) In order to escape we must come to our senses and begin thinking correctly about ourselves and our situation
When asked “Please record your own experience with these principles. How have you experienced these truths in your own life?” My “short” 🙂 answer was:
1.) Sin’s promises are empty – Food did (and does) not make me happier (except temporarily…and it is always offset by the guilt afterwards). Giving up trying to restrain myself and doing what I pleased didn’t bring the relief that it promised. It brought excrutiating emptiness and fear.
2.) Pursuing sin’s allurements leads to difficulty in your life – I gained so much weight that I feared I would die suddenly. Because of oveating, I had willingly walked into the possibility of a premature death. I no longer did the things I loved in life–ride my horses, play tennis, travel with my family, play in the snow with them–all because I couldn’t enjoy these things physically any more. I was too heavy. All because of an ungodly love for and overindulgence in food. My blood pressure had sky-rocketed. While some of that was due to hereditary factors, it was excessively high due, in part, to my physical condition. I feared a stroke or a heart attack. Understandably so. The shame was overwhelming as well. I wanted to isolate.
3.) In order to escape we must come to our senses and begin thinking correctly about ourselves and our situation – I will never forget laying in bed one night with my heart racing in my chest for the umpteenth night in a row. (This caused me fear, too.) I realized that I was destroying my family just as an unfaithful man does the same for the thrill of his affair. If I died, my family would need to continue without a mother. Who would homeschool my children? What about the care of all the animals who had become so precious to my family? Who would stand in as Mom? My husband works so hard already. Surely I couldn’t expect him to do that–and why? All because I loved food so much that I wouldn’t deny myself excessive quantities of it? I saw just how ridiculous and stupid this was…not to mention sinful. This was the beginning of my return to the Lord and the surrendering of my eating to Him.
The Lord offers so many blessings. It was impossible for me to truly enjoy them when I rejected His will in the way I would greedily indulge in whatever I wanted to eat all the time. I had erected a wall between the Lord and me. The true feast is found in Him.
While we were all excited about food, which led to our overeating, we were failing to see where the real feast for the soul is. The feast is with the Father. (TLT, p. 109)
This is a powder keg.
“Exercise is a must.”
Thin Within doesn’t teach this. I believe it is out of respect for those of us who have come out of a background of diet and exercise obsession. I know that I needed the freedom *not* to exercise in order to experience freedom in Christ.
The Lord’s Table teaches that…well, “exercise is a must.”
To lose weight via the principles of hunger and satisfaction, I don’t believe it is generally. Here is what I found. This is important!!! I hope it encourages you.
If we hearken to our God-given signals of hunger and satisfaction, then on the days when our bodies need more fuel, they will be hungry more frequently. I have found in the past when I was more active, that I often was hungry more frequently during that day. When I was sick or less active, I was not nearly so hungry through the day. It does require honesty.
I live a pretty active life with the horses and all that caring for them and the place here entails. I want to go on record as saying vehemently that for those who have physical difficulties of some kind or a current aversion to exercise, to think that they will never be God’s ideal weight without exercise is to burden them with a yoke of slavery.
On the other hand, I do believe that exercise is very good for us and this temple that God has entrusted to us. I know that the author of The Lord’s Table is concerned that we not feed laziness. Many of us (including me) can make excuses til the cows come home for why we can or should be exempt from routine exercise. It is possible that someone who isn’t open to exercise may need to evaluate this prayerfully. Maybe God would have you begin to consider doing a little something. There is *spiritual* value in this IF GOD IS LEADING YOU TO DO IT.
Each person must take this to the Lord prayerfully.
So here are my personal responses to this assertion about “Exercise is a Must.” I *am* concerned that if I add an exercise routine to my daily life some things will happen:
1.) I will begin to obsess again.
2.) I will like the physical changes so much that I will freak if I can’t exercise each day (I guess this is related to #1 above)
3.) Get overly busy
4.) It will be one more thing that my family has to adjust their lives around for me.
Ok, in the spirit of “truth journaling,” let me pick this apart a bit.
