It may work for a moment, but then what?
I know dear friends, it is not really about the food. It is not really about self control. It is about the pain. It is about the shame, and it is about anesthetizing all those inadequate feelings that haunt us and make us feel like we are messed up, unworthy failures. The only problem is, as with any other addiction whose sole purpose is to dull, kill, suppress, it only lasts a little while. Once a little while is over, then what? The guilt, the anger, the fear, the shame, they rear their ugly heads again, and before we know it, the cycle continues to live, unbroken, unchanged and stronger than ever.
Food is an addiction to many of us. But my question to you is who or what is your idol? What/Who are you trying to hang desperately onto that has failed you? Who let you down? What prize possession did you loose? Perhaps a parent let you down? Maybe a spouse or significant other wounded you deeply? Did you loose your job, or your life’s savings? Who or what abandoned you is who or what you worship, and here is the real problem with that, it is idolatry. Friends, idols are fickle people and fleeting things. All of us are sinners bound to let someone down and wound hearts. Material idols are of the Earth and their existence is very fragile and risky because of their very nature. So I ask again, when all these things let you down, who/what are you going to turn to, because food, alcohol, drugs, whatever your poison may be, are going to let you down even worse. It is the bad lesson we never learn, and allow to keep entering our hearts and grip them with tragic guilt and shame.
You see, in this world it is so easy to have false idols, we all have them or have had them. Why is that? It is because we rely on other people and “things” to make us happy, fulfilled and worthy. The harsh reality is, they fail every time sooner or later. So what do we do? We create addictions to compensate and fill in for all the idols that have failed to make us whole.
I cannot tell you how many women and men I have sat and listened to cry their hearts out because they desperately want to be thin. The real reality of that, although a little harsh, is that they are confused. If you desperately want something, then there is usually nothing that is going to hold you back from pursuing it. So if this is you, wanting to be thin with all your are, but you are not, again, what is holding you back? Where is your heart, your treasure? Where is your worship?
If you are a believer, then you have hope! You have hope because no addiction or idol is too big for God to overcome if you turn to him and seek his grace and love. There is no sin from which you cannot be excused, no addiction from which you cannot be rescued, but you have to turn to him, profess your sin, and believe in his grace, forgiveness and deliverance.
The problem is that if you are overweight and do not want to be. If you keep trying to be thin and failing, you are living like an orphan, and you are not trusting in a God that is the one and ONLY person/thing who will never fail you. All these other people and things we are trying to hang onto and please are no doubt going to inevitably fail us.
Now I am not dumb, and I know this is so much easier said than done. Trusting in something you cannot see is a hard thing to do. Struggling to trust is something we unfortunately have to do on an ongoing basis as well. Lets face it, being our own savior is much easier. Being in control is much more comfortable to us. I can tell you from experience friends, sometimes we are our own idol-we think we can handle it, do it all. We don’t need anyone else, but that is plain wrong! Just as others will fail us, we too will fail ourselves. Sometimes it may even be our own self righteousness that is holding us back. You know, the thought, I can do it. I am strong enough, motivated enough, have enough will power. How’s that working for you?
Search yourself friends. Start a journal of the idols in your life that have created addictions to substitute for their shortcomings. Pray for help to remove those idols and addictions unrelentingly. The first step in any form of progress is identification. You have to know what is holding you back. We are not orphans, and we have to stop living like so. I am offender number one of this. I need constant reminders and redirection that I have a Heavenly Father who has adopted me, and there is no obstacle bigger than him.
I am not going to get “preachy”on here often, but when it is warranted, I make no promises. If this is a problem you may kindly not read my blog. The facts cannot be ignored, however. None of us are strong enough, we need help. Help in the only form that will not fail, fleet or deny us can only be found in one person. Go to him, put your trust in him, and in him you will be strong and you will overcome the bondage that is keeping your dreams captive. Find your truth, proclaim it, and let it set you free!
Until we talk again friends,
