Help! How Do I Quit Overeating and Obey God?

Please enjoy this guest post where Audrey Pearson, a graduate of our coaching program, Grace Filled Plate Platinum, shares how the Lord is revealing some pretty amazing insight to her about how to quit overeating!

“Again! You’ve got to be kidding me! I am so tired of this. Why do I keep doing this? Please LORD, help me.” And in my heart of hearts, I know that He tried. I felt His nudging. I even thought to myself “I should quit eating.” I just didn’t listen.

So, here I am once again lying in bed berating myself, for the umpteenth time, for having ignored the Holy Spirit’s guidance and my own body’s fullness signals.   

Let me tell you, I love Gumbo. It is one of my favorite meals to cook and to eat.  So yummy: chicken, shrimp, sausage,  all the vegetables and seasonings. The rue, the rice. Everything! I love all of it. And, it sounds so healthy.

But why, oh why, can’t I just enjoy that first or even the second helping and then, just…quit eating, and put it all away. Save some for tomorrow. I could have it  for lunch or even dinner again. No one is preventing me from putting it away for leftovers.  

Nope, I always end up feeling stuffed and bloated and…unhappy. If I just listened to the guidance of the Holy Spirit and my own body, I would feel so much better when I lay down for bed. No one is making me eat three big bowls.

But Someone is trying to tell me not to. When I am satisfied, stop eating. Don’t overeat. Sounds so simple. Save it for tomorrow. That sounds so…easy, right?  

What is My Problem?!

My Pastor recently gave a sermon on Matthew 5:8. “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.” Yup, a whole sermon on that one verse. He’s pretty awesome.

Anyway, I really connected with that message because I know that I know that my overeating is tied to a heart issue. In my heart, I really want to obey the Holy Spirit’s guidance and quit overeating.

In my heart, I really want to obey Jesus’s teachings. And in my heart, I really want God to reign. But, then I don’t. And He doesn’t. My unchecked desires lead the way.  

What does it mean to be pure in heart? Well, the word ‘pure’ simply means uncontaminated. And Jesus told us “You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. (Matt. 22:37)

A pure heart is one that is completely devoted to God.

I want to have a heart that is uncontaminated by my own desires to eat all the Gumbo. And I want a heart that is completely devoted to God.    

Hebrews 12:14 tells us “Strive for peace with everyone, and holiness without which no one will see the Lord.” The Lord will reveal Himself to those that are holy. And we know that those who are pure in heart will see God.

A pure heart is one that is holy.

I want my thoughts and my heart’s desires to be holy. I want to set my heart on the things that God has planned for me. I want peace with my family, friends, and neighbors. I want a peaceful, holy heart that isn’t mired in shame for having disobeyed His guidance once again.  

Then, in James 4:4,8. We learn that an adulterous/unfaithful person cannot be friends with God–they’re His enemies. If we want to be near to God, we cannot be double minded. A double minded person is one who wavers between following God and following the world’s persuasions. (Hmmm, the Holy Spirit’s guidance and the diet world’s rules and restrictions.) We need to be unwaveringly faithful to God. We cannot split our affections between God and the world.

A pure heart is one that is completely faithful, completely devoted and holy to God.

Are you thinking the same thing I am? This is all pretty heavy. It’s just too much–I cannot be all that!

Well, we’re right. Only One can.   

But, There’s a Solution

Praise the Lord! He knows that we cannot meet this standard apart from Jesus. In Jeremiah 17:9, God says we have a deceitful heart. Like Proverbs 20:9  we ask, “Who can say ‘I have made my heart pure?’” No one because no one has a pure heart. And no one can make their heart pure by wanting it. God knows this.

The only hope we have is Jesus! His cross, His blood, His life for our sin. Ladies–Look what Jesus has done for us!  

Because of Jesus, we have been justified. We have been declared clean! Our prayer daily should be as the Psalmist “Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me.” (Ps. 51:10)  

“Teach me your way, O LORD, that I may walk in your truth; unite my heart to fear your name.” (Ps. 86:11)

God knows that our hearts are deceitful and will not be pure UNTIL we see His face. “Blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God.” (Matt. 5:8) When we get to heaven, that is when we will see God.  That is when our hearts will be pure.  What joy there will be!   

But, in the meantime, what are we to do?  

How Does This Help Me Quit Overeating?

