Please read this quote from Phillip Yancey’s book What’s so Amazing about Grace? carefully.
It contains valuable information as far as answering the question: What will motivate you to stop overeating and binging?
The best reason to be good is to want to be good. Internal change requires a relationship. It requires love. “Who can be good, if not made so by loving?” asked Augustine. When Augustine made the famous statement, “If you but love God you may do as you incline” he was perfectly serious. A person who truly loves God will be inclined to please God, which is why Jesus and Paul both summed up the entire law in the simple command, “Love God.”
If you are still going around the same mountain even though you’ve gone through counseling and found a solid food program, if you still find yourself bound in the chains of food addiction and eating disorders even though you’ve gone through my 12 Week Online Program and you’ve made great strides in dealing with past hurts, then it might be time to look at the MOTIVATION behind it all.
ONLY TRUE LOVE MOTIVATES OBEDIENCE
Please read this excerpt from a previous post I wrote to find out how you can FALL IN LOVE AND BE CHANGED FOREVER!
In her well-known Bible study “Breaking Free” Beth Moore asks us to answer the following few questions to determine if we’re really in love with God:
IDENTIFYING TRUE LOVE:
- Does God regularly circulate into my thoughts? (Ps 63:6)
- Am I often drawn to spend time with Him? (Ps 27:4)
- Does my life demonstrate a love for God? (Rom 5:8)
- Do I often enjoy God? (Ps 16:11)
- Do I ultimately find relief or satisfaction in obedience? (John 14:12)
How did you score on the TRUE LOVE TEST? Sometimes we really fool ourselves by thinking that we love God, when we simply don’t.
I have loved Jesus since I was a little girl. I see my sweet little girl praying to Jesus and hear her talk about Him and I can imagine myself at that age, growing up in a Christian home, praying to God in that same manner. So if you asked me in the past if I loved Jesus I would have quickly responded “YES, I’ve loved Him all my life”
However, through the years some questions formulated in my mind (much of these triggered by pastors an Bible teachers) about my LOVE for Christ: Do I love Him enough? Why do I still lack self-control? Why am I still rude and proud at times? Why do I not have patience in times of testing? Where is my joy and peace in trying circumstances? Why is it still so hard for me to obey…?
WE NEED MORE OF JESUS. When the night is dark and the valley deep WE NEED MORE! When our circumstances change and we can hardly breathe WE NEED MORE! When the waters are calm and we find ourselves almost bored with riches and prosperity WE NEED MORE OF JESUS!
Unfortunately, our lives have become so busy and full of things that we hardly have time for anything, and sadly Jesus gets pushed down on our list of priorities.
However, if we want to break free and stay free from any kind of bondage WE NEED TO OBEY. Lasting obedience will always be linked to True Love. We might be able to obey once or twice out of obligation and legalism, but it never lasts and we always seem to slip back into our bondage.
NOW FOR THE BIG QUESTION:
IF I DON’T REALLY LOVE GOD WITH ALL MY HEART – HOW CAN I FALL IN LOVE WITH HIM?
- Ask God to give you a love for Him. God is the source of love and the only one who can give you true agape love for Him and other people (1John 4: 7-8,19)
Ask Him DAILY to increase your love for Him!! Set an alarm on your cellphone to go off and remind you to pray. Even short prayers at first where you ask Him to give you true love and desire for Him and His Word - Be accountable about your time with Him – Join women’s Bible studies on a regular basis to keep you accountable. Meet with other people to pray. Find a friend that will hold you accountable, and surround yourself with people who obviously love JESUS. THE MORE WE LEARN ABOUT GOD AND OPEN OUR HEARTS TO HIM – THE MORE WE LOVE HIM – AND THE MORE WE LOVE HIM THE MORE WE WANT TO SPEND TIME WITH HIM. Get yourself into that blessed upward cycle!
I need more of Jesus – the love that I had for Him last year cannot sustain me now. Fortunately, there is so much more to my God than the little I have come to know up until this point in my life.
God is enough. His love for us is perfect and everlasting, however, we have to keep asking and reaching to love Him more.
In His Amazing Love,
Heleen
Resources:
NEW: INDIVIDUAL COUNSELING online or in Beaverton Oregon
Call Heleen at (503) 914-2749 or Schedule online: www.LifeSolutions.io
Click on the image below to learn more about the 12 Week Online Program: Women Struggling with Food
Read my story. Click on the image below to download my ebook: God will I ever be free?
Appetite for Freedom WORKBOOK and DVD.
A great resource for small groups or individual use.
Click on the image below to find out more:
