I could really use some insight!

I just received an email from one of the ministers at my church who leads the Fit For The Kingdon ministry. She feels very strongly that WLS is not the will of God and that if I would only sacrifice my will totally to Him, then the Lord will delivery me from this weight without surgery. She strongly Believes in the Weigh Down principles as they have worked for her and many others. For the first time, I am feeling guilty about my choice. I need to know how to respond to her inquiries. I do not believe Weigh Down is for me. I did try the program for a year. I will admit that it was difficult for me to sacrifice my will when it came to food espcecially. But in the last 18months, I have done just that. I increase my exercise level and made healthy changes to my eating habits and my lifestyle. I have barely lost the required 20 lbs for the surgery. That has been extremely frustrating for me. My question is this: why would God have provided the surgeons the knowledge to perform such a life-altering procedure if it was not part of His plan ; a plan to offer hope to people like me who have tried to follow the Lord with all of my heart? I refuse to believe that this surgery is not pleaseing to God. Am I wrong here? Please be as open and honest as possible. Don't sugar coat your answers. I want the raw truth and I value your opinion. In His Love, Cara

HI Cara, I just wanted to tell you some people will have that look on weight loss surg. Exspecially people of weigh down groups. I did weigh down and I lost 90lbs on it for the moment it worked for me but it never brought diliverance for me. I also know that God is not sending us to hell for one bite to much and the program promotes that, There is know grace in that program I was a coordinator and I know all the ends an out of it. I belive God can use anything to bring deliverance to us it says also in scripture that if your eye offends you pluck it out in a sense this wls is pluking your eye out in one fell swope you are removing the bondage of over eating and glutny . The enamy does not want us to be free are weight has been such a good tool for him to use on us. If you belive God is leading you to surgery then do what he says I belive that God provides surgins with knowledge to bring health God also does miricales and gives what we need to be free what ever form it comes in. This surgrey is a big deal its not the easy way out it takes work and pain .There can be complications and so many(mental) things you just dont think about. I think sometimes also its hard to know for sure if it is God leading us because we get stuff mixed up in what we want and he wants, but if Our heart is to do what he wants and be a good keeper of your temple and Get FREE! He will be there with you. Some times you just have to jump. This surgery is bringing so much Health and life to people. You have to do the work though. alot of people will be negative and you have to ask God for wisdom on who to share with about it. Weigh down people are not the right ones . Love in Christ,Liz P.s. I gained all my weight back from what I lost on weigh down I got up to 310lbs. I had the surgery on march 10/2006 I'm doing great and feel good.

Hi Cara, I heard a lot of the same comments that you have. However, I prayed and prayed for years to lose weight. I couldnt. Yet, I developed diabetes, high blood pressure, and didnt want to die. I know God would not have wanted me to leave my 8 year old daughter an orphan. I had WLS on 2/20, and it has been hard. But I know God allowed me to be blessed enough to have this surgery because he wants me healthy to take care of my family. God is pleased when we are feeling our best. How can we truly praise him when we are totally miserable. I know secretly I used to resent God because how come he could not help me lose the weight I needed to. Yet, he provided a way, and I know this was his way. As of today, I am 6 weeks out, and I have lost 28 lbs, which is 10 percent of my body weight. I am so happy, I am able to put my wedding band on again, and I feel so Good, that now when I praise God my tears are not from being unhappy begging him to help me, but to truly thank Him for providing a way for me to be able to be free. Cara, I pray that God will give you peace, and remember sometimes we have to shut our ears because if God dosent want you to have this surgery believe me you are his child, he can speak directly to your heart. Love in Christ Denise

God bless you Cara, I know that God said yes to me regarding the surgery. He has blessed every step of the way and every day. I was approched by two sisters in the Lord. Telling me that it was no way, God's will for me to have the surgery. It was in interesting encounter. Both ladies were large. One was at least 200 lbs overweight, with a walker and she was under 60 years old. She couldn't even walk. It was obvious that her weight was killing her. Both said that my faith was not great enough, that if I believed that God could do anything. Of course He can. I said, but I have tried everything including Weigh Down and can't manage my weight. I told them very firmly and lovingly that I knew the voice of the Lord and that I would never go outside His will for my life and that I was very sure that I had His full blessing. This is something very personal, very private and very much between you and the Lord. I pray that you will hear His voice, that you will have confidence in your relationship with Him to know His voice. If you get His blessing hold on tight to it, cling to it and don't let anyone that it away! He wants us whole, body, soul and spirit. I pray for completed healing for you. I have chosen to abstain from sugar in my life permanently. Weigh down never worked for me. I can not have just one M&M. Millions of us can't have just one!!!! I have to accept that sugar is an addiction for me and I can't allow it back in my life. I have no food cravings now and I thank God everyday for the victory I am experiencing. God has used doctors and medicine to heal us from polio, and thousands of other things. No one would try and talk you out of open heart surgery if your heart needed it. That would be outrageous. Why does everyone think that the have right to tell you that this surgery is wrong!! I don't want to talk you into the surgery. I just want to encourage you to press into God and don't let other, well meaning people rob you of a chance at healing your body and freeing you from obesity if you believe this is right for you. God bless you with His peace, His presence and His leading. J. Marie

