God does not want us to be in bondage to anything. Whether the bondage takes the form of overeating, maintaining a certain weight, or a pattern of reacting to circumstances with anger or fear, God has provided a way for us to become free through his Son Jesus.
The Bible tells us, "If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed" (John 8:36).
There is a great need for freedom in the area of bondage to food. Overweight people try to lose weight, and then struggle to maintain a certain weight when (or if) they reach it. Underweight people work to gain weight.
Many thin as well as overweight people live in bondage to being preoccupied with food - planning exactly what they will eat, how much and when - to maintain their size. Many people have struggled in this area for years, some people, for as long as they can remember.
One of the first areas in which God set me free was from the bondage of trying to control my weight. I am the right weight for my frame now, but through most of my childhood and early adult years, I was twenty to twenty-five pounds overweight and continued battling an extra ten to twenty-five pounds for years.
I spent my younger childhood disliking the way I looked, not feeling good about myself, and dwelling on these types of thoughts. Being overweight became even more painful for me in my teenage years and early twenties. I felt as though I wasn't pretty and didn't look nice.
I wasn't asked out on many dates because I was the girl who was asked out only if nobody else was left. That is a very hard thing to go through, so I understand how people who struggle in this area feel.
First I was in bondage to losing weight, then once I lost the weight, to keeping it off. I tried every imaginable diet and program until I finally found the one that works. God's program! The Lord led me to discover some truths that set me free from being controlled by food. I eat what I want, not what I think I ought to eat, without gaining weight or being deprived of certain foods.
God's Kingdom is righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost. If you as a believer in Jesus Christ are experiencing condemnation, you are not experiencing the peace and joy God has made available to you through Jesus.
Condemnation will stand between you and God like a giant wall to prevent you from receiving all that He wants to give you. Romans 8:1 tells us, "There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus."
John 3:17 states, "God sent not His Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through Him might be saved."
Hebrews 4:16 (AMP) tells us how to approach God: "Let us then fearlessly and confidently and boldly draw near to the throne of grace (the throne of God's unmerited favor to us sinners), that we may receive mercy (for our failures) and find grace to help in good time for every need (appropriate help and well-timed help, coming just when we need it)."
Appropriate and well-timed help, coming exactly when we need it is the kind of help we want! The beginning of this scripture calls us to fearlessly, confidently, and boldly draw near to the throne of grace.
God doesn't want us to come before his throne in an attitude of fear, fearful to ask Him for the things we need without confidence that we are worthy to receive all that He has for us. He has made us worthy to receive His help, and He wants to help us! He wants us to depend on Him. Second Corinthians 12:9 speaking of the Lord says, "My strength is made perfect in weakness."
Jesus died on the cross to set us free from sin (1Cor. 15:3) and the condemnation that results from it. First John 1:9 tells us, "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."
If you go before God's throne feeling bad about yourself, you will not be able to receive from Him in the great measure He wants to give to you. Condemnation will keep you from boldly going to God to obtain the very help you need to win the bondage of struggling with your weight!
Freedom from condemnation is one of the major doorways to all the other blessings of God. It is important to have confidence in who we are in Christ to receive all the good things God has for us in order to be able to boldly obey and serve Him.
In struggling with their weight, people can fall into the deception of thinking their failures in meeting their weight goals make them unacceptable to God! Our weight has nothing to do with who we are in Christ. Our weaknesses have nothing to do with how acceptable we are to God.
God has made us acceptable in spite of our weaknesses, no matter what they are, and wants us to let Him help us with them.
God accepts you and loves your unconditionally. He has put you in right standing with Him through what He has done by sending His Son, when you simply accept this salvation as the free gift it is. (See 1 Corinthians 1:30; Romans 5:17; Ephesians 2:8-9; Romans 10:9,10.)
God loves you no matter what you weigh, but He wants you to be the right weight for you so that you can operate at your peak. He wants you to take care of your body to be in good health. If you wear out the body you have, you don't have another one stored in a drawer somewhere to pull out and use as a spare!
It is important that you ask God to show you the specific reason or reasons (beyond the ones that seem obvious) why you are struggling in this area. Ask God to show you the real reason why you overeat or struggle with your weight.
Many times when we see the truth, we also a see a simple change we can make to correct a problem, or we discover the situation and the solution are much more complicated than we imagined.
As we see in 2 Corinthians 11:3 (KJV), the devil likes to complicate our lives to keep us distracted from seeing the simplicity that is in Christ: "But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtlety, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ."
People who study the principles of sound nutrition sometimes find themselves powerless to put those principles to work effectively in their lives. Many people who try to follow different diets find they are powerless to keep all the rules and regulations, or do follow the diet strictly, but without seeing the long-range results they desire.
Rather than trying in our own strength to follow a list of rules and regulations to control our weight, we can control the eating problem in the same way we solve all our other problems: by drawing on the power of the Holy Spirit and walking in faith! The Holy Spirit leads us into nothing but victory and freedom. And when God gives us a plan, that plan will work!
Excerpt permission granted by Harrison House Publishers
Joyce Meyer is one of the world's leading practical Bible teachers. A New York Times bestselling author, her books have helped millions of people find hope and restoration through Jesus Christ. Through Joyce Meyer Ministries, she teaches on a number of topics with a particular focus on the mind, mouth, moods and attitudes. Her candid communication style allows her to share openly and practically about her experiences so others can apply what she has learned to their lives.
