When women are bewildered and disheartened by their ongoing battle with overeating and overweight, I am actually encouraged that they are nearing that point of “I just can’t do this.” That’s the point! You can’t.
When Paul faced overwhelming pressures and hardships, he saw plainly the “why” of his experiences:
But this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead. 2 Corinthians 1:9b (NIV)
No, you haven’t been shipwrecked or imprisoned lately, but you probably have felt despair over repeated failures at “getting a handle on” your eating and weight. Why does this continue? Why can’t you just get over it? The reason is because God is teaching you that you have to rely on him, not on yourself, in every aspect of life.
As we abandon to God our agendas, our timelines, our goals, and even our long-cherished beliefs about how we should look, what we should weigh, and how “in control” we should be, we are freed to see his agenda more clearly, his eternal perspective and goals, and his beliefs about what he cherishes about each of us (and it’s not our appearance!).