I used to think I’ve had a life-long struggle with my weight. In recent years, I’ve come to the reality that my struggle has really been with food, and my relationship with it. That may sound like 2 sides of the same coin, but it was quite a revelation to me. I started to see how much I depended on food for entertainment and comfort. Put another way, I was living to eat, rather than eating to live.
Fortunately, I really don’t like being overweight, so I do have some discipline in place, but I really have to work at it. Even though I’ve been on low carb for a couple of years, my weight suddenly jumped up over the winter. Try as I might, I couldn’t get that needle to move back. Out of desperation, I have switched to keto (extremely low carb) and have gone to one meal a day. Yes, a desperate woman!
But here’s a great spiritual “ah ha” moment that has come out of this recent season. When I was changing to one meal a day, I had a couple of days when I ate a second meal, feeling like I “had to”. I had an epiphany that my body was controlling those decisions, rather than my spirit.
We are a spirit, made in the image of God. We live in a body and have a mind, will and emotions. The epiphany was, if my spirit was calling the shots, I could tell my body, “you don’t get a vote in this.”
Think about it. If you & God are in agreement with a plan, as long as your mind, will, emotions and body don’t have a say, you can accomplish anything! How often has God called you to something but the emotional you shrank back in fear? Or the practical, decision-making you couldn’t figure out how it could work financially so you never tried, even though you knew God was inviting you through a door? Do you see the endless possibilities here? When God leads you to do something, when your spirit says yes, you can then order your “flesh” to get in line with what’s been decided. It doesn’t get a vote. You could do absolutely anything God is calling you to do!
I’m looking through that new lens and food has taken quite a back seat! I feel like I’m in control of that now and food is no longer driving the bus! I encourage you to pray about this and ask God if there are areas of your life where your mind, will, emotions or body are making the decisions in your life. Those decisions are probably keeping you from God’s highest and best.
