When I read those words—”the devil wants you fat”—they pierced my heart. Those words were also a jolt to my mind.
It became very real to me in that moment what was going on in my life. I hate the devil, and the last thing I wanted was to please him. The Holy Spirit brought to my remembrance John 10:10 in the New King James Version: “The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.”
For years, I had struggled with the roller-coaster ride of weight issues, fighting all the emotional ups and downs that go with this battle. There is much information today on obesity, but as a nation we get fatter and fatter. Information shows us the need for change, but transformation gives us a desire to change. The power to change comes from the one who created us.
When I saw the words “The devil wants you fat,” I had an immediate burning desire in my heart to change. It was a moment that brought repentance and an awareness that I was responsible and accountable for the way I had cared for my body.
Once I surrendered my food addiction to the Lord, He gave me a battle plan that worked from the inside out and took 88 pounds from my body! Yes, I said, “addiction.” I did not realize until that moment that I was addicted to food. I had seen members in my family with addiction to alcohol and drugs, but it had not occurred to me that I was addicted to food and that the enemy was using this to destroy my health and well-being.
Unlike alcohol and drugs, we must have food to survive. It is what the enemy used in the Garden of Eden to tempt Eve, so why should we be surprised that he is still using the temptation of our hunger for his benefit to steal, kill and destroy?
The enemy also tempted Jesus with food. Jesus had been fasting, and when He came off the fast, He was hungry (Luke 4:3). Satan tempted Him by saying, “If You are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread” (v. 4, NKJV). In the same verse, Jesus replied, “It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God.” Job 23:12 of the NKJV says, “I have treasured the words of His mouth more than my necessary food.”
“For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart” (Hebrews 4:12, NKJV). The Word has the power to bring deliverance to you and cut asunder the thick cords of the enemy. When you study the Word, receive a revelation of the Word and speak the Word, the enemy and his temptations have no power over you.
The food industry also knows how they can cause us to become addicted to succumbing to our food cravings. The Holy Spirit led me to study nutrition. I became aware how certain foods affected my body. I strongly urge you to study how chemicals have been added to foods to stimulate our taste buds, strip their nutritional value and cause cravings that demand our attention.
Daniel 10:19 says, “So when he spoke to me I was strengthened, and said, ‘Let my lord speak, for you have strengthened me'” (NKJV). I needed strength! I had a word from the Lord, but I knew this battle was not in the physical world, but rather was a spiritual battle against the principalities and powers of the world.
As I began this journey, the Lord spoke several different words that gave me strength to face the battle. One of those words was, “When you get a revelation of the purpose of your body, you will not abuse it.” I immediately remembered 1 Corinthians 6:19, which states, “Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own?” (NKJV).
“Understanding is a wellspring of life to him who has it” (Prov. 16:22, NKJV). Understanding gives us wisdom and strength to walk in obedience to the Word of God. Obedience is the KEY! Weight loss is a side benefit. He has prepared a table before us in the presence of our enemies. Taste and see that the Lord is good! (See Psalms 23 and 34:8.)
Joyce Tilney is founder of Women of God Ministries, Teaching Women Today from Women of Yesterday. She is the author of Why Diets Don’t Work—Food Is Not the Problem! God has placed a burning desire in her heart to help others win the battle of the bulge. Visit her websites www.whydiets.com and www.wogministries.com to learn more about her ministry.
