From Root to Fruit: When Temptation is too much to bear, Jesus is Victor!

I climbed aboard my bicycle this morning with sweat dripping down my back. To say that it’s hot in St. Louis would be an understatement(100 degrees +). My Facebook feed is filled with images of melting ice cream trucks and even a melted Snoopy. I would have been justified to stay at home in my cool house and relax but Sunday morning bike rides before church give me so much joy. I didn’t want to miss the blessing I receive by spending time with my Lord. For me, exercise is an act of worship. I suppose this is due in part to how difficult it was in the beginning of my journey and how the only way I could endure it was to listen to scripture and pray. I was recently standing at Lowe’s with a 28 pound bag of bird seed on my shoulder when I thought I would collapse from the weight of it. I literally cannot imaging walking around with an extra 140 pounds on my body today. Or maybe I could, but even thinking about it makes me ill.

Last night I read my friend Holly’s blog: 300 Pounds Down where she talks about her journey to keep off the excess weight that threatens her life. I was praying for her this morning because her journey is my own, and right now she could use a little help. (Can’t we all?) You see, every day I face the temptation to make food my god and to be honest, more often than I would like to admit, I fail. This struggle to maintain a healthy lifestyle in the face of so much temptation causes me to ponder why I find (physical)success where others do not. Is it because I am stronger? Smarter? More determined? Is it because I have better genes(I don’t think so!) or because I have stronger faith? Because the truth is, it really doesn’t feel that way. I have many friends who are strong Christians and they have not been able to lose the weight and keep it off. It seems like the ultimate snub from God to pray for help to lose weight and to see that prayer go unanswered.

I was pondering all of this early today as I rode my bike in the sweltering heat. I often feel guilty that I have (mostly) kept the weight off and want so much to help others not to lose heart. The truth is, every day I make a series of choices–some of which are difficult–others of which have become routine, but none of which would be possible without the word of God and its tremendous impact on my life.

I recently began reading “Tramp for the Lord” by Corrie Ten Boom. If you have not heard of her, please read her book, “The Hiding Place” where she details the work she and her family did to rescue Jews during the Nazi occupation of Holland. The Ten Boom family were betrayed by a neighbor and her father died in jail. But Corrie and her beloved sister Betsy were sent to the infamous Ravensbruck concentration camp where they were certain they would never emerge alive.

She writes,

“It was in the middle of the night when Betsie and I reached the processing barracks. And there, under the harsh ceiling lights, we saw a dismaying sight. As each woman reached the head of the line she had to strip off every scrap of clothes, throw them all onto a pile guarded by soldiers, and walk naked past the scrutiny of a dozen guards into the shower room. Coming out of the shower room she wore only a thin regulation prison dress and a pair of shoes.

Our Bible! How could we take it past so many watchful eyes?”

Upon entering the camp, Corrie’s biggest worry was that she would not have the precious word of her Lord, but it seems in 2016 that most Christians have one(if not ten) bibles laying around their homes, most of them with dust on them. But the Bible, to Corrie, was her most precious possession. This resonated very powerfully with me today. You see, I probably don’t state enough in this blog how important the Bible is to me, especially since I am–at my core–a rotten and wicked sinner saved only by the amazing grace of God.

If you are reading this and thinking, “Good grief! That Margaret sure is self-righteous. Who does she think she is?” Let me make this very clear, I think little to nothing of myself. If you knew me, you would know what I neurotic mess I really am. I only use this blog as a way to continue to make right decisions and to spur on others who are interested in learning and growing on their journey. Now that we have that straight, I want to be very candid. I would not be where I am today without Jesus and his great gift to me, his words.

In fact, early on, when I thought I hadn’t a chance of success, I made a decision to memorize his words because I believe they have great power. Today I believe this is the only reason I have succeeded in losing weight at all. Today I still rest on that decision and recite His words every time I struggle with the desire to eat something that would harm my body(sugar/french fries/McArthur’s cake). Memorizing scripture has not only given me a tremendous love for God’s word, but it has given me the strength to work out when I didn’t feel like, resist the foods that once defined me, and to learn to love people who are wholly unlovable. But more than any of that, it has enabled me to know Jesus in ways I never thought possible. And there is nothing–and I mean nothing–in this world more important to me than that.

It is so challenging(as a food addict) to face a world that offers me delightful food at every moment of the day and know that if I want to remain healthy, I must find the strength to resist those things that would harm me. Without the truth of God’s word shining in my heart, I might still believe that lie that I can’t live without it.

That is what I would tell Holly today….don’t give up. Don’t lose heart. Today’s failure is tomorrow’s victory. Corrie Ten Boom told the prisoners in Ravensbruck, “Jesus is victor!” And he still is. Whether we fail or succeed in resisting temptation, one day we won’t fight this horrible battle any longer because Jesus will win the war.

Today, if you are struggling with any kind of addiction, open your bible. Read God’s word. It is powerful. It is beautiful. And it is true. And it will help you succeed in the strength of the One who faced the cross and conquered sin once and for all.

On July 24, 2016   /   The Journey   /   1 Comment