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| I realized that because of my faith in God, I could let go of my fear, and that in letting go of my fear, I could let go of the stronghold food had on my life. |
Have
you ever been afraid of something? Truly
afraid? Not just nervous, but
terrified? I grew up singing the Steve
Green song “When I am afraid, I
will trust in you, I will trust in you, I will trust in you. When I am afraid, I will trust in you, in God whose word I praise.” As a
six-year-old I used to sing myself to sleep with that song when I was afraid
from lightning storms brewing outside.
As a sixteen
year-old I began to fear other things. I
was afraid I would never be as thin as I wanted to be no matter how many diets
I tried. I became afraid that I was not lovable or beautiful enough. By age 25 I weighed almost 300
pounds at five foot three inches tall.
I had begun a pattern of overeating as a way of dealing with my fear. After
many nights of crying myself to sleep and many failed diets-finally, I had had
enough! I couldn’t live that way anymore!
I began reading what God’s Word says about fear: “For God did not give us a Spirit of fear but of power and
love and self-control.” -2 Timothy 1:7 (NET Bible) I began to believe
this verse and pray with faith that I
could change. I began to remind myself that I didn’t have to give in to
fear, but that I could stop overeating by putting my trust in God. I realized that because of my faith in God, I
could let go of my fear, and that in letting go of my fear, I could let go of
the stronghold food had on my life.
We do not have to be a slave to our
fear or to our out-of-control hunger because we have a Mighty, Powerful God
who is always beside us as we pass through deep waters! A God who knows us by name! A God who redeems us from fear! And He can redeem you from fear too if you
will invite Him to!
He is in the business of moving
mountains, setting people free, and breaking chains! Tell me the height, the depth of your fear,
and I will tell you the limitlessness of my God! He is so good! He teaches us to turn to Him instead of
turning to food or other counterfeit gods when we are anxious or afraid! There is great power in these immutable words
that I first discovered during my devotions and then read aloud at churches and
nursing homes when on tour with my youth choir at age fourteen:
“Do not fear, for I
have redeemed you;
I have summoned you by name; you are mine.
When you pass through the waters,
I will be with you;
and when you pass through the rivers,
they will not sweep over you.
When you walk through the fire,
you will not be burned;
the flames will not set you ablaze.
For I am the Lord your God…” -Isaiah 43:1b-3a (NIV)
I have summoned you by name; you are mine.
When you pass through the waters,
I will be with you;
and when you pass through the rivers,
they will not sweep over you.
When you walk through the fire,
you will not be burned;
the flames will not set you ablaze.
For I am the Lord your God…” -Isaiah 43:1b-3a (NIV)
The
beauty lies in the truth that we do not have to depend on our own strengths,
abilities, and perfect little diet plans in order to be successful- nope. If that was the case, I could have never lost
the 140+ pounds that God helped me to lose over the last two years. God never calls us to a
task without preparing and enabling us to accomplish it. God Himself strengthens us as we ask Him to
help us to turn our fears and worries into prayers instead of running to the
kitchen (or TV binge-watching) for solace.
God empowers us by His Holy Spirit to do very hard things!
He
empowers us to strip away fear, and He gives us BOLD DISCIPLINE to step out in
faith and say, “Lord, with Your power strengthening me, I will not live in fear
anymore! I will not turn to food or to
____ (you fill in the blank) when I am afraid!
Instead, I will turn to You, pour out my heart to You, and I will find
the comfort and strength I need in order to overcome. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.”
If you
could relate to any of this, feel free to comment below with questions or
thoughts on this topic. Also, feel free
to answer any or all of these questions:
What
are your core fears? What do you find
yourself turning to for comfort when you are afraid? For me, it used to be a big bowl of popcorn,
but the Lord is continuing to work on me and show me a better way to deal with
my anxieties. If food isn’t your “counterfeit god,” then what is? What steps are you willing to take in order
to let go of fear and allow God to handle the things you are afraid of? Also,
do you have any advice from personal experience about overcoming fear and/or
overcoming overeating in relation to dealing with fear and anxiety? Join the conversation below.
If you would like to get in touch, feel free to private message me on Facebook or email me at mrs.marlene.bishop@gmail.com. Thank you!
