BEYOND EMOTIONAL EATING - Spiritual Steps to Gain Victory Over FoodSample

DAY 4: WALK

Most of us own a wide variety of household appliances. Vacuums, crock pots, electric mixers, and coffee machines make our lives much easier. Who would attempt to use any of these tools without plugging them into an electrical outlet? Just imagine pushing your power vacuum across a thick carpet unplugged. Very little dirt or debris would get picked up. It would be an exercise in futility. Yet, we often do this with our spiritual lives.

I don’t know about you, but I often find myself navigating through my day sometimes a bit like Martha in the Bible who was “worried and bothered about so many things”. That’s because I’ve failed to “plug in” to the power of the Holy Spirit in the simple details of everyday life. That’s when I’d describe my day as stressful or frenzied. Those are also the days I’m more likely to cave into emotional eating. I know I have a choice, but for some reason, I don’t always choose it.

After all these years, it still amazes me that because of our position in Christ, the Holy Spirit resides in us permanently. The very same power that rose Jesus from the dead is in us and with us 24/7. He gives us the ability to walk in His divine power if we choose to. And when we do, we experience the fruit of the Spirit – to include self-control!

The fruits are not the result of some self-improvement program. They are supernaturally infused in us as we walk in the power of the Holy Spirit. One thing I’ve discovered and still must grapple with each day is that walking in the Spirit is always a moment-to-moment decision.

The Holy Spirit is ready and waiting for us to acknowledge his presence. He is not just an ethereal power that comes and goes. He’s a real person with personality and emotions. He dwells in us permanently, and He loves us.

Set, Set, and Reset
Our big assignment each day –each moment – is to choose to “set our minds on things above” (Colossians 3:2). It’s an intentional setting of our mind and will to be in continual fellowship with the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit – seeking his wisdom and power in all things to include our battle to conquer emotional eating.

What God desires of us is always possible. His methods of transformation always work. By renewing our minds and abiding in Christ moment to moment, we have the power to be all God intended. To realize this wonderful destiny requires a surrender of our hearts and a willful intention to be in constant communication with God.

When we do this, we not only change our habits…we change our entire lives because God’s path is the one with all the best rewards.