Made To Crave?
During a recent bible study I read these verses:
Psalm 27:8, “My heart says of you, ‘Seek his face!’ Your face, Lord, I will seek.” (NIV)
1 Timothy 4:15(NIV) “Be diligent in these matters; give yourself wholly to them, so that everyone may see your progress.”
2 Peter 1:5-6 (KJV) “And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge; and to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness….”
2 Corinthians 4:16, “Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day.” (NIV)
Psalm 73:26, “My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.” (NIV)
Romans 8:37, “No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.” (NIV)
These verses got me to thinking about being a wife, mother and Christian example. I also examined what are in my life is keeping me from getting closer to God. Which, to my disliking, I realized very quickly that there was more than one thing. I started to think, which gets me into trouble at times,….
I’m good in every other area.
I make so many sacrifices already.
I need this comfort in this season of life — I’ll deal with it later.
I just can’t give this up.
The Bible doesn’t specifically say this is wrong.
It’s not really a problem; if I wanted to make a change, I could — I just don’t want to right now.
Oh for heaven’s sake, everyone has issues, so what if this is mine?
And on and on and on.
I realized that I needed to give up this one thing specifically after a day of binging on emotional comfort from someone other than my ONE AND ONLY, TRUE, GOD!!! What was I doing thinking? What is wrong with me? Why must I love food? Why must I feel better when I eat a cookie or piece of chocolate or the scrumptious casserole I made for dinner? Then feel guilty because I felt better when I ate the cookie? UGH…. Such a vicious cycle. A sinful cycle. I’m about 65+ lbs over my “supposed to be” weight. Mostly it’s because of this emotional eating that I have gotten myself into this predicament. I have an unhealthy relationship with the yummy, scrumptious food! I then realized I had to change this unhealthy relationship to get closer to God! I haven’t gotten there yet. I’m working on it. I know that I need to want it spiritually, physically and mentally. Mentally I want it! Physically I really want it. Spiritually….. It seems to be a battle. The battle really is in all three areas. I do know that no matter what my struggle has been, victory is possible today. However, most of us don’t think that’s true. The problem is we tend to measure long term success while downplaying the absolute victory found in small successes. Looking at the long term goal of loosing that massive amount of weight is daunting. It seems nearly impossible with hours and hours of working out, barely any food, and business with a family. But, I’ve lost 4 lbs, then 2 lbs, then 1 lb., etc. I’ve lost a total of 12 lbs. I got really down on myself because I’ve only lost 12 lbs in the last 2 ½ months. Then after 2 weeks of pouting, sulking and being a brat I came to a realization. If I build on my small successes – choice by choice, day by day – I will see more positive changes. Another example of a small success here lately is if I choose not to snap at my child and instead respond with tenderness, that’s a victorious small success. This is another thing I am working on. Having a more tender response … another daily battle. But, that’s another blog post. If I choose to pause before responding to the rude sales clerk, thus giving her a smile instead of perpetuating her smirk, that’s a victorious small success. If I choose to give my husband the benefit of the doubt rather than jumping to the conclusion he meant to hurt my feelings, that’s a victorious small success. I have to decide to practice the self-control and perseverance that is mine since God’s Spirit lives in me. So, I hope my journey can help someone else out there. Also, I want to share where some of this is come from. "Made to Crave: Satisfying Your Deepest Desires with God, Not Food" by Lysa Terkeurst Have a blessed day!
Blessings,
Psalm 27:8, “My heart says of you, ‘Seek his face!’ Your face, Lord, I will seek.” (NIV)
1 Timothy 4:15(NIV) “Be diligent in these matters; give yourself wholly to them, so that everyone may see your progress.”
2 Peter 1:5-6 (KJV) “And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge; and to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness….”
2 Corinthians 4:16, “Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day.” (NIV)
Psalm 73:26, “My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.” (NIV)
Romans 8:37, “No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.” (NIV)
These verses got me to thinking about being a wife, mother and Christian example. I also examined what are in my life is keeping me from getting closer to God. Which, to my disliking, I realized very quickly that there was more than one thing. I started to think, which gets me into trouble at times,….
I’m good in every other area.
I make so many sacrifices already.
I need this comfort in this season of life — I’ll deal with it later.
I just can’t give this up.
The Bible doesn’t specifically say this is wrong.
It’s not really a problem; if I wanted to make a change, I could — I just don’t want to right now.
Oh for heaven’s sake, everyone has issues, so what if this is mine?
And on and on and on.
I realized that I needed to give up this one thing specifically after a day of binging on emotional comfort from someone other than my ONE AND ONLY, TRUE, GOD!!! What was I doing thinking? What is wrong with me? Why must I love food? Why must I feel better when I eat a cookie or piece of chocolate or the scrumptious casserole I made for dinner? Then feel guilty because I felt better when I ate the cookie? UGH…. Such a vicious cycle. A sinful cycle. I’m about 65+ lbs over my “supposed to be” weight. Mostly it’s because of this emotional eating that I have gotten myself into this predicament. I have an unhealthy relationship with the yummy, scrumptious food! I then realized I had to change this unhealthy relationship to get closer to God! I haven’t gotten there yet. I’m working on it. I know that I need to want it spiritually, physically and mentally. Mentally I want it! Physically I really want it. Spiritually….. It seems to be a battle. The battle really is in all three areas. I do know that no matter what my struggle has been, victory is possible today. However, most of us don’t think that’s true. The problem is we tend to measure long term success while downplaying the absolute victory found in small successes. Looking at the long term goal of loosing that massive amount of weight is daunting. It seems nearly impossible with hours and hours of working out, barely any food, and business with a family. But, I’ve lost 4 lbs, then 2 lbs, then 1 lb., etc. I’ve lost a total of 12 lbs. I got really down on myself because I’ve only lost 12 lbs in the last 2 ½ months. Then after 2 weeks of pouting, sulking and being a brat I came to a realization. If I build on my small successes – choice by choice, day by day – I will see more positive changes. Another example of a small success here lately is if I choose not to snap at my child and instead respond with tenderness, that’s a victorious small success. This is another thing I am working on. Having a more tender response … another daily battle. But, that’s another blog post. If I choose to pause before responding to the rude sales clerk, thus giving her a smile instead of perpetuating her smirk, that’s a victorious small success. If I choose to give my husband the benefit of the doubt rather than jumping to the conclusion he meant to hurt my feelings, that’s a victorious small success. I have to decide to practice the self-control and perseverance that is mine since God’s Spirit lives in me. So, I hope my journey can help someone else out there. Also, I want to share where some of this is come from. "Made to Crave: Satisfying Your Deepest Desires with God, Not Food" by Lysa Terkeurst Have a blessed day!
Blessings,
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