A short while ago we had to change the lock on our front door. What we did not know, with the new lock, was that if we double turned the lock when it was open, it would close easily enough but it would then be impossible to open it again from the inside.  We learnt this the hard way – by finding ourselves locked in!  ‘Inconvenient’, you might admit, ‘but not the end of the world.’ True, but it is more than just inconvenient when you happen to live on the third floor of an apartment block! This Englishman’s ‘castle’ suddenly became a prison! We had to shout to a passer by to come and ring our bell so that we could first grant her access to the block, and then, when she came to our door, to pass her our house key through the letter-box, so that she could let us out! 

The incident gave me something to think about… We keep our doors locked for security – so necessary in our day and age – but what we had looked to for security had, in fact, become our prison! Maybe you can see where I’m going with this…

One of the reasons why some of us eat when we are not physically hungry is because it helps us to feel safe. For instance, if we are afraid of intimacy then we may feel that layers of fat help to ward off unwanted attention; if we are afraid of facing our pain, then eating helps us to keep our negative emotions buried. If we have been obese for so long that we have taken our identity from our shape and size, then –much as we may superficially long for a slender body – deep down we are ruled by our fear of the unknown and retreat into the ‘’security’ of our layers of fat. In each of these instances our security has become our prison!

When we were locked in our own home we were powerless to help ourselves, but when we cried out and voiced our need, someone came to our aid and set us free. The ‘someone’ who has the power to set you free from your prison of an obese body is none other than the Lord Jesus. He expressed His own calling in the words of the prophet Isaiah when he read: ‘The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He has anointed Me to …proclaim liberty to the captives; to set at liberty those who are oppressed.’ (Luke 4:18) He preached saying, ‘Whom the Son sets free shall be free indeed!’ (John 8:36)

Jesus is the One who can set you free.  He is your true security, not food. For us to be set free from our own home we had to trust another with the key. You are not a victim; you are in charge of your own destiny, so you can choose how to respond. You can keep picking at the lock with your futile self-efforts or you can put your trust in God and let Him open the door of your heart's need, come into your prison and set your free from your dependancy on food. Jesus is passing by your door right now - cry out to Him in prayer and let Him be the answer to your need.