1.) I will begin to obsess again. I may begin to obsess, true. However, maybe it is time to leave the “freedom phase” as we say in Thin Within and move on to the “discernment phase.” It works with food, so maybe with exercise, too. I am pretty active, true, but could walking 20-30 minutes a day really be so bad? I think if I keep my focus and ambitions pretty moderate (no more marathons!), I don’t need to be so concerned about obsession. Maybe God has grown me up in this as he has with the dieting stuff of my past. Maybe it is time. Maybe God has done a work in me in this.
2.) I will like the physical changes so much that I will freak if I can’t exercise each day This, too, might be true. But if I do only a moderate exercise program, perhaps the changes externally won’t be that big of a deal. I would get the benefits to my cardiovascular system but not end up looking “ripped.” 
No…no strength training this time.
LOL! So, again, maybe it is time to *grow up*.
3.) Get overly busy. Right now, my life seems to be in a manageable place. Now is, perhaps, an acceptable time to add something modest into my schedule. I like to make up excuses about why I can’t add this or that. Truth is, I have time. I think I *am* lazy, though. I must really make this more a matter of prayer (but not to avoid acting!). There are a lot of things I avoid and I avoid them by trying to appear (or be) busy about *something*. It is time to “come clean” and to bring integrity into this aspect of my life.
4.) It will be one more thing that my family has to adjust their lives around for me. This is definitely a lie. My kids and I all need to do something to get in shape. They may mutiny if I have them walk with me when it is raining…but maybe we can just get some nice big umbrellas and make it workable. My kids need the little bit of activity, too.
So, this all said, I will bring this honestly to God and see what he says about this for me now.
However, I feel it is important for people just beginning Thin Within, certainly, to know that I do NOT agree that “exercise is a must.”
Additionally, I know some people are worried when they work out rigorously that they need to have a big meal an hour before hand, hunger or not. I do not agree. I have trained for marathons and been very involved in body building (yes, you read right! LOL!). I learned even then that this wasn’t the case.
In recent years when I have exercised (I have done a lot with Dance Praise or a pretty rigorous step workout), I typically am just fine through my workout. I try to plan it so that it comes soon after my breakfast. Then, if I DO get hungry during my workout, I can take a quick break and have some almonds and water. It does the trick.
What I eat for breakfast is also important. I make sure that it is a whole-body pleaser (according to the suggestions taught in Thin Within). This sustains me well.
Anyhow, I will be committing this entire issue to God in prayer again.
For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come.
– 1 Timothy 4:8
Clinging to Jesus for all I am worth, I will experience victory over sinful eating habits, a greedy heart that wants more, and seeking joy in any counterfeit.
John 15:4-11 is the focus passage for this lesson.
At the heart of this lesson is:
Truly stopping habits of overeating requires ongoing intimacy with God.
Stated another way, enjoying true intimacy with Jesus Christ breaks the attraction that sin offers. Enjoying Jesus Christ Himself must replace the habit of overeating. (TLT, p. 101)
Since I began the “60-60 Experiment” in Soul Revolution by John Burke I have found this to be true more than ever. In fact being reminded to reconnect with God every 60 minutes isn’t frequent enough for me. My mind wanders so easily. For two days I set my watch to beep every 30 minutes. That wasn’t enough either (oh, how I wander!). Today, it is set for every 20 minutes.
Basically, this reminder serves to remind me to reconnect, to re-commit and ABIDE in Christ as this passage in John 15 teaches. It is causing me to get to the heart of where I have been wanting so desperately to be and why I chose to focus on this material in The Lord’s Table. I know that satisfaction and joy are only found in abiding in Christ, but practically speaking, I had been left with how to truly do that in an ongoing way. I have daily quiet times, pray when I have a mind to (there is the tricky thing…my mind wanders so easily…guess I said that already!), memorize scripture (though not as earnestly as in the past), listen to Christian music and so on…and yet, believe it or not, this hasn’t been enough. This has missed it. You know why? Because when push comes to shove, these things are “stuff.” Even an unregenerate person can do them…but to welcome a continual, regular reminder of God’s presence in my life and to choose to reorient myself no matter what I am doing and praise or thank him, or ask Him for what HE wants in THIS moment…well, that isn’t something I would have any interest in doing apart from the Lord being at work in my life.
