- God’s grace is abundant.
- God’s forgiveness is forever freeing.
- God’s love is never-ending.
- God created me to glorify him–to make Him known–to reflect to the world how awesome and wonderful He is!
- Nothing is beyond His restorative touch. (Praise you, Lord!)
- The Lord will meet me.
- He will encourage me.
- God’s gentle guiding hands will strengthen me.
- He is with me.
- He will provide comfort, strength, and help.
- He will uphold me as I press on and as I work through the exercises in the book, too!
How many of these things that are asserted by the authors of Thin Within do I actually believe? If I don’t believe them is it because they are inconsistent with God’s Word? Or is it because of something else? Do my actions reflect that I believe them if I say I believe them?
What I believe about God and how he relates to me is truly foundational. If I don’t believe the truth about him, then I approach life and this study with faulty assumptions. These faulty assumptions will undergird my responses to everything–to trials that come my way, to people, to things I struggle with, to God–and these faulty assumptions will continue to affect whether I go to God and trust Him, or if I trust something tangible like food more.
In effect, I will be building on lies…a faulty foundation!
This is why I have been harping on creating your list of God’s attributes and how he relates to you…and challenging you to please take time not only to create this list, but to take 5 of these things on your list (or more) each day (or each time you are tempted to eat when not hungry!) and to praise God for them! If you continue to do this, you will be replacing faulty assumptions, lies, with the truth…and this will be that upon which you build! You can’t go wrong if you do this.
As circuitous a route as this may seem to get to where you want to be physically, I can promise you that God will use this to transform you! Inside and out! And that the change won’t be temporary…it will be permanent. It will also affect any and all strongholds you may have in your life! God will blessedly invade your life!
So here are some thoughts that go with the focus of this chapter…
- Have you been committing (or trying) to focus on other things until your body says it is physically hungry?
- What emotions, thoughts, feelings, have surfaced as you have? (Most people find themselves getting a bit irritated or even angry.)
- What have you done with these thoughts or feelings?
- How has God been meeting you?
When I eat when I am not hungry, there may be some faulty assumptions underlying my rebellious attitude or other feelings or actions. For instance:
ACTION: Eating when I am not hungry.
FEELING: I want it. I am anxious. I want to eat. There will be a “release” in it for me.
UNDERLYING ASSUMPTION: God can’t or won’t be sufficient. Taking my agitation (or whatever emotion it is) to Him in prayer is a waste. I am not even willing to try.
Let’s break this down a bit further…WHY am I not willing to try? Because I don’t believe he cares about this issue or will show up. He ultimately doesn’t care and I don’t trust him.
OUCH! The more I trace what is at the heart of my eating outside of 0 to 5 parameters, the more I notice…it sure seems like it can be traced, ultimately, to a root of distrust…to a foundation of lies about the Lord and His character and a lack of belief that what He says about Himself in His Word and about me in His Word is true.
Bible Study
Please look at this passage of scripture by clicking on this link. (It should open in a new window.)
Deuteronomy 1: 26-32 is an intriguing passage.
- In verses 26 and 27, what were the actions and attitudes of the Israelites?
- In verse 27, what was an underlying assumption that the Israelites had about how God felt about them?
- What did this underlying belief cause them to assume about God’s purposes for them in verse 27?
- In verses 29-31, Moses refutes the lies that the Israelites believe with the truth. List the things he included when he challenged the false beliefs and assumptions.
- What imagery does Moses use in verse 31? Describe what you imagine as you consider a father with his child…
- Do you believe God is tender like this with you? If not, it might explain your rebellion, just as the lies the Israelites believed explained theirs!
THIS is why I will continue to encourage, exhort and harp on the idea that we MUST keep a list of God’s attributes–of truth–and truth about how he relates to each of us! It will cause our rebellion, ultimately, to melt away…as we ask God to help us 
to believe these things…he WILL. As we begin to believe the truth about who God is, as we allow HIM to fill our vision, be our focus, our desires, frustrations, emotions will have less and less hold on our lives! Just as darkness cannot contain the light, lies can’t contain the truth. Truth sheds light abroad in us and the lies that have been undergirding our paradigms will fade like night fades at dawn.
Practically Speaking
When you are faced with a behavior that you know isn’t appropriate, take some time to journal the following (suggested in The Search for Significance by Robert S. McGee):
- Journal a description of the situation. Describe it as dispassionately as you can.
- Emotions: What emotions are you feeling in response to this situation.
- Ungodly Actions: What ungodly actions have you taken or are you tempted to take?
- False Beliefs: What do these ungodly actions indicate about what you believe? Do you believe that the hot fudge sundae will make you feel better? Do you believe that “reading the riot act” to your Mother-in-Law will solve the problem? Do you believe that God isn’t sufficient to bring about His resolution? Keep breaking down whatever your answer is, tracing it back to its very root, until you can see if it isn’t ultimately rooted in what you think about God and His character…or about what you think you “deserve” or something related to self.
