Read my testimony below:
Emotional eating is something I have struggled with since I was young. When I celebrated with family and friends, I ate. When I was alone, I ate. When I was happy, sad, stressed or bored, I ate. After doing the Way of Purity course and seeing God eradicate that sin in my life, he showed me that I next needed to turn away from the sin of gluttony/overeating. I began The Lord's Table because I wanted to desire God more and learn to get rid of habitual sin that I had grown used to over the years. In this case, it was overeating.
Diets have never worked for me. I was not very disciplined and also it didn't fix the issues at heart. Diets always contradicted each other so I never bothered with them much. Instead of giving the glory to God, they tell us to work hard to 'fix' ourselves on our own and take all of the credit for ourselves. When I began this course, my focus was on myself and what I wanted to look like. I was nervous coming to The Lord's Table because I had failed with trying to lose weight in the past and was afraid I would fail here too. That was the problem. I was looking to myself instead of to God for the power to overcome sin. Through reading the Bible, praying, and doing the studies, God has shown me that I was using food as an idol. I looked to food to satisfy me instead of to Him. I was also guilty of the sin of laziness. I tried exercising many times, but because the weight didn't drop off as fast as I liked, I usually gave up soon.
When I first began The Lord's Table I had a hard time understanding that overeating is a sin. I didn't think it was good, but I didn't think it was that big of a deal. That's how deep the sin was. Thankfully, over time, God granted me true repentance and helped me to see the sin through his eyes. This course was amazing because it helped me keep focus on God, really understand my sin, and find satisfaction in God. I was very encouraged by the lessons and by the testimonies and I am thankful for my mentor who was able to relate to my struggles and encourage because she had dealt with this sin as well. I confess that on the first day I was quite overwhelmed by the prospect of doing this study. It seemed that I would have to change for real, and I guess my sinful flesh did not like this prospect. The cool thing is that God guided me through it all and gave me the energy and desire to push forward in discipline and grow closer to him. I was very blessed to have my sister and mom doing The Lord's Table alongside me and we were able to encourage each other.
God has really shown me that I need to fight to spend time with him instead of letting the busyness of life distract me from Him. Staying in his word and growing in relationship with God is the only way I will ever be able to stay focused on him and not fall back into habitual sin. It's more than just something I should do as a 'good Christian'. It's what I NEED to survive this world. After completing this course I am so much closer to God and able to do more for those around me. I enjoy exercising and I look forward to my time with God. At meals I am able to enjoy God's blessing of food so much more, without needing to overeat. I have so much energy now and the weight continues to come off. But most importantly, I have a deeper relationship with God. Thank you Lord, for the amazing things you are doing in my life!
