Ephesians 3:14-20, ”14When I think of all this, I fall to my knees and pray to the Father, 15the Creator of everything in heaven and on earth. 16I pray that from his glorious, unlimited resources he will empower you with inner strength through his Spirit.17Then Christ will make his home in your hearts as you trust in him. Your roots will grow down into God’s love and keep you strong. 18And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is. 19May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God.
20Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think” (NLT)
Knowledge of God and His love equals power. Being grounded in Him and knowing the vastness of His love for us gives us power and strength. We must stay plugged in for the power to flow. The power is never out; we simply get out of the power, or never walk into it in the first place.
Hebrews 1:3, “all of creation is upheld by the Word of His power”
Romans 11:36, “For everything comes from him and exists by his power and is intended for his glory. All glory to him forever! Amen.”
2 Thessalonians 1:11-12, “To this end we always pray for you, that our God may make you worthy of his calling and may fulfill every resolve for good and every work of faith by his power, 12so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.”
Whatever brings Him glory is for our good!!
In order to hand this whole dieting thing over to God, we must be open to correction and learn to live by His Spirit, through the Word. Satan will fight hard against you as you begin to walk in this, but condemnation is not of God. Condemnation paralyzes and confuses, but God’s conviction and correction, though painful at times, lead us to freedom. When I first worked through all of what you are about to read, there were many tears and countless uncomfortable moments, but I promise you that the Word will accomplish what God intends in you. The Word itself promises that. Isaiah 55:11, “It is the same with my word. I send it out, and it always produces fruit. It will accomplish all I want it to, and it will prosper everywhere I send it.”
Where did He send His Word? In James, it says He sent it to us. It is planted in us and the Word has power!
James 1:21, “So get rid of all the filth and evil in your lives, and humbly accept the word God has planted in your hearts, for it has the power to save your souls.”
3 John 1:2,”Beloved, I pray that you may prosper in all things and be in health, just as your soul prospers.” NKJ
Romans 8:1, “So now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus. And because you belong to him, the power of the life-giving Spirit has freed you from the power of sin that leads to death.”
Romans 8:12-13, “Therefore, dear brothers and sisters, you have no obligation to do what your sinful nature urges you to do. 13For if you live by its dictates, you will die. But if through the power of the Spirit you put to death the deeds of your sinful nature, you will live.”
Proverbs 3:11-12, “My child, don’t reject the Lord’s discipline, and don’t be upset when he corrects you. For the Lord corrects those he loves, just as a father corrects a child in whom he delights.”
Proverbs 12:1, “To learn, you must love discipline; it is stupid to hate correction.”
Hebrews 12:11, “No discipline is enjoyable while it is happening—it’s painful! But afterward there will be a peaceful harvest of right living for those who are trained in this way.”
Psalm 94:12, “Joyful are those you discipline, Lord, those you teach with your instructions.”
Proverbs 10:17, “People who accept discipline are on the pathway to life, but those who ignore correction will go astray.”
***Psalm 139:23-24, “Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. Point out anything in me that offends you, and lead me along the path of everlasting life.”
Do not be afraid of correction! Correction leads to freedom. It leads to peace.
How does God point out anything in us that offends Him? Once we ask Him to search us, we need to spend time with Him, through the Word, and wait for the conviction of the Holy Spirit. Be willing to be wrong. Be willing to yield to the Word and His Spirit so that you can be transformed by the renewing of your mind.
Hebrews 4:12, “For the word of God is alive and powerful. It is sharper than the sharpest two-edged sword, cutting between soul and spirit, between joint and marrow. It exposes our innermost thoughts and desires.”
James 1:13-15, “And remember, when you are being tempted, do not say, “God is tempting me.” God is never tempted to do wrong, and he never tempts anyone else. 14Temptation comes from our own desires, which entice us and drag us away. 15These desiresgive birth to sinful actions. And when sin is allowed to grow, it gives birth to death.
1 John 2:15-17, “Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16For all that is in the world—the desires of the fleshand the desires of the eyes and pride of life—is not from the Father but is from the world. 17And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever. “
Wrong desires are the root of sin.
Gluttony is a sin because it gives too high a priority to physical desires – desires of the flesh.
Proverbs 23:19-20, “My child, listen and be wise: Keep your heart on the right course. 20Do not carouse with drunkards or feast with gluttons,
Gluttony is eating to excess. Gluttony is a lack of self-control.
2 Peter 1:3-9, “By his divine power, God has given us everything we need for living a godly life. We have received all of this by coming to know him, the one who called us to himself by means of his marvelous glory and excellence. 4And because of his glory and excellence, he has given us great and precious promises. These are the promises that enable you to share his divine nature and escape the world’s corruption caused by human desires.5In view of all this, make every effort to respond to God’s promises. Supplement your faith with a generous provision of moral excellence, and moral excellence with knowledge, 6and knowledge with self-control, and self-controlwith patient endurance, and patient endurance with godliness, 7and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love for everyone. 8The more you grow like this, the more productive and useful you will be in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9But those who fail to develop in this way are shortsighted or blind, forgetting that they have been cleansed from their old sins.
Philippians 3:17-21, “Dear brothers and sisters, pattern your lives after mine, and learn from those who follow our example. 18For I have told you often before, and I say it again with tears in my eyes, that there are many whose conduct shows they are really enemies of the cross of Christ. 19They are headed for destruction. Their god is their appetite, they brag about shameful things, and they think only about this life here on earth. 20But we are citizens of heaven, where the Lord Jesus Christ lives. And we are eagerly waiting for him to return as our Savior. 21He will take our weak mortal bodies and change them into glorious bodies like his own, using the same power with which he will bring everything under his control.”
Are you willing to be convicted and exposed in order to be free? Are you willing to present your body to Him? Are you willing to lay down your desires and pick up His? Do you really want to know His will and walk in that Truth?
2 Timothy 3:16-17, “All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right.God uses it to prepare and equip his people to do every good work.”
The Word does not only show us what is wrong in our lives, it also teaches us to do what is right. It prepares and equips us.
ENGAGE AND APPLY
Allow the Word to bring conviction. Are you bold enough to pray Psalm 139:23-24? “Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. Point out anything in me that offends you, and lead me along the path of everlasting life.” Pray this daily. Listen. Receive. Respond.
Do you really want to know the truth? What might it cost you? Are you willing to address what God points out in order to be set free? Are you willing to be obedient to Truth?
We all know that gluttony is a sin, but do we believe it, or do we give ourselves a pass? Do we redefine it so it does not apply to us? Do we dismiss and justify sin in our lives, thereby keeping ourselves in bondage, sometimes even blaming God for it, asking why He made us this way, or questioning why He doesn’t just deliver us from it?
Hmmm, sin? How does that change how you approach the problem?
Have you been truthful about your relationship with food?
Are you prepared to ask yourself, what do I know to do, but refuse to do or feel unable to do?
Do you turn to food more often than you turn to God?
Do you spend more time thinking and reading about food, dieting and weight loss than you do dwelling in and on the Word? Does it prevent you from doing what God called you to do? Does it keep you from being who He created you to be?
What could you accomplish if all of the money, time, energy, emotion, strength and attention could be shifted from this bondage of food and weight to doing things that matter to God, for His glory?
Have you hungered after God, thought about him and pursued him with the same intensity you have pursued food?
Do you experience more joy in food or in a binge than in fellowship with God?
Do you want to know the truth? Are you willing to do what is necessary to walk in it?
Do you need to repent?
Are you glorifying God in your body? What does that need to look like day to day?