So, for me…this is the heart of what it means to feast on Christ.
One participant quoted in TLT workbook says: If we remain in Jesus, our souls are nourished, we are fed, we grow and have life.” (TLT, p. 101)
Abide in the love of Jesus and your joy will be complete. And if your joy in Jesus is complete, you will not have to look for it anywhere else. Your slavery to sin is broken when your love and joy are complete. (TLT, p. 101)
With the reminder to reconnect with the Lord in regular time increments throughout the day, I can’t “follow at a distance” as Peter did in Luke 22:54-62. Following at a distance was the precursor to denying Christ. I won’t have that.
As crazy as it may be for now…I will keep my timer beeping constantly at me throughout the day. I trust that the Lord will use this to build in me a habit of *keeping* connected with Him. That is my hope and prayer and then maybe I can graduate to only needing an hourly reminder. I hope so.
I see this as a powerful tool in helping me to live for the Lord. Not just in my eating, but in every way. In my speaking, in my driving, in my thinking, in my living…period. This is teaching me practically what it means to abide in Christ.
Jesus commanded me to abide in Him. When I do, HIS joy will be in me and my joy will be made full. Eating freshly baked brownies or peppermint ice cream can’t compare to that. It sounds ridiculous to even imagine that I ever could look to food for joy!
This lesson reviews some vital aspects of The Lord’s Table program. I won’t rehash the way the lesson is written here, but will share the three fundamental principles that TLT says are needed to experience freedom from overeating. If you have read my entries on TLT, this will be clear already. Reviewing serves to clarify, however. I wholeheartedly agree with these principles:
1.) Delight your Soul.
So often I have turned to food to be my delight. I am praying and actively seeking the Lord as my soul’s greatest delight. Honestly, participating in the Soul Revolution’s 60-60 experiment is dovetailing beautifully with this. I have set the timer on my watch for every 30 minutes. When it goes off, I reconnect with God, affirm His Lordship, stop sinning (if I am mid-stride into something that might dishonor him), pray for His will in the moment and in the moments to come…Practically, it helps me to really delight in the Lord. Feasting on the Word daily, memorizing it so that it comes to mind readily, journaling what He is teaching me…these are all ways that I can delight my soul in Him so that I am not so tempted to fixate on counterfeits (like food).
2.) Discipline Your Body
The hard truth is, I have to say NO to some things that my flesh wants. If I want a beautiful chair and can rationalize that it would be a great “quiet time chair” for me to snuggle up with my bible in the early mornings, I can’t just pull my truck up to the store and walk out with it. I have to say no to my flesh. If I am in a hurry and signal light after signal light has turned red, I can’t just go speeding on through. I have to say no to my flesh. Likewise, when my mind turns to food or I start to grab for something when I am not hungry, I have to say no to my flesh. Simply, there is no way to break free without saying no! This is a hard truth. I can honestly say, though, that the more I practice denying my flesh, the easier it gets. Each moment offers opportunity to make a choice. I can say NO to my flesh in this moment…capture it for the Lord and His will and His ways. When I do that, this one moment of denying myself is followed by dozens of moments rejoicing that He enabled me to be obedient and disciplined!
3.) Develop Daily Accountability
This is vital, I believe. I wrote about how to select an accountability partner just about a year ago. No matter where you are on this journey, I think this is vital. Two *are* stronger than one. There is just no way around it. Accountability is a biblical principle for all aspects of our lives. With an accountability partner, not only do we report in and receive loving encouragement, rebuke or praise, but we also are *prayed* for. We need this! If you want to break free from overeating or any habitual sin, you will want DAILY accountability!
A person could probably go through the appearances of having these three things in place in their life, but if the heart change is missing, it will all be for nothing.
