God is at work! Sometimes it is easy to forget that He has made some promises for us…”He who began a good work WILL complete it until the day of Christ!” (Philippians 1:6)
Continuing my reading in chapter 9 of the Hallidays’ book, Get Thin Stay Thin…
So in each choice we make we find ourselves asking, “Am I responding to the demands of my old nature for some temporary gratification, or in accordance with the Spirit and my desire for permanent intimacy?” GTST, p. 174
God is after intimacy with his creation. He has been stripping away the layers of grave clothes that stood as a wall between me and Him. I didn’t realize just how much had gone into constructing these “protective” layers…what caused me to feel protected from pain in my life, also served to keep out the very thing I need and long for–that for which I was created–intimacy with the Lover of my soul! I am so thankful that He has exposed this.
Now that I don’t throw food in my mouth every time I have emotional pain or turmoil (or even, simply, agitation), I am left in a place of NEED. Before, I numbed that need. In this place of NEED, I can wait on the Lord…or that is the idea. But I must “be still and know” that He is God. Sometimes it takes a long time…but he is always faithful to BE sufficient, to show up with HIS solution.
We must choose what we will eat based on what we hear our bodies tell us and through the leading of the Spirit. These choices are not insignificant, since our physical and emotional well-being are profoundly affected by what we put in our mouths. These decisions are a crucial part of the shaping and molding process by which we become new creations in Christ. GTST, p. 175
If you are, like me, someone who has used the principles of eating when physically hungry and stopping when no longer hungry, for a long time, then it is easy to fall back on “what has always worked.” I know that in the past, when I was hungry, I could eat a snack wrap, a few fries and sip on a large diet soda at McDonald’s, for a couple of hours after the meal…
Things have changed…first off, I am not drinking large diet sodas any more (not drinking diet soda at all). I also notice that my body NEEDS LESS FOOD. I have to be careful not to assume that I KNOW how much food I need based on my past experience. God wants INTIMACY with me. He wants me to care about what HE says. So, like the quote above, I must ask the Lord to show me what and how much to eat. The “when” is clear…when I am hungry, of course. But it is evident to me that the “what” and “how much” have changed. These are not insignificant choices. I won’t minimize the value.
I need him.
Funny how that is.
To not ask God, to rely on what “I have always done,” results in turning my eating into “the Heidi Diet”–eating what I have eaten for a couple of years as he led, but now doing it on “autopilot” because “it worked” before.
He won’t let me get away with that right now.
He is after intimacy…Hmmm….a theme here!
Hi Heidi,I think you look great – that 15 pounds doesn’t look bad on you!Barb
Thanks, Barb! 🙂
I have been reading your blog and have this to say … that your raw honesty and sincere love for the Lord have encouraged me to press forward into Him into a place of true change within. These fiery spots in our life that hone out true change are painful and uncomfortable. Often we do not know what the true ‘end result’ is going to be because His thoughts and His ways are higher than ours. We are just clay in His hands. So many times, I have found myself trying to guess at what He may be up to in the things He is changing within me … sometimes I’m right, sometimes, I’m wrong. Ultimately, it is all to bring us closer to Him in the likeness and image of Jesus, our Lord, Savior and True Friend. I am so on your side. I am pulling for you in every way. Your success, is my success. True change and deliverance from strongholds sometimes takes more time than we would like. He has done and continues to do a beautiful thing in you. My hope for myself and those I love who struggle with me in overeating is for TRUE deliverance and TRUE change within. That those things which we once clung to and desired, would no longer be our desire. I know this is possible, for I am not the same person I was 10 years ago … nor will I be the same 10 years from now. True change has already happened. He is so faithful … even when we are weak. How many times have I cried out to Him saying “I can’t help myself … I am so weak!” – and like a knight in shining armor, He is there to lift me up out of that place. I ask the Lord now for Him to guide you in this new territory. That the enemies lies would not be a stumbling block to your path, but that you would be encouraged and strengthened in all ways. I pray for renewed strength over all areas of the flesh and that you would rise to new heights with Him who so tenderly loves you.