I am an overweight female who is trying my best to lose weight. How many of us, both female and male, are out there searching for ways to accomplish this? Many! We can search for products and try every diet plan there is that’s out there; Some work and some don’t. Hormones play a huge part at times and some search Endocrinologists and other hormone specialists to help. I have started a ‘mind set’ program that includes paying more attention to what God says than anyone else.
I am on this journey with anyone who reads this and feels like joining me! Whether or not you believe in God, Jesus, and The Holy Spirit, He is! The Three are One. This journey is going to follow His Word with these Three as it is stated in 1 John 5:7. The biggest key we all need to remember is that our faith and mindset in Him will guide us through anything, especially doing what is right for our bodies.
He says in 1 Corinthians 6:19-20, “Do you not know that your bodies are temples of The Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies.” Let’s think on this concept that The Holy Spirit is in our bodies. In John 14:26 says that “the Helper, The Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you.” Jesus did not leave us alone after He died and went to be with God His Father.
In Romans 8:26, He says, “Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words.” In Galatians 5:22-23 He says, “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfullness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.” Acts 2:38 says, “And Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized everyone of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” John 14:15-17 reads, “If you love me, you will keep my Commandments. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be with you.”
If you have believed and have been baptized then you understand how powerful the Holy Spirit is. If you go back to that Galatians verse above you will see that self-control is a part of the Spirit. If we embed him so deep into our hearts, then we will have that self-control to avoid the temptations of sweets, chips, and other junk we are piling into His temple. Prayer is a huge part in our lives and we use that Holy Spirit to go to our Lord when we need Him, when we want Him to help us, when we fight the devil. We cannot fight the evil one alone and only He has that power to conquer.
There is hope out there for everyone in every situation. Those of us who are fighting our weight battles know that it is hard and that it seems hopeless. But, in Romans 5:5, He says that hope does not put us to shame because God‘s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us. 2 Timothy 1:7 says, “For God gave us a Spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.”
Our faith and belief can take us anywhere we need to be if we embed it in our minds so deep that it cannot be ever ripped apart. Spending time with Jesus in prayer, by reading the Bible, and by keeping ourselves in one mind together will give us strength. This is the first step and going forward with our plans to lose weight. We have to believe and know that the Holy Spirit is there for us to lean on! He knows our struggles and if we just pray He will go to the Lord on our behalf. And as in Hebrews, the Holy Spirit goes to Jesus but Jesus is the only advocate who will go to God on our behalf. That’s why they are Three in One. There is no other way to get to God but by the steps.
We had a sermon this last Sunday where we were reminded of how Josiah, in 2 Kings 23:4, had gotten rid of the stumbling blocks in their way of God. He set fire to idols and evil items people worshipped. I would like to say that we can use this concept as we adventure into a good mindset to lose weight. We can purge our homes of sugar, junk food, drinks such as cokes and sodas, and all other unhealthy items. God has blessed us with food to eat and water to drink. We may crave these things because our body is used to it and the devil is using it against us. Just get rid of it! Just keep yourselves from the temptation of buying it when you’re in the stores. This was the second step that our preacher Jason talked about when Josiah quit associating with evil doers.
The third step that Josiah took was to assess and address himself where he was, where his people were, when they were around others. For example, when we go to weddings or other celebrations and we have the temptation around us such as cakes, foods that are bad for our health , and drinks such as liquor, we need to think on how our bodies are His temple and only eat or drink what is healthy. See foods high in carbs or sugar and feel like you will go away hungry, just add extra of the healthy food to fill your plate. Drinking extra water or unsweetened drinks will fill you up.
Fourthly, all these desserts and things look pleasurable, but put into perspective your goal. Burn the idea that you need all of these things when you do not. The Lord will sustain you. This leads to the fifth point he had; Josiah left all the impurities behind them- he got rid of all of it. He took things out into the desert and he burnt them but he also took the dust and took it away too. His determination is the key part and we as well should be determined if we want to succeed.
And finally, in Matthew 12: 44 on, God warns us that once we have purged our homes from evil (in this concept all the junk food), then we need to fill it with good things and healthy things. As in the evil spirit who left the home, it went wandering and when it couldn’t find a place to settle down, it even brought more evil spirits along with it to come back to the house. If we don’t give ourselves some thing good and healthy to eat, we’re going to turn around and want to fill it back with those sugars and junk. I’ve always loved this verse. It holds true to so much in our lives.
We must keep the main thought of our bodies being His temple and not our own up front and center! We must pray hard and fill our homes with Him and His Word so that we allow His Will and Power to do what is right for our bodies, His body. We need to get rid of the idea that we need all of this junk just because it tastes good and realize that His food He blessed us with will sustain us. We need to depend on his strength and the promise of his Holy Spirit to speak to our hearts and our bodies! These idols in our lives have to go! I am in this with you but more importantly, He is with us all!