Mike Cleveland says: The first step to victory is to seek the Lord for a heart change. We need to pray, “Lord, please remove my love for food, and replace it with a love for You. Help me to use food for it’s designed purpose, as that which sustains and nourishes the body. Please give me a new heart, according to Your promise in Ezekiel 36:26.” (TLT, p. 98)
This lesson touches on one of the few things that I feel has TRANSFORMED (and continues to transform) my journey down this road. That of contentment or lack thereof.
The discontented heart is always craving; it is never satisfied. (TLT, p. 95)
Discontentment breeds craving. Discontentment breeds addiction and bondage. (TLT, p. 96)
God led me some time ago to begin a gratitude blog specifically to combat a spirit of discontentment and pride. I don’t keep it updated, but I do feel that gratitude is becoming more and more a habit of my life.
This lesson in TLT focuses on verses from Numbers 11. Mike Cleveland exposes the fact that a spirit of discontentment can result in craving that which the Lord has not provided. If we give in to this, it will lead potentially to death as it did with the Israelites.
I can definitely identify with this. When I want something outside of godly boundaries, I have a choice. I can think about what I want and what I don’t get to have or shouldn’t have or all the sacrifices I have to make (can you hear the whine in my voice?), or I can choose to foster a spirit of contentment and gratitude. When I intentionally choose to combat a spirit of discontent with a spirit of gratitude, I render pride inoperative. It is a death blow to Satan in that moment. He can’t have his way with me. I am humbled as I praise God for His provision and care. I esteem HIM as Lord instead of insisting “not THY will, but MINE be done.”
For years I allowed discontentment to live unhindered. It resulted in greed and cravings that I indulged. My health deteriorated. Death was imminent.
But then God intervened…
The teaching about contentment and gratitude is HUGE in making our way down this path and being rid of ungodly eating habits and, ultimately, the physical weight as well. Not only that, but it permeates every aspect of my life. When I am intentional about fostering gratitude, I am transformed!
What a great time of year to practice this! We have opportunities for a crash course in gratitude and contentment right now! Christmas will be different for our family this year…and with awareness of that, we have all felt frustrated and grumbled a lot. NO MORE. I will choose to be thankful for healthy family members. No one is in the hospital! No one is ill. My kids are a delight to me. My husband comes home to ME and is faithful. He has a job (so many people are out of work right now). I have a wonderful home and more than I ever could have dreamed. My walk with God is vibrant. The King of the Universe is constantly aware of me! I have His Word and a bible-teaching church to attend. I have the pleasure and privilege of participating on the worship team and leading a bible study for women in my home. So many blessings!
I will choose to be content with God’s portion in my life. This applies to material things *and* to food. He is my portion.
Therefore, let us set out not so much to overcome our cravings but rather to learn how to be content with God and His provision for us. (TLT, p. 96)
1 John 2:12-14 is the focus of this lesson. It points out that there are different levels of maturity or growth in our Christian lives.
Some of us are children in our faith. We may be children for a long season. And children are characterized by stumbling and falling a lot…but they keep getting up if they are in Christ, they prevail themselves upon the grace and forgiveness of God.
Many of us seem to live a long time in this place relative to our disordered eating. I know I did–and still sometimes revert to this place as well. But God’s grace is present and applicable. I can be forgiven each time I stumble.
However, His grace also is a provision to move me forward…to grow me up.
Last night, my kids and I watched the movie, The Water Horse. I was reminded of a couple of scenes of this movie during the lesson today. The story was about a baby Loch Ness “monster” that grew exponentially from being the size of a puppy to a huge brontosaurus-type (and size) creature in short order.
The Lord’s grace can grow us spiritually every bit as much as the food this creature ingested grew him. More so, in fact. This is GOD! 🙂 I need to feast on HIM and HIS Word as The Lord’s Table workbook has been saying. When I do, I will grow up in my faith.
1 Corinthians 13:11 makes reference that it may be time to put childish things behind. When I have a temper tantrum about wanting food even when I am not hungry, I get so childish and act like a baby! Can you relate? “But I WANT that!” I whine! Goodness. Maybe it is time to put this childish attitude behind and press on to know Him more. To allow Him to give me the grace to have victories more consistently…to grow up in the faith.
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