Since I have used this Bible passage as an example of how the Lord God has positively influenced my overeating, this doesn't necessarily reflect the whole meaning of the verse. Debbie

COE Support Note:

If you REALLY want to read how Christ helped me throughout this weight loss and even when I was tempted, you should read some of the 100's of previous posts on https://christianovereaterssupport.blogspot.com/

The One I End Up Offending is God...

And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy [Bible], God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book. Revelation 22:19

Sometimes I try so hard not to offend others, that the one I end up offending is God. When I was writing Bible Passages That Can Influence Your Life, a friend kindly offered to edit the book for me. 

I really try hard to be politically correct and to be sensitive to the feelings of others. When I came to a highly debated passage of the Bible, I paraphrased it in a way that skewed the meaning God had, in order to be less offensive to some. My friend was a much better Christian than I, since she drew attention to this. I tried to explain, but she reminded me what the Bible really did say and mine was a watered down version of that, trying not to offend anyone.

As a teacher, I used to stress over dealing with parents who struggled with maintaining appropriate boundaries with their children. I would overeat due to the stress of what to say. I thought it was important for there to be positive change, but I didn't want to offend the parents in the process. Invaraibly, I would express my concerns in such a polite, soft-mannered way, that they didn't even realize the point I was trying to share. Eventually, I learned to be more prayerful before these meetings, to better meet the needs of my students.

Remembering the following passage, I re-evaluated my entry and changed it. I still had a difficult time being as direct as I possibly should have.  And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy [Bible], God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book. Revelation 22:19

Until I'm Afraid...

Psalms 34: 21 For our heart shall rejoice in Him, because we have trusted in His holy name. 22 Let Thy mercy, O Lord, be upon us, according as we hope in Thee.

Sometimes, I get so caught up in the world, I forget about God and all He's done for me...until I'm afraid. When I'm afraid, He's the one I want to turn to, although I often turn to food first, before I identify my fear.

When I have devastating issues in my life, I know from previous experiences where God has wrapped His loving arms around me, no food could ever calm and protect me like my Savior does. From those experiences, I learn to trust Him more each time a new devastating issue arises. Things may not always turn out the way I ask, but I do know God will get me through those situations whichever way is His will, since He always knows the Big Picture. For our heart shall rejoice in Him, because we have trusted in His holy name. 22 Let Thy mercy, O Lord, be upon us, according as we hope in Thee. Psalms 34: 21

I Was Ravenous All the Time...

And there shall be no night there; and they need no candle, neither light of the sun: for the Lord God giveth them light: and they shall reign for ever and ever. Revelation 22:5.

You don't realize how important light is until you don't have any. Several years ago, we had a freezing rain storm that put out the electricity for three days. We didn't have any lights, so I was off of school. I valued the little light I had as I sat by the sliding glass window to read my Bible each morning and the kerosene lamp by night.

We cooked in our fireplace, which seemed to be a big adventure, although it wrecked my pans. I was ravenous all the time. I think it's for fear that the food would spoil and we'd run out. Reading the Bible daily, calmed and reassured me that God was going to take care of me through this episode.

We won't need sliding glass doors or kerosene lamps in heaven,because Jesus is our Light and shows us the way to ever lasting life!  And there shall be no night there; and they need no candle, neither light of the sun: for the Lord God giveth them light: and they shall reign for ever and ever. Revelation 22:5.

God's Healing Touch on My Selfish Heart...

Matthew 28: 19 Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: 20 Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen.

My husband and I went with the youth group to another country on a mission project. We were sharing our faith in Jesus as we helped to build simple homes for those who had so little. Since I have a bad back, I focused on working with the kids while the others did the actual building.

When it was time to pack for our return home, someone suggested that we leave clothes for the poor. I went through my suitcase and picked out some things I didn't mind parting with, but I didn't feel right inside. I can't truly tell you if I overate, because that's often how I deal with things of this nature, but I know that I truly had an unsettling feeling in the core of my being.

When I turned this over to God, I found I had only been willing to share the clothing that didn't mean as much to me, stopping the Self-Righteous Christian in me, dead in my tracks! This time, I got a bigger stack of clothes to donate, but didn't put in a new nightgown that I had recently purchased. Again, I had that unsettling feeling in my soul. God was working on my heart. I wasn't being a good example of observing all things God had commanded of me.

