Overcoming “The Body that FEAR Built”

I had a stressful week and have been battling with its physical symptoms as a result. This morning, I prayed to God, "Lord, I know the enemy is taking advantage of this situation. He is trying to keep me from doing the things you've told me to do." Then I heard the voice of the Holy Spirit answer me with this: "He has no power to stop you. You take authority over the enemy." The Spirit brought James 4:7 to mind:

Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you."

It's my responsibility as a Believer in Jesus to submit to God and resist the devil. However, this world's default is the opposite. Their attitude is: "Submit to the devil and resist God!" They do not know that faulty programming is designed to make a person self-destruct. Unfortunately, some Believers still operate according to that old self-destructive programming. I used to be like that. I binged on high-fat, high sugar foods to numb myself to the pain of negative thoughts and toxic emotions. I was running scared from my own life, running away from pain from the past and the uncertainty in the present. But in doing that, I was sacrificing the glorious future God had for me. In my case, my body at that time was the “body that fear built.” I once read an accurate mnemonic for fear: F.E.A.R:

• Forget Everything And Run

However through God's grace, I learned that focusing on God's love is the power that casts out fear. Although I have learned a lot in this area, this week I realized that I still have much to learn and practice! Here are two fundamentals of victorious living, according to James 4:7: 1. Submit to God. I think of submission as "under the mission." You recognize that you are living in service to a cause greater than yourself. Submission is a wise choice when you believe in your heart that God loves you and has good plans for you. Do you believe that? Otherwise, you will take on an identity like a rebellious teenager in your relationship with God. In that identity, the person believes God is unjust, taking something away from them that they want and need desperately to live. So, they decide to ignore God's instructions. After all, they know better than Him! But hear Jesus' loving heart in Luke 13:34 when speaking about Jerusalem: "How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, but you were not willing!" The Father's arms are stretched out, desiring for His people to come to Him. But many of us run away out of fear because we believe the enemy's lies. That is why you must renew your mind to God's word and learn the truth of who He is and your identity in Him. You are accepted in the Beloved. When you believe that truth in your heart, you will be willing to submit to God and His good plans for you. 2. Resist the devil. Ah, now this is our continuing battle as long as we are in these bodies. In addition to renewing your mind, you need to make a straight path for your feet to remove any stumbling blocks in your way. The Bible says that the enemy's trump card is holding the fear of death over our heads. That's what he is doing to someone who believes they cannot live without a particular food or habit. However, Jesus has taken that card away from him:

"Inasmuch then as the children have partaken of flesh and blood, He Himself likewise shared in the same, that through death He might destroy him who had the power of death, that is, the devil, and release those who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage (Hebrews 2:14-15)."

Consider this: Suppose you did die from resisting the cupcake that hijacks your brain, where would you go when you died? If you are a believer in Christ, then you'd go to Heaven right? The reality is that it is unlikely you will die; the worst thing that would happen is experiencing the physical tension that comes from mental resistance, which only lasts a few minutes. To give yourself a reality check about suffering, consider Jesus as advised in Hebrews 12:3-4:

For consider Him who endured such hostility from sinners against Himself, lest you become weary and discouraged in your souls. You have not yet resisted to bloodshed, striving against sin."

I don't know about you, but in my experiences resisting the enemy, my resistance has never come to bloodshed. When fear tries to come upon you, whether through stress-related symptoms or fear in resisting temptations, remember that you have authority over the enemy through Jesus. Submit to God, resist the devil and he will flee! Be blessed with health, healing, and wholeness, Kimberly Taylor Author/Christian Life Coach of the Take Back Your Temple program P.S. When it comes to weight loss, do you often know what you should do but have a hard time doing it? I struggled with this issue on my own weight loss journey, but I discovered that “Nothing is different until you think differently.” The value of the Take Back Your Temple program is that you will learn how to think differently through using Biblical keys to overcome obstacles. You’ll discover how to win the Spiritual and mental battle that often causes us to become inconsistent and get off-track on our weight loss journey. Join a community of like-minded Christians losing weight and keep it off. Click here to learn more about the Take Back Your Temple program