FREE!

Free!  Thank God I'm free at last!  This morning, I finished The Lord's Table, a 60 day Bible study about weight loss.  Yeah, right, been there, done that, you may be thinking.  Me too, at first. However, this study is different in that it teaches feasting on the Lord instead of feasting on food.  It's filling the empty place that food has not and never can touch.  It's not about behavioral modification. It's spiritual renewal.  That's why it worked where all others failed.

One of the final lessons used the Scripture about Jehoshaphat.  Before Jehoshaphat went to war, he sent the musicians in on the front line to praise the Lord!  Then came the warriors.  Because he did that, Israel defeated their enemies.  I learned to praise God for the victory before it happens.  He'll take care of the rest.  I also learned that not only did Christ pay my penalty for the sin of obesity on the cross, he provided victory that day over it!

That loud clanking you hear is the sound of chains breaking as I am finally free of the bondage to food. Addiction is a terrible thing and I've been addicted to food my entire life.  I've made the remark that I felt like a tennis ball, batted back and forth between dieting and gluttony, but always thinking about food.  The beautiful thing is that I don't have to do that.  In thinking and depending on the Lord, food takes it's proper place in my life.

When I first began the study, it was about losing weight and I've lost tons over the last 50+ years. Lose, gain was a vicious cycle in my life.  It made me afraid to say I had finally licked the problem. However, as the study progressed, so did I.  Now I can say with confidence I am free because I'm not depending on me.  I'm depending on the Lord.  Now I can say it's no longer about losing weight. Now it's about seeking God's Presence and ridding myself of anything that stands between us.

I haven't lost it all-not in 60 days, but my weight is lower now than it's been in 3 or 4 years.  And, I'm not done.  I'll continue to follow the eating schedule as long as it takes.  And I'll be singing God's praises as I go.