Possessions had become too important to me. I was asked to share with those less fortunate. I did up to a point, but the point is, Jesus didn't just share His life with us up to a point. He gave His life for us. After God's healing touch on my selfish heart, I left all my clothing with them. Matthew 28: 19 Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: 20 Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen.

Fortunately, God Gave Me a Questioning Nature...

1 John 5: 11 And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. 12 He that hath the Son hath life: and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life.

My previous husband, took me over to visit a couple who had been good friends of his from high school. They were very devout in their faith, which was different from mine. They started questioning me about my faith in God. As they did this, they quoted Bible verses to support theirs was the one true church. Their belief acknowledged Jesus, but not in the same way that most Christians do. They felt Jesus was a prophet, teacher, good man, but they didn't focus on Him as the Son of God who died and arose to save us from our sins.

I should have been stronger, but I wasn't. They quoted Bible verse after Bible verse to demonstrate how all my beliefs were against God's will, and their church was right. After a while, I found myself doubting my own faith. I left their house befuddled, and wondering if I had been wrong about Jesus and my faith all these years.

Fortunately for me, God gave me a questioning nature. I went home and instead of overeating over the stress I felt, I looked up the Bible verses they quoted, because what they said just didn't ring true. When I looked them up, I consistently found the same thing. If  I read the quoted verses by themselves, they might sound like they supported the points they made about their church. When I read a few verses before and after the quoted verses, I found the quoted verses didn't even have anything to do with the topics they discussed. Time after time, I found their points to be invalid.

It's pretty scary to think I could become so vulnerable to people using verses out of context in order to convince me to go to their church. There still are many Christian sounding churches that do this to convince others that their church is the right one. It's vitally important to your salvation to have a questioning nature to not be confused by verses people quote to you. Always read several verses before and after the verses you are checking and be prayerful about them. 1 John 5: 11 And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. 12 He that hath the Son hath life: and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life.

Since I have used this Bible passage as an example of how God has positively influenced my overeating, this does not necessarily reflect the whole meaning of the verses.

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God Healed My Aching Heart...

And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away. Revelation 21:4.

A family member of mine was about to die. I visited the family member in the hospital every day and hated to leave their bedside. I was beside myself and overate, thinking it would console me, but nothing would. When my family member died, I was torn with grief and felt like I would never get over it.

For quite a while, I actively felt the same pain I did when my family member died. After a while, though, the pain didn't feel quite as pungent as it once did. Again, I was beside myself. I was frantically thinking of how much I loved and missed this beloved family member. I mentally went through the the events leading to their passing and again felt the pain. As the pain returned, so did a distorted sense of peace.

I did this for quite a while, before I was open to listening to what God was trying to tell me. When I finally listened to that still small voice inside me that only God gives, I found out that somehow I equated my pain at the loss of the family member as love for the family member. I thought that as long as I still actively felt the pain, I still loved them.

I vacillated between trying to dredge up the pain of their passing and trying to let go. I was no more able to do this on my own than I was able to give up the overeating, because of my grief. When I turned these things over to God, He comforted me as only God can do and healed my aching heart. I found that my love is just as real when I'm not dredging up the pain I felt.

 I don't need to figure out ways to be in constant pain to prove how much I loved my family member and miss them. When I turned this over to God, I was finally able to be reassured by this passage. And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away. Revelation 21:4.

Since I have used this Bible passage as an example of how God has positively influenced my overeating, this does not necessarily reflect the whole meaning of the verse.

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Friendships That Could Have Led Me Astray

There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it. 1 Corinthians 10:13

I was trying to be prayerful about what God wanted me to share related to this passage. The thought that came to mind isn't one I've thought of for years and had preferred to forget. It's even more difficult to share with my readers. I know that God always knows the "Big Picture" and  what someone needs to read at any given time, so here goes...

I had moved to a new high school in a neighboring town. Shortly before the move, I had gone to a party with another friend (the one who later betrayed me in the post on 4/4/13). She introduced me to some friends of hers that went to the same high school I was going to go to after the move. I had been overeating because I was apprehensive about the move, but was comforted to have a couple of people I already knew there. They gave me their phone number to contact them once I made the move.

I was excited as I called them, thinking that it was wonderful to start with new friends in an unfamiliar school. They included me in everything. We met together as a group before school. We ate lunch together. We met after school. I had new friends, or so I thought.

