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I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh.  For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish.  But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.  Galatians 5:16-18

I LOVE when I’m reading a verse I’ve read thousands of times jumps out at me and the Holy Spirit reveals this super amazing and awesome powerful truth to me as if I’ve read it for the first time!!  It’s always so exciting!  That’s what happened one day when I read this verse.

When I am following after the Spirit’s guidance with my eating, I am not giving into my flesh or the enemy’s temptations.  That is pure and simple truth.  And if I’m being led of the Spirit, it is not necessary to be under a law.  For me, being under a law when it comes to food is following a diet (man-made set of rules in regards to what, when, and how much I should eat).  I have noticed that when I’m following after my flesh and giving into temptation, I immediately think I need to jump back on the diet bandwagon.  So when I read this verse, it finally made sense to me why my thoughts would go to dieting after eating outside of my boundaries.  Knowing this brought me a sense of freedom because IF I follow the Spirit, I am set free from dieting or any kind of eating “law”.  Praise God!

So how does one follow after the Spirit when it comes to eating?  And eating within the principles of Thin Within?  Well, first of all, I think you have to know without a doubt that eating 0-5 (between hunger and fullness) is what God has called you to do.  Heidi has talked about this many times.  And then if you are convinced that 0-5 is what the Lord wants for you, then you know that the Holy Spirit is going to guide you to stay within those boundaries of hunger and fullness and whatever secondary boundaries He asks for you to follow (which could be boundaries such as eating without distraction, eating slowly, eating while sitting, etc.).  The Holy Spirit will gently lead you.  And if you are listening, you will hear His gentle voice, like a shepherd with his sheep, guiding you.  He will prompt you.  He will ask you questions.  He will help you in time of need.

And as long as you are listening to Him, you won’t need ANY other voices telling you what you should eat, how you should eat, etc.

I truly believe and am convinced that God has created us all to eat within hunger and fullness.  I guess you could say it’s like a divine plan for our life in taking care of our bodies.  It’s obvious that it was never His will that we become gluttonous and overweight, because look at all of the problems we can have with our health when we are.  I am also convinced that He doesn’t want us following some regimented and strict diet plan because that wreaks havoc upon our physical body and our mind.  Something is unbalanced when we are eating in a way that numbs the natural hunger and fullness signals, whether it’s from a strict diet plan, overeating on purpose, or any type of eating disorder.  God is a God of order, not disorder.  And I think that eating within hunger and fullness (0-5) is a very peaceful, pleasant, and orderly way of eating.  Praise God!  His ways are perfect!

A friend of mine shared one of her truth cards with me.  It’s a quote by Jack Hayford from the New Spirit Filled Bible:

“We are called to war against the flesh.  Our flesh urges indulgence and the Holy Spirit constrains us to righteousness.  Victory in this war is found in: abiding in right relationship with Jesus, understanding that true strength is found in our weakness, and continually submitting to the unction and urging of the Spirit.  Victory comes as we take these practical steps, avoiding or overcoming the pull of our flesh.”

I’ve heard it said from Heidi and others that there are times when we can make 0-5 a “law”.   Of course, this isn’t what God intends for us.  I believe this is where we need to be graceful with ourselves and ask the Lord how we can go about eating within hunger and fullness without turning it into another diet plan.  It takes time to get back to God’s natural order with our eating, especially if we’ve dieted for many years.  It takes time to get back in tune with those intuitive signals.  And for some of us, the diet mentality may be so engrained in our brains that it may take time to completely let go of all of those rules we were so used to being under before.  The Holy Spirit can help us with that as well.

There have been times the Holy Spirit has asked me to stop eating, prompted me about when to stop, and has asked me not to eat because I wasn’t hungry.  He’s also asked me at times to leave a bite on my plate.  Sometimes I really don’t want to, but I know He knows what He’s talking about, so I choose to obey.

I’m so excited to know that if I’m following after the Spirit, I don’t even have to concern myself with thinking I need to go on another diet plan.  This brings me so much relief and joy!  There have been times during this journey where I have felt like I need to go back to measuring, weighing, and tracking my food during the times when I felt like I have failed.  But now I realize that I don’t need a diet.  I need the Holy Spirit.  He will show me truth and lead me into all truth.

How about you?

Are you convinced that the Lord wants you to eat 0-5?  If so, do you trust the Holy Spirit to lead you in your eating?  When you feel like you’ve failed, do you automatically think you need to go on a diet?  I’ve been there myself, but now I see that if I keep on renewing my mind and continue on this journey with the Lord, that I won’t need to diet.  Praise God!