Barb Raveling - Taste for Truth: A 30 Day Weight Loss Bible Study

Taste for Truth

A 30-Day Weight Loss
Bible Study

BARB RAVELING

Truthway Press

First Edition 2013

Second Edition 2017

Copyright 2013, 2017 Barb Raveling

All rights reserved.

The second edition of this book contains only minor edits. If youre teaching a class, you can easily use both editions in the same class.

All scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the New American Standard Bible , Copyright 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by the Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.

www.Lockman.org

This book is not intended as a substitute for the advice of professional counselors or physicians. Please seek professional help if youre struggling with an eating disorder and get advice from your doctor or dietician before starting a weight loss plan if you have health issues.

The names of the people in the stories of this book have been changed to protect their privacy.

ISBN: 0-9802243-1-4

ISBN-13: 978-0-9802243-1-3

Acknowledgements

Special thanks to my husband for all his wonderful and wise counsel with the editing of this book.

A very special thanks to all the ladies who helped me test the study and provide feedback: Heidi, Adriane, Carrie, Sara, Teri, Susan, Pam, Vanya, Linda, Dawn, Debbie, Holly, Martha, Polly, Glenda, Ginger, Maureen, Jenny, Lisa, Rita, and Shawna. I appreciate all of you!

Thanks also to Heidi Bylsma for teaching my 15-day weight loss Bible study on your blog, encouraging me along the way, and just for being a wonderful friend. I appreciate you!

To Heidi.

Thanks for being such a great encourager.

Contents

Introduction

W ouldnt it be nice if we could just say a little prayerPlease help me lose weight, Godthen go to sleep and wake up the next day skinny? Unfortunately, God doesnt usually work that way. Instead, He wants us to get involved in our own transformation.

Thats not easy because many of us have a stronghold of emotional eating. In the Old Testament, a stronghold was a physical fortress that people went to for protection from the enemy. A stronghold was also a spiritual place of protection.

David often referred to God as his stronghold because he was in the habit of running to God for refuge. Just read the Psalms. Over and over, we see David going to God to talk over his problems with Him.

This is Gods desire for us, as well. He wants us to go to Him for help with life. But its so much easier to turn to other things, including food. When we run to food too often, it becomes our place of refugea strongholdbut not a good one.

This stronghold is built on lies. Lies like This will make me feel better. Or I should be able to eat what I want when I want. Or Life will be boring if I have to restrict my eating long-term.

It takes a lot of work to get those lies out of our system. We cant do it by merely following a weight loss plan because a weight loss plan only controls behavior. It doesnt rid us of the lies that fuel our behavior.

If we want to eliminate those lies, well need to do what the Bible tells us to do: renew our minds (Romans 12:2). As we take off the lies that make us want to eat too much and put on the truth that sets us free, our desires will change. Well actually want to eat with control.

Taste for Truth offers thirty days of renewing-the-mind help. Each day covers a different aspect of the journey of breaking free from the control of food.

The first six lessons are all about boundaries. Its important to do those lessons in order because they lay the foundation for the rest of the study. If things are going smoothly, go through the remaining lessons in the order given. However, if you reach the point where youre tired of your weight loss plan and want to quit (this often happens around Day 6 or 7), skip ahead to a lesson that deals with what youre struggling with. Following are a few suggestions:

• If you feel like eating everything in sight, go to Day 4, 19, 21, 23, or 26.
• If youre discouraged or feel like quitting, go to Day 3, 8, 13, 17, 22, 29, or 30.
• If you feel like you should be able to eat what you want when you want, go to Day 5, 7, 10, or 27.
• If you have a bad weigh-in or feel like you have to be skinny, go to Day 11, 12, 13 or 28.
• If you cant make yourself renew your mind, go to Day 15 or Appendix C.

Beginning on Day 15, Ill ask you to add the free app I Deserve a Donut (And Other Lies That Make You Eat) to your renewing-the-mind routine. You can use this resource throughout your life to say no to temptation and to talk over life with God. Its also available in paperback and e-book format.

If you dont have I Deserve a Donut, you can find many of the questions and Bible verses from the book at barbraveling.com by using the search box on the right side of the blog.

My prayer is that God will use this study to help you break free from the stronghold of overeating and grow closer to Him in the process. Im excited to see what Hell do in your life as you go to Him for help with weight loss. Are you ready to begin? Lets get started!

DAY 1

The Secret to Losing Weight and Keeping it Off

D o you ever feel like youll never break free from the control of food? I used to feel that way. Overeating was that one thing in life I thought Id never be able to overcome. Every year, Id make the same New Years resolution: Lose x number of pounds. Every year I failed to reach my goal.

I tried diets. And about every twenty-ninth time they workedusually when I had some reason I absolutely had to lose weight. A wedding. A reunion. Or a number on the scale so shocking I could hardly believe what I was seeing.

If I was beyond-the-end-of-my-rope desperate, I could sometimes work up enough willpower to lose weight. At least enough to get me into the good enough category.

But it never lasted. I always gained the weight back. This went on for twenty-five years. Gain. Lose. Gain. Lose. Gain. Lose. I could pretty much tell what my life was like by looking at my weight. When life was good, I was slim. When life was bad, I was overweight. I was an emotional eater, and my weight reflected what was going on in my life at the time.

I wish I could say, But then one day, I saw the light and suddenly my life changed!

Unfortunately, thats not what happened. This is what really happened: One day I discovered a discipline that God has used to transform my life in countless ways. That discipline is the renewing of the mind. And because of the Holy Spirit working through that discipline, I now live free from the control of food.

Howeverand this is a sad howeverit didnt happen overnight. It took a long time. Hours of meeting with God to discuss my food issues with Him and look at life from His perspective. But those hours spent with Him? They were incredible hours. Hours that brought me closer to Him. Hours that got me excited about His Word. And hours that slowly, but powerfully, began to change me.

If youre in the same spot I was for twenty-five yearsfeeling like youll never break free from foods control over youlet me encourage you. God is powerful. He can do anything, including setting you free from the stronghold of overeating. He may not do it as quickly as youd likethats almost a guaranteebut He will do it if you seek Him for help. This Bible study is all about going to Him for help. Lets begin by getting a biblical view of transformation.

Bible Study

1. Read the following Bible verses with weight loss in mind. List the role we play and the role God plays in the transformation process.