I woke one morning with the word “fellowship” on my mind, along with the following scripture:
Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers. For what fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness? And what communion has light with darkness (2 Corinthians 6:14)?”
While this scripture is often used to warn Believers in Christ against marrying unbelievers, I think this principle also applies to fellowship with dark thoughts – a key driver behind negative emotions and emotional eating.
After all, what closer fellowship do you have than with the thoughts you harbor daily?
I learned about the principle of fellowship many years ago when I struggled with depression.
It was like an emotional black hole in my life. Its vortex sucked all my energy, vitality, and purpose into it.
To escape those dark feelings, I overate and binged regularly. Eventually, these habits joined the depression vortex, draining the life out of me day-by-day.
It took a chest pain and the Lord’s kind words of “It is not supposed to be this way” to enlighten me as to what was happening.
I realized that I was accepting and rehearsing the enemy’s lies faithfully. In doing so, I was living looking backward. It’s hard to walk forward while looking backward!
Those thoughts kept me focused on past mistakes, what I lost, and what I lacked. While those circumstances were true, the conclusion of them was a lie.
The lying thoughts said that my life was bad and it would never get any better!
However, the Lord challenged me to look ahead – to my potential future in Him.
I realized that believing the enemy’s lies was stealing my life from me – one depressive day at a time.
Because I was so focused on my own pain, I did not have much energy left to help others.
But a major turnaround in my thought life came through following Joshua’s example from Joshua 5:13:
And it came to pass, when Joshua was by Jericho, that he lifted his eyes and looked, and behold, a Man stood opposite him with His sword drawn in His hand. And Joshua went to Him and said to Him, “Are You for us or for our adversaries?”
This was a time of war so Joshua was vigilant. He did not assume that every person who showed up on his battlefield was on his side automatically!
As Believers in Christ, we are in engaged in Spiritual warfare. So we too should be vigilant about our thought life.
Do you examine the thoughts with whom you fellowship daily and ask:
Are you for me or for my adversary?”
A good clue that a thought or pattern of thought is for your adversary is,
Does this way of thinking steal, kill, or destroy me or something good in my life?”
If it does, then you want no fellowship with that!
As Believers in Christ, we are called to be salt and light in a dark world.
But how can we be light when we tolerate darkness and lawlessness in our own hearts and minds?
The Lord knows everything about us. Hebrews 4:13 tells us that someday, we will give an account for what we have done in these Earthly bodies:
And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account.”
If you have emotional issues that are keeping you in darkness, then ask the Lord to enlighten you with a new vision of your future freedom in Him.
Next, you need fellowship with those thoughts that bring enlightenment, support right living and strengthen you in the joy of the Lord.
As you practice aligning yourself with His thought and ways, you will experience His marvelous light of freedom and daily joy in His presence!
Kimberly Taylor
Author of the Take Back Your Temple program
P.S. Are you struggling with the challenges of emotional eating? Many people with eating issues know what to do but have a hard time doing it. That is where you need a community that supports each other!
In the Take Back Your Temple program, you will get all the support you need to overcome the Spiritual and emotional battles of weight loss, connected in our Overcomers community.
Click here to confirm the Take Back Your Temple program is right for you.
Great thought. I hadn’t thought of my thoughts like that before.
I appreciate your feedback, Barbara – it does help to have a different perspective!
Ty for pointing this out to me. I know the devil is our enemy and want to destroy us. But God is able to deliver us. Amen
Amen, Renee!
“Help me manage my emotions so that my actions glorify You. I want to glorify You in how I care for Your temple and how I interact with others.”
This is my prayer for myself today.
– Amen, Vicky – I agree with you in prayer!
Awesome simple Awesome stated and I do believe this. I also struggle with James 1:18-20 . Thank you Jesus for listening ear and help me to live the life you given me. Help me to be slow to speak and quick to hear what you are saying to me.
Amen, Renee!
