Are you in a Deep Pit?

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Are you in a deep pit of despair after this Holiday Season?

Maybe you’ve read my posts through the Holidays and thought is was all great in theory, but it didn’t do you much good. Maybe you have been in a place in the past where you could make up your mind to spend time with God, exercise, and work towards your dream (as recommended in my previous post).  But maybe you just can’t do it right now.

I truly understand. If you’re in the pit of food struggles, and especially if you’ve been in the pit for a while, it’s not as easy to hoist yourself out of it. The sides are slippery and every time you make an effort to get out, you find yourself falling flat on your face.

  • You might have decided every day for the past month to stop eating sugar, just to find yourself reaching for those cookies right after breakfast!
  • You might have been crying lots of tears in the shower at night promising yourself that you will not eat one thing the next day, just to repeat the same cycle the next day!
  • Or maybe you’ve had pretty good days, but every night you start digging in the cupboards and find yourself eating ice cream straight from the freezer!

Listen, you’re not alone in this, it’s typical behavior for someone with a food struggle. This might not be your first time in this pit. Tasting victory and then falling back to where you were can be downright heart breaking. The worst part; it eats away at your faith. This falling-and-getting-up is in fact very common among people with food struggles such as compulsive overeating, binge eating, food addiction, or bulimia. It is simply due to the fact that the journey to healing can be slow and long and sometimes we just give up.

There is only ONE THING to do if you find yourself back in the pit: CRY OUT TO GOD! Not just daily in your quiet time.  MOMENT BY MOMENT!

I know, I know… you didn’t want to hear this, you’re looking for a plan. But trust me on this one please, I’ve been in the pit many times before in my life, and the only way I got out was to start crying out to God FIRST OF ALL.

  • When you’re in front of that freezer, cry out “God help me NOW!”
  • When you know you’re feeling emotionally frazzled and you’re not supposed to watch TV (which may very likely lead to binging) cry out “God help me do the right thing  PLEASE!”
  • When you’re in that grocery store and you’re loading your cart with junk food, cry out for help!!

When you’re in the pit the enemy would love nothing more than to keep you there. He’s not going to sit back and just let you climb out of it! You will have to put up a fight, and YOU NEED GOD TO FIGHT WITH YOU! You can NOT do it on your own.

When you decide to get out of that pit: Expect to be tempted severely! Don’t just read the Bible a little in the morning, but instead STRAP ON YOUR SWORD  which is the Word of God. In other words, carry note cards with Scripture wherever you go. Another idea is to put it on your mirror, your fridge, or inside your cupboards.

You may have to repeat this Scripture verse 20 times a day at first:
1 Cor 10:13 No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it (NIV)

GOOD NEWS: The temptations will not last if you keep resisting!
It’s in the Bible:  James 4:7  Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you (NIV)

It’s not easy to get out of a pit. You will need added support and prayer. My 12-week online program and forum is a great way to get this kind of support or get in contact with your pastor or a Christian counselor. You may also want to join an Appetite for Freedom group or start one at your own church. A great book that I can recommend is Beth Moore’s Get out of that Pit.

Whatever you decide to do: DO IT WITH GOD. Don’t shut Him out of your pit. Jesus is the Truth, the Way, and the Life. He will show you the way out of that pit if you keep calling out to Him.

Love, Heleen

Resources for you

NEW: INDIVIDUAL COUNSELING online or in Beaverton Oregon
Call Heleen at (503) 914-2749 or Schedule online: www.LifeSolutions.io

Click on the image below to learn more about the 12 Week Online Program: Women Struggling with Food

Read my story. Click on the image below to download my ebook: God will I ever be free?

Appetite for Freedom WORKBOOK and DVD.
A great resource for small groups or individual use.
Click on the image below to find out more:

8 thoughts on “Are you in a Deep Pit?”

  2. It is post was amazing…this is exactly where I am at. I was praying earlier today because I feel like I’m fatter than I’ve ever been before. I’ve been struggling with bulimia for 5 1/2 years, I’m 18 now. In high school I had to be homebound because of bulimia and I worked SO hard to get into College. This past Fall I started my freshman year of college but the bulimia came back full force and I had to drop out….I really feel broken right now but I’m trying to get back up and try again.

  3. Dear Shelby, I’m praying for you right now that God will give you courage and strength and wisdom, in your time of need. You are more than your weight, and you will get back into college with God\\\’s help. You are a child of God and His beautiful creation. God bless you and please read my testimony on the testimony page- I never thought I could live without purging, , but with the help of this website and faith in God’s promises, I’ve been healed. Don’t give up- keep on calling on the Lord.

  4. Thank you for your encouragement Heleen. You are right , the only way to overcome is to call out to God , he gives us so many chances to start again – I haven’t purged since starting this course in April 2009, but I was in a “funk” over Christmas. I was so down, because I was sick, and I didn’t make good choices, however, now that the stress of the holiday season is over, I am going to rest a little, pray alot and stop relying on myself. It’s it great that we have a God that is for us and not against us.

  5. I know that Christ died on the cross so that I can be in right standing with God. I know that God has a good plan for my life. I do not believe that it is God’s will that I be so mired in a lifelong struggle with food addiction. I’ve tried many solutions with temporary success followed by greater than ever failures every time. But the truth still remains.

    So I’m here, starting anew.

    I’ve written 1 Cor 10:13 & James 4:7 down on note cards. Through all the things I’ve tried in the past I do know the basics of nutrition, and reasonable portion size; so my prayer and plan is to continually look to God so I can come into the practice of good nutrition and portion size. God’s blessed me with finding some forms of physical activity that I enjoy, so that’s already become an almost daily part of my life (usually 5Xs a week).

    I’ll continue to take steps as He directs.

  6. I will be crying out to God all day from now on. I am going to carry 1 Cor 10:13 with me on a note-card and stand firm on His words. Thank you so much for your willingness to share your knowledge and guide me on this painful journey.

  7. I ate today and wasn;t hungry. I had about 3000 calories. It all started with 64 oz. of white grape juice which has 1,280 calories in it ( 160 per cup x 8 cups). Then I got tempted more from there. Is this a site that offers support for obedience in food? Just wondering.

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