- God’s Truth: Hunt the scriptures (or your list of attributes of God) for God’s truth to refute the false assumption or lie that you are believing in this situation.
- Godly Response: In light of the truth that you know, what godly actions would follow?
- Can you commit to these godly actions? Prayerfully ask God to help you to trade the lies for his truth, an ungodly response or action with the godly actions that follow embracing truth.
Let us know what happens.
This will really make a huge difference! I promise! 🙂
Tomorrow I will finish chapter 7. The assignment for this coming week will be chapters 7, 8, and 9. I would love to see you all “check in” and update us.
- How are things going with 0 to 5 eating and the keys to conscious eating?
- How are you doing with your list of God’s attributes? Do you believe the things on your list?
- What is God teaching you? 🙂
Until tomorrow, you are on my heart and in my prayers!
This passage in Deut. is a perfect example of Rom. 1:25 "who exchanged the truth of God for the lie,"I've spent some time digging into and meditating on that passage. You've given me much to think about. Thank you for doing this. It is exactly what I need at this point in time. I'm eating 0-5 about 60% of the time. Wish I could say it was more, but I am moving in the right direction. The key is taking time out for the Lord and meditating on the attribute list.
This passage in Deut. is a perfect example of Rom. 1:25 "who exchanged the truth of God for the lie,"I've spent some time digging into and meditating on that passage. You've given me much to think about. Thank you for doing this. It is exactly what I need at this point in time. I'm eating 0-5 about 60% of the time. Wish I could say it was more, but I am moving in the right direction. The key is taking time out for the Lord and meditating on the attribute list.
Just wanted to say I'm reading and growing (using the book and the Word) and that I'm checking in here as well. Just didn't want any lack of comments from any of us keep you from knowing we're still on this journey with you.CherHim
Just wanted to say I'm reading and growing (using the book and the Word) and that I'm checking in here as well. Just didn't want any lack of comments from any of us keep you from knowing we're still on this journey with you.CherHim
Thanks for checking in, girls. I appreciate it. I am sort of wondering if our study has fizzled already! I focus FAR too much on outward things! God had me do this even if NO one were to join in and I need to remember that! 🙂 Thanks!
Thanks for checking in, girls. I appreciate it. I am sort of wondering if our study has fizzled already! I focus FAR too much on outward things! God had me do this even if NO one were to join in and I need to remember that! 🙂 Thanks!
I have been blessed by this study. Thanks for taking the time to do this.
I have been blessed by this study. Thanks for taking the time to do this.
This definitely has not fizzled for me yet! I had such a busy week last week & finally concluded the Beth Moore study I was leading (which had lots of homework and prep) so I will now have more time with this which I am thankful for (though her study coincided beautifully with this one). To be honest, I have had my ups and downs. One minute I'm hopeful and strong, and then today I looked at myself in the cardio dance class and despaired. The biggest girl in class, still 100 lbs. over weight. Crushing. Though I have not weighed I know I have not lost yet. But! I definitely have had some victories of pushing the plate away and I am far more mindful then I was when I first started this, but I think for me this is undoing nearly 50 years of legalistic discipline and RE-learning Godly and healthy discipline. And, well, I think it's going to take a long time, at least it feels that way right now! But I do persevere and SO appreciate this study. Please keep it up!I promise to write more about my experience thus far on my blog (b/c my comments are too long!) which I have neglected for a week because I've been so busy, but there is SO MUCH in my head regarding this, to disentangle and pray about….wow…is all I can say.Thanks again Heidi!
This definitely has not fizzled for me yet! I had such a busy week last week & finally concluded the Beth Moore study I was leading (which had lots of homework and prep) so I will now have more time with this which I am thankful for (though her study coincided beautifully with this one). To be honest, I have had my ups and downs. One minute I'm hopeful and strong, and then today I looked at myself in the cardio dance class and despaired. The biggest girl in class, still 100 lbs. over weight. Crushing. Though I have not weighed I know I have not lost yet. But! I definitely have had some victories of pushing the plate away and I am far more mindful then I was when I first started this, but I think for me this is undoing nearly 50 years of legalistic discipline and RE-learning Godly and healthy discipline. And, well, I think it's going to take a long time, at least it feels that way right now! But I do persevere and SO appreciate this study. Please keep it up!I promise to write more about my experience thus far on my blog (b/c my comments are too long!) which I have neglected for a week because I've been so busy, but there is SO MUCH in my head regarding this, to disentangle and pray about….wow…is all I can say.Thanks again Heidi!
The bible study helped so much. Just the other day I was thinking the Lord must hate me in regards to my finances and my body.Your study set me straight,God will go before me and will fight for me.Thank youDena
The bible study helped so much. Just the other day I was thinking the Lord must hate me in regards to my finances and my body.Your study set me straight,God will go before me and will fight for me.Thank youDena
Thanks for checking in, gals! I am so encouraged by ya all! Praise to GOD! 😀
Thanks for checking in, gals! I am so encouraged by ya all! Praise to GOD! 😀