What Makes You Mad?

I was listening to an evangelist teach about how to know your calling in life. One of the questions he suggested you ask yourself is, “What grieves or angers you so much that you are moved to do something about it?”

After thinking about it, the thing that makes me most angry is the enemy deceiving God’s people into believing they have no power. Because they believe his lies, they don’t experience God’s best. I was once there. I call it the “Charlie Brown” syndrome.

In the comic strip, Lucy always promises Charlie Brown that she is going to hold the football for him to kick. And every time Charlie Brown runs for the football and rears back for the kick, Lucy pulls the ball away, leaving Charlie Brown tumbling head over heels. Not only that, but she calls him “Blockhead!”

Now, of course, this event always happens because the comic strip creator wants to show you how hapless and naive Charlie Brown acts. But we believers in Christ aren’t meant to be Charlie Brown!

We are called to be soldiers. We are not called to play in enemy territory. Instead, we must be fully prepared and ready to fight:

“Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour” (1 Pet 5:8).

The first call of a soldier is to be sober. Sober means to be clear-minded. A soldier cannot think clearly if his mind is muddled with drugs, alcohol or excessive eating. I see gluttony as food drunkenness. When I used to eat too much, I would often get brain-fogged and sleepy. It’s hard to make rational decisions or keep control of your emotions when you are under the influence.

The second call for a soldier is to be vigilant. Vigilant means to watch carefully, to be on guard for dangers or difficulties. In the Scripture, it tells you the danger to watch out for—you have an adversary who wants to devour you!

Just imagine: If a lion escaped from the zoo and was spotted in your neighborhood, would you go out and try to pet him? I hope not. Surely you know the difference between a kitten and a powerful beast who could rip you to shreds.

But suppose a loved one was out playing in the yard, a little child who has no clue a lion is loose. You have no time to wait for the authorities, and you have a weapon. Would you just casually stroll outside to get the child? No—you’d be on high alert, walking out with your weapon raised, your mind focused on your end goal and your eyes scanning all around you, looking to see if that lion is around. You’ll probably stay on high alert until you and the child are safely back inside.

As a soldier, the prime territory the enemy wants to take over is your mind. And if you have a mental stronghold, such as that driving binge or emotional eating, then he’s already there. The deception is that when your feelings overwhelm you, he entices you to go into that stronghold. A stronghold is a place of survival, of refuge.

In my “How to Stop Binge Eating“ online course, I’ve had a couple of students confess that have practiced this habit for so long that they can’t even imagine living without it. That is a lie straight from the enemy—he’s convinced them that eating is their place of safety, not God.

So whenever I face a similar situation in my own mind, I pull out my sword of the Spirit (the Word of God) and combat that lie with the truth:

“He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High

Shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.

I will say of the Lord, ‘He is my refuge and my fortress;

My God, in Him I will trust'” (Ps. 91:1-3).

What is your calling? It’s time to arm yourself and go forward in it, claiming the Victory in the name of Jesus!

Once 240 pounds and a size 22, Kimberly Taylor can testify of God’s healing power to end binge eating. She is the creator of the new online course “How to Stop Binge Eating.”