They seemed very popular and had a lot of attention from boys. They always seemed to have boyfriends who would pick them up after school and take them places. I started noticing things about my new-found friends. Sometimes they would cuss, unlike people I had been associated with, in the past. I got the feeling that they drank and possibly used recreational drugs from things they said about parties that they attended. I got the feeling that they were a little "too friendly" with many different boys, although I didn't have any proof, but just put the pieces together from their conversations.

I found a church in our new town and got very involved in the youth group there and developed new friendships. Years later, I thought about some of the ways that God has positively influenced my life. I realized that as naive as I was, I could have gotten caught up in drinking, drugs, and promiscuous behaviors with boys, long before I was ready for more serious relationships. Fortunately for me, God gave me a way out of the friendships with those who could have led me astray. There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it. 1 Corinthians 10:13

Since I have used this Bible passage as an example of how God has positively influenced my overeating, this does not necessarily reflect the whole meaning of the verse.

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Betrayed-a Double-Whammy!

1 John 4: 8 He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love. 9 In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him.

A best friend from my previous high school, introduced me to a boy that lived close to her. We started dating shortly after that, despite my move to a nearby town. He would call and come to town to visit me when he could get a ride. Although we weren't intimate, I opened up and shared my most intimate thoughts and dreams, something you only do with someone you trust. 

My best friend in my current high school, asked her boy friend to take me to the neighboring town to see my boyfriend. I was excited about the opportunity to get to see him, but that didn't last long. When we got to his house, we found that he and my previous friend were in the backseat of a car parked in the driveway. I didn't know exactly what they were doing, but it didn't matter. I felt as if I had been betrayed! Betrayed not only by someone who had been my best friend at one time, but by my boyfriend, as well. It was a double-whammy!

I internalized this and ate to console myself. I figured that there must have been something lacking in me in order for him to choose someone else instead of me. For years after that, I think I distanced myself from relationships with others. I didn't want to be vulnerable enough to be hurt again. It's hard to develop a close personal relationship with others when you are keeping them at arms distance for protection.

It was only through God's grace, that He had me take the risks to care again. God didn't want me to be lonely and isolated in a world where I push everyone else away. He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love. In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live though Him. 1 John 4: 8-9.

Since I have used this Bible passage as an example of how God has positively influenced my overeating, this does not necessarily reflect the whole meaning of the verses.

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Sabotaging My Friendships with Others...

And Jesus came and touched them, and said, Arise and be not afraid. Matthew 17:7

Right after high school, I sold a cosmetic product to help pay for college. I lived with my mother and didn't own a car, so I rode a bike across town to sell cosmetics to the women in my territory. I rode down the street, but any dog that was not tied to a chain would chase me down the street nipping at my heels. I was told that dogs can sense fear in people.

When my daughter was born, I used to put her in the stroller to take walks in the neighborhood. We enjoyed these walks until dogs would come out from behind the bushes and chase at my heels as I quickly wheeled my daughter to safety. I remembered when I had sold cosmetics and wondered if the dogs were really sensing my fear, as I had been told.

I watched other people walking in the neighborhood and dogs didn't seem to follow at their heels as they walked. It must be that these dogs really sensed my fear and followed me because of it. Not wanting to deprive my daughter of walks in the fresh air, I decided to act like I wasn't afraid when I walked in the neighborhood. I held my body upright, looked the dogs in the eyes, and said, "NO" with a forceful voice. To my surprise, the dogs didn't bother me.

When I was heavy, people didn't always welcome me into conversations with them. I figured that they didn't want to include me because of my weight. I only had a few long-term friendships from high school. I was afraid of developing new friendships for fear of rejection, which was sabotaging my friendships with others.

Jesus got me through that, when I turned my concerns over to His very capable hands. People were sensing my fear just like the dogs had. When I approached people with an upright body, looked them in the eye, and had a smile, they were much more apt to include me in their conversations. They were much more open and welcoming. It had been my fear of rejection that they sensed, but fortunately, Jesus refocused me. And Jesus came and touched them, and said, Arise and be not afraid. Matthew 17:7

Since I have used this Bible passage as an example of how God has positively influenced my overeating, this does not necessarily reflect the whole meaning of the verse.

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