“But thank God! He gives us victory over sin and death through our Lord Jesus Christ.” 1 Cor. 15:57 (NLT)
He is Risen! I pray your Easter was joy-filled as we pondered the life-changing blessings of the death and resurrection of Jesus our Savior. Because of His great sacrifice we have victory over sin and death. When Christ died for us, the eternal penalty of sin was removed and we can live forever with Him. But there is something more.
It is right to dwell on the promise of heaven but let’s not overlook what it means to have victory over sin in the here and now. With Christ comes the power to say no to sin when- before – we were slaves to it. Slaves. Did you know that? That’s what we were. Now we are FREE to choose NOT to sin. We don’t always walk in that freedom and we don’t always turn from sin (see Rom. 6-8), but now we have the ability to walk in righteousness and in ways that honor God. The indwelling Holy Spirit helps change our story of bondage to one of freedom in obedience. Thanks be to God for this amazing gift!
When I went off to college I gained the dreaded freshman 15. Suddenly my clothes didn’t fit and I didn’t understand why. I honestly thought someone was shrinking my clothes and the washing machine was broken at the dorm (go ahead and laugh with me). Once I put two and two together, and realized it was my overeating that was making my clothes tight, I was in a panic. Thus began a decade plus battle with my body.
Before college I had never given my weight a second thought, but now my mind was consumed. My weight began fluctuating constantly and I never knew if my clothes were going to fit. Those looking at me from the outside wouldn’t have known this was a problem because I am tall and could hide it, but on the inside I was insecure and felt terrible when I overate. I wasn’t trying to reach a perfect number on the scale. I just wanted figure out how to maintain the right weight for me.
Years later I was exposed to some eye-opening truths and God did a MAJOR work in my heart to completely change my thinking and behavior. He showed me the blessing of true hunger and fullness and how staying within those parameters brought about freedom. Miraculously I was no longer consumed with the next diet and a better exercise program. I simply ate normally. I stopped eating just to eat and I waited for hunger. Once I had eaten enough, I stopped. I settled into a weight I have maintained, by God’s grace, for over 15 years. There were no crazy diets involved and I didn’t have to be a slave to exercise. This may seem so elementary but in my case, it truly transformed my thinking.
Absolutely ALL glory goes to God. I never thought I would be able to walk in freedom. There were so many discouraging times and some detours along the way. God was so faithful. The best part is that now I am free to be about so many more things that should be my focus: other people, my family, serving, and also now working on other areas the Lord is showing me need His healing. That’s the true blessing- much less self-focus!
We all deal with sin struggles and it is so easy to just give up and want to throw in the towel. Let’s pray that we press in and seek to obey God in every area of our lives. Praise God we don’t have to do it alone. As believers, the Holy Spirit indwells each of us and will help us as we seek to overcome those difficult areas.
~Courtney
**If this area of struggle with food/overeating has resonated with you and you live in the Houston area, I would love to invite you to an evening discussion where I will share how the Lord brought me freedom. Please email me at court_garrett@yahoo.com and I will get in touch with you when details are in place. FYI- this ISN’T a diet plan or about supplements etc. What I will share with you is common sense eating and truth from Scripture. I pray it will be an encouragement!