For many years, my mind has been mixed up, filled up and clogged up with diet rules, diet restrictions, diet do’s and diet don’ts:

Eat protein….
Don’t eat carbs…. 
Do cardio at least three times a week…
Move your body for an hour and a half every day…
Eat four to six times a day but…
Fast at least once a week…

It has been literally drilled into our minds all of these diet “essentials” that we must know and follow. And they are not just going to go away. It’s that All or Nothing thinking getting in our way, yet again.  

“This people honors Me with their lips, but their heart is far from me; in vain do they worship Me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.” Matthew 15:8-9

God told Adam and Eve that they could eat from all of the trees in the Garden of Eden, but one. And we all know what one Eve wanted. Are we any better or different from Eve? We have a 1000 times more diet restrictions than Eve had so no wonder it is so hard for us to get beyond that mentality.

We so much want to bathe our lives in the grace that Jesus died for us to have, but our minds just want to keep dragging us back to those old familiar rules. Have no fear my friend, God knows our struggle, and He has given us direction.

How to Quit Overeating

First, He wants us to guard our hearts so that our life will be comfortable and edifying to those around us.  

In fact, He tells us to “Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life.”(Pro. 4:23) We are to guard our hearts with all diligence.  

To me, the visual here is similar to a watchman guarding a fortress.  When the guard spots someone approaching, he would determine first if they are a friendly or an enemy.  

Once he has confirmation, he would sound the appropriate alarm.  Either the party coming was friendly, and they would be let in; or an enemy and everyone inside would prepare to fight them off.  

We must do the same.   

We must decide if the information on which we are basing our decisions is information that conforms with grace and freedom or is it information from the diet world that is trying to chain us down.  

Is this information that brings us peace or are we ashamed and guilty?    

Certainly, not all information we have received from the diet world is unwanted, but we must be sure that we are viewing the information from a place of grace, joy, freedom and truth.  

Is it all or nothing thinking? 
Or is it sound and good advice?

Quit overeating tip #1: FOcus on Grace

We must not be focused on what the world is doing and expecting from us.  We must guard our hearts against the shoulds of the diet world sneaking in to steal our joy and peace.  

If we are focused on grace, freedom and truth, we will be much more comfortable and at peace, able to share and fellowship happily with our family, friends and neighbors.

Quit Overeating Tip #2: Guard you heart

We must guard our hearts so that we can bear good fruit for the kingdom of God.

“The good person out of the good treasure of his heart produces good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure produces evil, for out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.”  Luke 6:45

The fruit of our lives comes from the soil of our hearts. We must, therefore, guard our hearts from anything that will get in the way of our relationship with God.

Are we too focused on eating rules and regulations that He told us are unnecessary? (Acts 10:15) 
Or are we focused on our Father?

Let’s cast all that All or Nothing thinking aside, guard our hearts, live comfortably and share our good treasure.  

So, Are We Fixed Now?

By all means, not yet. When we see God, that is when He will make our hearts pure. But until that time, let’s do as He asks:

• Guard you hearts.
• Kick all the diet shoulds and shouldn’ts to the curb.
• Stop berating yourself (guard our hearts against all that).

We have so much hope, joy, peace, comfort and grace available to us.  Let’s receive all of it into our hearts and live comfortably, bearing good fruit for the Lord.

Can I Stop Overeating?

Standing at the stove, I lift the lid and check my meat sauce.  Simmering nicely.  As I give it a stir, I glance at my macaroni.  It’s close.  In just five minutes, it will all be ready.

I grab our bowls and silverware to set the table and let the guys know that dinner is ready.  

After everyone is served, I casually step back over to the stove and deliberately place the sauce pot’s lid back on it.  I smile as I remember that this is my new ‘stop’ signal.  

I am practicing, and I am  imagining this is how it will be the next time I decide to make my Gumbo. The lids on the pots represent for  me that dinner is done. I don’t need to go back for seconds or thirds.

It’s an idea I recalled hearing during a recent Platinum Coaching Call. The lids on the pots are a physical reminder of my spiritual goal to guard my heart.  It worked for me tonight, and as I continue to practice, I pray that I will be ready for Gumbo. If not, I can and will try again.  It’s okay.

By setting boundaries in place, I am choosing to guard my heart.  I am choosing to receive joy and peace, and I hope you do too.

If you are interested in exploring how Platinum can help you quit overeating or end all or nothing thinking, download the free Platinum Ezine here.

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