"A man can do nothing better than to eat and drink and find satisfaction in his work. This too, I see, is from the hand of God, for without him, who can eat or find enjoyment?" - Ecclesiastes 2:24-25
In her pamphlet, “Finding Satisfaction in God,” Kimberly Bensen describes her life when she weighed more than 300 pounds and how she found satisfaction in the Lord instead of food.
“I was eating myself to death. But food was just too enjoyable, too important to me to give it up.
Then one Sunday, my pastor preached a sermon on gluttony and said, “And the Israelites craved meat more than God.” I remember thinking, “How can that be? Who could love food more than God?” Then I realized: that was me. I finally confessed to myself that I had given food the primary place in my heart—before my family, before my God. Food had become an idol to me, and I couldn’t seem to do anything about it. I felt completely enslaved. But God hadn’t given up on me, and He continued working on my heart.
Then, on October 1st, 2001, with a broken, hurting spirit, I prayed this prayer:
“God, I’m sorry. I know I’ve put food before my family and You. But that’s the way it is; I can’t change my heart.”
And then a light bulb went off. “But you can, oh God! You can change my heart!
Please change my heart! Make me love You more than food. Take away these awful chains that have bound me for so long. Please! Amen.”
For two years, Kimberly worked on changing habits, learning portion control, memorizing Scripture, fleeing temptation, and leaning on a God who gave her encouragement and deliverance. She found satisfaction in God and as a result satisfaction in all areas in her life. She lost 210 pounds and she said: “The most important lesson I learned was that the change had to be made on the inside before it could be permanent on the outside.”
Our lives do belong to the Lord and outside of Him we will not find satisfaction. Today in prayer, praise Christ that in Him we can find an abundant and joyful life.
"If I find in myself desires which nothing in this world can satisfy, the only logical explanation is that I was made for another world.” – C.S. Lewis
God's Word: "I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do everything through Him who gives me strength." - Philippians 4:12-13
By Peter Kennedy, Copyright 2012, Devotional E-Mail
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