Kimberly!!! Oh my GOODNESS!!! I cannot ever thank you for bringing all this to my attention. I am struggling so terribly with GLUTTONY! I am such a sinner BUT I AM SAVED BY GOD’S GRACE!!! PRAISE THE LORD ABOVE!!! I never knew gluttony was a SPIRIT! I have a nurse care manager that made me aware of this. Now…here I am reading your article about THE SPIRIT OF GLUTTONY! This is definitely an AFFIRMATION FROM THE LORD and GOD is using you as a vessel of communication and saving grace. Thank you from the bottom of my heart. I am turning AWAY and actually RUNNING AWAY from this way of life! I will be reading your articles and praying fervently to the LORD. AMEN! Thank you my sweet sister in CHRIST! ❤️❤️❤️❤️
You are welcome, Mar! The enemy wants us focused on our past sins, but we are NEW creations in Christ. With His help, He will show you the way to new life in Him. All praise to our Father for leading you here.
Thank you, Kimberly, for sharing your testimony. Your program “Take Back Your Temple Christian Weight Loss program is what I needed. For far too long, I was hiding behind my shame, guilt, depression, anger, fear, jealousy, and pain, to name a few. I didn’t know what to do until your product kept keeping up on my Facebook page. At first, I thought it was a gimmick for another weight loss program. Your page would constantly pop up. I did everything to ignore it until God stepped into the plan. Your articles and videos are right on time. I purchase your ebook. What an eye-opener for me! You have taught me in this journey how much the Heavenly Father loves us and He wants us to win! B.Thomas-L.A.-CA
Praise the Lord for your breakthrough, Bonita! Thank you for taking the time to give feedback about how our resources have helped you ❤
What a powerful analogy of 2 Corinthians 6:14! I will used this revelation as a guard over the “stinking thinking” that tries to overtake my thought life.
Fantastic, Sophia. I know you will receive abundant blessings bundled in God’s word!
Such like journeys. Such wisdom ,confirmation, encouragement, inspiration and truth. Sometimes feel alone in the battle, then I see a break in the fog and realize many victorious warriors are lined up beside me 🙂 victory is unfolding !!!
Amen, Lisa! We don’t fight alone because the Lord Himself is our banner that goes before us. It reminds me of this quote by Helen Keller, the blind and deaf author and lecturer.
Thank you!! I really appreciate this Word
You are welcome, Angela!
This is so very powerful. It speaks to exactly what I am going through and gives me a Way out of the darkness of depression and binge eating. I did not read this by accident. Thank you Sister Kim for your ministry!!
You are welcome, SP – I give God all the praise for the opportunity 🙂
Confusion is not from the Lord and I find myself “diet confused” Just when I start a plan some other “tid bit of diet wisdom” comes my way and I jump from one wagon to the other??? This has been going on for years. I have so much information about health and food in my mind that I am easily overwhelmed. Low fat, high fat, keto, weight watchers…………..on an on……..I keep wrapping the chains tighter around myself…………………….I long for total freedom………..yet I so want to be healthy.
Kimberly, I struggled with deep depression for most of my 70 plus years, but in the past decade it has been mild or absent except for recent discouragement with failed diet plans.
I have an anxiety disorder and have to often battle negative, sometimes terrorizing thoughts, but usually am able to fend them off. I also have social phobia and, though I make myself do social things in spite of the anxiety, I can’t seem to get to the bottom of where that comes from, or what thoughts are triggering the anxiety unless it’s an old tape I got from my home: “What will people think?” I try to care only what God thinks.
This article makes me realize that even though I fight all the negativity, I need to be more consistent in thinking positively. Especially now that I seem to be in a worse battle with food craving than usual.
I don’t binge eat in the sense of having to eat the whole bag of chips or chocolates anymore, but far too often find myself snacking.
I’m trying to follow a plan that emphasizes eating only when hungry and then only until satisfied. Just started and feeling somewhat hopeful even though I stumble a lot!
Thank you for your prayers. They mean so much.
I pray God gives you peace! That sounds hard to manage so I think the best thing to do in this case I remind yourself of God’s truths daily and nightly and as much as you can! Meditate on the word day and night. The battle is in your mind and the enemy knows if he takes that he can rule and ruin whatever he likes. I pray you find freedom through God’s word and the strength to stand each and every day stronger than ever before! You WILL make it through, God loves you and I do as well. Please be encouraged!
In the book Anger Management For Dummies Part 2, it states that anxiety is a form of anger.
Thanks Rosie – I’ve never heard that but may be worth exploring for those suffering from anxiety.