Stop the nonsense, Pilgrim

This morning, I read a quote from Pilgrim's Progress and marveled at how applicable it is to my life today.
"The trials that those men do meet withal,
That are obedient to the heavenly call
Are manifold and suited to the flesh.
And come, and come, and come again afresh:
That now, or sometimes else,
We by them may be taken, overcome, and cast away.
Oh, let the pilgrim,
Let the pilgrim then be vigilant,
And quit themselves like men."

Wow!  Our lives are full of trials, tribulations, and temptations every day, aren't they?  Mine come in two areas especially.  My weight and financial difficulties.  I've come to realize they're related. Because I indulge in food I don't need, the same mindset traps me into buying things I don't really need.  Until now, no matter how hard I've tried, the evil of gluttony has "come, and come, and come again afresh."  I've been successful on several occasions in overcoming it.  But, then, "now, or sometimes else," I've been "taken, overcome, and cast away."  As long as my body is bloated, the enemy doesn't have to come after me repeatedly.  He has me right where he wants me.  But, there's hope.  There's always hope.  One of the weapons the Lord provides against the enemy.  Lord, let this "pilgrim be vigilant and quit myself" like the child of God I am.

Recently, I began a Bible study in an effort to again lose the weight that comes between the Lord and me.  Along the way, I've been learning that there are several ways the enemy comes at me repeatedly. They're the triggers he uses to successfully fire at this target.  I've mentioned several of those triggers for my gluttony in a joking way.  Fatigue and stress is mentioned in a ploy for sympathy.  But, we're all fatigued and stressed and others don't use it as an excuse for gluttony, so why should I expect sympathy?  then I mention social occasions, mealtimes, illness, among others I no longer remember, and end it with the old Philadelphia Cream Cheese ad, "sofa care month, Baltic pride week.  Then I ad my own, "hang nail day."  The truth is, it's not funny.  Not funny at all.  Humor about obesity is smoke screen, a cover up for the embarrassment I have for not being able to control this aspect of my life.  If I joke about it before others make fun of me, it takes away the sting of their comments.  It gives me the false feeling of them laughing with me instead of at me, but I'm only kidding myself.

The relevance of the words John Bunyan penned hundreds of years ago struck me this morning. Those words bolstered my resolve to finally end this roller coaster ride called obesity.  Frankly, I'm sick of it.  Sicker than a novice on a roller coaster puking his terror over the side of the car.