What's Confidence Got to Do With It?

 So do not throw away your confidence, it will be richly rewarded. Hebrews 10:35 NIV

Actually, after I typed the title of this blog post, it reminded me of the late Tina Turner's song, What's Love Got to Do With It? But confidence has a lot to do with the 80+ pound weight loss that Christ did in my life, and He allowed me to keep the vast majority of it off for over 30 years.

You would think it might be that I'm supposed to have confidence in myself, but that's far from what this is about. In fact, it's quite the opposite. After going on what seems like 30 million different diet plans, and some of them several different times, I thought that if I went on my "Good Diet," I could loose all my weight. Now, that's confidence in myself. What happened is, I lost a few pound here and there, but I would always gain back far more weight than I ever lost.

It wasn't until I gave up and put my food, eating, and stress, into Christ's very capable hands, the weight started coming off after all those many years! I had told God, "I can't do it. If You ever want me to be thin, You'll have to do it, because I can't!" In reality, I didn't pray this thinking anything was going to happen, but it did! Then, I realize that I have to have confidence in my Lord and Savior to be in charge, and to realize that when I start to stray with my food, I'm more apt to stray with my faith, because Satan uses our weaknesses as a wedge to work into our daily lives. My confidence has to remain focused on my Lord!

Making Food Compomises

 Will traders barter for it? Will they divide it up among the merchants? Job 41:6 NIV

You need to be aware that this post isn't what this Bible verse is really talking about. It's just the closest I could get to being somewhat related to the topic I want to share.

I really enjoy going to this one particular Asian restaurant. They have reasonable prices, give lots of food, and it's very yummy! Yep! I'm a Christian Overeater, at heart, but I try to turn my heart and my stomach over to the very capable hand of my Lord and Savior! Although I try, I sometimes end up backsliding, at times.

I usually order Cashew Chicken, mainly because I enjoy eating the crunchy cashews. I don't go there often, but when I went this summer, I realized that it was sweet, when I was eating all the many veggies and chicken, thinking it was a somewhat healthy choice for me. I tried to convince myself that it really wasn't all that sweet, but it really was! So, basically, I was trying to barter and focus on a lie, instead of the truth.

Later in the summer, I went to that Asian restaurant with someone else and they were asked if they wanted the brown sauce on their Cashew Chicken or the white sauce. Well, I had eaten it for years with the sweet brown sauce, so I was willing to barter and see about having it with the white sauce, instead. I asked the co-owner about the white sauce, and she told me that it didn't have any sugar, at all. I tried it and she was right! I was able to eat all the healthy vegetables, chicken, and my crunchy cashews, but do it in a healthy way! Fortunately, the Lord God, had me realized I was trying to fool myself into believing the other one wasn't sweet, and once I admitted it was, He showed me a way to still enjoy it without all the sugar!

Through the Eyes of a Glutton!

 They shall say to their elders, "This son of ours is stubborn and rebellious. He will not obey us. He is a glutton and a drunkard." Deuteronomy 20:21 NIV

As a Christian Overeater, Past and Present, I have to admit that I have been a glutton many times over the years, much more than I would ever like to admit. During the main portions of the pandemic, they discouraged going to buffets, for fear of exposure to COVID. That took eating at buffets, off my plate, both literally and figuratively!

About a year ago, I realized that there was an ethnic buffet in our town, but I still wasn't going into restaurants that might be crowded. Later, the glutton within me, came up with this plan that I thought was brilliant. If we went to the ethnic buffet at 11:00 a.m., we would be there shortly after they put the food out, but before very many people would have arrived there. 

Basically, that plan worked, but the concern here, is when I'm letting the glutton within me, make plans that could lead me back into slip-sliding back into old eating patterns that aren't good for me! I don't want Christ saying about me, "Debbie is a glutton and she won't obey us!" Fortunately for me, the Lord God, reminds me when I'm starting to stray with my food, which is often an indicator that I'm weak and may stray from my faith in Him. That's something I never want to do!

Why Am I Visiting This Again?

 Of them the proverbs are true: "A dog returns to its vomit," and "A [female pig] that is washed, returns to her wallowing in the mud." 2 Peter 2:22 NIV Bible

This Bible verse answers this question about as good as anything else! The other day, I fell back into old eating patterns, and overate when I knew I was no longer hungry. I didn't want to consider taking some of the food home in a "to-go" box. I didn't want to consider leaving any of it on my plate.

I WANTED to eat every single bit of that large meal. It was a good deal, with large portions! Sure that's a good reason for making yourself sick to your stomach??? It would be one thing if the Lord God hadn't shown me so many lessons related to food and my eating, but that wasn't the case! He had shown me years ago, that food had become a false god to me. I was turning to food for comfort, instead turning to Christ for comfort. 

I thought I was long past this! But this just goes to show me, I can't become so comfortable with what the Lord has shown me about my counterproductive eating patterns, that I forget those lessons and flop back down in the feeding trough and wallow in the mud!