Big Healing Book - I’m Sick Because I’m Fat! Can I Claim Healing?

I’m Sick Because I’m Fat! Can I Claim Healing?

God is merciful. I’m sure that there were some people in the crowds who were sick because they were overweight, yet Jesus healed them all. He healed every manner of sickness, which would include any sicknesses caused by being overweight. There is no question that healing belongs to everyone, including overweight people, because Jesus paid for it. The issue is to not keep making yourself sick by overeating! But don’t fall into the trap of thinking, “I did this to myself, so God is not willing to cure this physical problem I now have. It’s just what I deserve.” Jesus in His merciful compassion is not interested in seeing you get what you deserve. He gives us better than we deserve, thank God.

Even people who were sick through their own failings had the mercy of healing available to them even in the Old Testament (Psalm 107:17-20).

Actually, if you admit that you’re sick because you’re fat, you’re halfway to solving the problem because you’ve identified it. If you are willing to repent of overeating (gluttony), you open the door for physical healing. If you are going to pig out anyway, you’re just asking for more problems from which you’ll need to be healed. The same holds true for other sins such as drunkenness and fornication, which can also lead to disease. The Bible plan is to repent and then “Sin no more, lest a worse thing come upon thee” (John 5:14).

If you’re fat, you may need to ask yourself why you overeat, as many people overeat to compensate for emotional needs or even spiritual hunger. Spend more time communing with God and reading His Word and see if you don’t start getting more control over your appetite. When you’re satisfied on the inside, you won’t be looking to your refrigerator to experience satisfaction.

Fasting would be a good idea too; it is biblical and it will help you keep your flesh under. I was returning from a round of golf one day and for some reason my body kept screaming, “I want a Big Mac and I want it NOW!” I realized that my flesh was getting out of control, and I told my body, “You’re not getting a Big Mac – we’re fasting for the next day! And if you scream for a Big Mac at this time tomorrow, we’ll fast another day!” Those Big Mac cravings went away after less than a day of fasting.

If you are fat because of a chemical problem in your body, you can believe for healing from that. A woman who had a thyroid condition visited a church we pastored. Nothing her doctor tried seemed to help her lose weight. She was prayed over and lost 6 pounds that week. The doctor asked her what she did, and she replied, “I went to church!” The doctor actually told her, “Well, if I were you, I’d go back to that church!” On the other hand, if it’s not a chemical issue, you’ll just have to eat less and/or exercise more and put your flesh under like the rest of us.

I’ve dealt with weight issues and I don’t know of any “fad diet” (or even “Christian fad diet”) that has the answer. Avoiding weight gain while traveling and eating out is a particular challenge. The only thing that works for me is to eat less and/or eat lower-calorie meals and exercise more. Drinking water instead of other beverages has helped me save a lot of calories. I don’t know what will work for you, and I’m not here to give you medical advice. Everyone is different; you have to go with what works for you. I personally won’t do diet pills or other “weight-loss aids;” even 100% natural ones. Just because something is 100% natural doesn’t mean it’s good for you. After all, poison ivy and arsenic are 100% natural. Ads for some pills promise huge weight loss benefits, but the potential side effects they rattle off are staggering. I don’t want those side effects, and the only way to be sure I won’t get them is to not take those particular pills!

On the other hand, I know people who lost dozens of pounds with diet aids and didn’t have horrible side effects, so do what works for you.

I don’t believe that we have to go on an Old Testament diet, either, despite the regular appearance of new “Christian” (Jewish might be a better description) back-to-the-Law diet books.

To keep making yourself fat and keep claiming healing for weight-related problems is no different from smoking four packs a day while believing for healing from lung cancer or drinking a six-pack every other night while believing that God will heal your liver. It just doesn’t make sense. God is merciful, but He didn’t redeem you from natural laws. You may “get away with” more as a Christian, but our goal should not be to see how much we can get away with before we suffer ill effects. Through the Spirit we can put to death the deeds of the flesh (Galatians 5:16).

Ultimately, everyone has to make his own choice about healthy lifestyles. Is it worth spending 3 years’ worth of your waking hours in a gym if doing so will lengthen your life by an average of 6 months? If you knew that you could add 5 years to your life if you determined that you would never again eat chocolate or ice cream, and that instead you would unwaveringly follow some new life-lengthening Unflavored Gelatin Diet, would you choose the 5 years or the chocolate and ice cream? Different people will make different decisions, and Scripture doesn’t draw a firm line on how much of certain foods is too much. (I suppose that if you’re gaining weight, whatever you’re eating is “too much.”)

I’m not saying that you need to spend all your time on the latest fitness device between meals of tofu and kale over long-grain rice. I’ve met Christians who are more eager to “evangelize” people to the health food message than they are to win people to Christ, and that is a wrong priority. It can also be quite annoying.

If you make a reasonable effort to take care of yourself, the Word will cover anything that comes up. If you’re letting your flesh run away, put its deeds to death by the Spirit and make a reasonable effort to take care of yourself, which will put you in the first case.

Some time ago some silly people promoted “casting out calories” from their food. I hope that people have gotten some more common sense since then, because that practice never worked and never will work.

You have to find what works for you. If you’re having no serious health issues, I won’t try to get you to change whatever you’re doing and no one else needs to get in your face either. If you ARE having issues, it’s wise to see what you could change from a natural perspective to stop those issues. I knew a woman who was extremely overweight and had a horrible problem with diabetes. She took drastic action with her diet and got her weight back to normal, whereupon the diabetes stopped on its own.

Paul warned Timothy about the water in Ephesus when Timothy had recurring sickness issues (1 Timothy 5:23). Thus, avoiding getting sick in the first place through natural means is entirely biblical.

Keep such efforts focused on yourself or you could land in trouble. An obese person could be that way after taking prescribed steroids for a long time. The person could have a thyroid issue or some other physical problem. If you condemn the person as a glutton, you will not win any favor with him and you won’t be offering him any help for the real problem either.

Finally, keep the whole weight issue in perspective. Paul told Timothy that bodily exercise profits a little, but godliness is far more profitable (1 Timothy 4:7-8). I would have to conclude from that verse that keeping yourself full of the Word and fellowshipping with God is far more important than diet as far as your health goes.