Hi Cara, Whenever this question comes up I give the same answer. I have it saved in my computer for easy reference. I hope it helps you. If you are looking for Biblical answers to your questions, God gave us the answers. God doesn't make mistakes. What He did do was give us free choice. Most of us have not used that free choice very well. The Lord always provides a way out. In the case of obesity he provided the knowledge of W.L.S. in the medical community. If you still are having doubt's, then please Pray about it, and Read Matthew 5:29. Then read Matthew 18:9. Then perhaps you could read starting at Mark 9:43 which says(and I quote from the N.I.V.) "and if your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life maimed than with two hands to go into Hell, where the fire never goes out. And if your foot causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life crippled than to have two feet, and be thrown into Hell. And if your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than to have two eyes, and be thrown into Hell, where "their worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched"." Now the Bible is telling us that if our body part's are causing us to sin then we should cut them off, or pluck them out. Is that fair to say? Yes. We as S.M.O., M.O., and obese people Are using our stomach's for sin (the sin of gluttony), therefore we should cut them off. That is what we are doing through our surgeons. Right? So what I say is ~If your stomach causes you to sin ~ cut it off, It is better to enter into life with a pouch, than than have a giant stomach and be thrown into Hell. I hope this helps. God bless you, Annette

I can so relate to your dilema Cara. Being aministers wife myself, I faced the same criticism and guilt. But the more i prayed, the more the Lord seemed toprovide the answers. First, how can anyone else know the will of God for another person? That is a personal thing, between you and Him alone. I faced the remarks about "altering your body that God made", but where were these same people when I "altered my body" for tubal ligation, gall bladder surgery, foot surgery, tonsilectomy, heart surgery and hysterectomy? Is it really the fact that they dont have the courage to take this route to healing that we have chosen, thus they feel convicted because there is an answer and they refuse to accept it? When I prayed about the surgery, I told the Lord, if this is not your will, let me not be approved by my insurance and I will accept that. I was approved in 6 hours. I asked again, if it is not Your will, let them find a reason in all the pre op testing..they found absolutely nothing and all my doctors were thrilled for me that I was a candidate. I had my surgery with no ill effects at all. At the time, I could no longer kneel to pray, could hardly breathe or walk. Today, 98 pounds thinner, I can do anything. I am more involved in the work of the kingdom than I ever have been. My only regret is that I had to wait till I was 59 years old to feel this good. but even in that, He has perfect timing. Its all part of His plan...after all, He said iin Jeremiah 29:11, "I know the plans I have for you...plans to give you a future and a hope..." and that is exactly what He has done through this surgery. God bless you, have a great day!

I agree with many of the previous writers. God loves you and wants the best for you. He wants you to have Joy. He wants you to have peace. He wants you to be 100% devoted to Him, but he does not want you to suffer unnecessary pain. Jesus died to forgive us our sins, if WLS is a mistake God will forgive us, but he is most likely to intercede and prevent it from happening. If we pray and turn this decision over to the Lord, he will decide for us. If we have given Weight Loss our best try without success, even if others condemn, he will not. Trust the Lord he will tell you if this is wrong. In my case I looked into the surgery a year and a half ago. I was very uncertain and going through ALOT of very stressful events. I decided to have the Psych Eval, thinking that due to past history with depression, I would not be a good candidate. I was wrong, I passed the Psych Eval. I still felt uneasy, so I prayed about it and completed most of the paperwork for my surgeons. It was then that the Lord interceded. I prayed again and had this extreme sense of darkness and foreboding over the surgery. I set the paperwork aside and waited a few weeks, I still felt the same. I decided to wait thinking that I would die or something, and that I must have something wrong with me that only God knew about. Now, looking back, I believe that the Lord knew that at that time, I was not able to make the changes needed in my life to be successful. I was just on too much of a roller coaster, with Divorce, Job Loss, etc..., so much so that I might actually have ended up doing some harm. I had completely put the option of WLS out of my mind, when He brought it back. At Thanksgiving I found out a friend had had WLS 3 years ago. I had no idea. But on top of that I had an urging, that I knew came from Him. I know He set-up our Thanksgiving plans, so that His will for me would be revealed. I also prayed that if I was mistaken, that if this was not right for me that He would take it away. That has not happened. Everything has gone very smoothly, and every time I have a doubt, someone steps forward to give me encouragement. The only thing that did happen is that I got postponed due to getting Strep. In retrospect even that was a blessing, as I was able to finish the moving into our new townhome, instead of leaving the last of the move to others to deal with, and now I will be more rested next week when my surgery date comes. God Bless You in your decision. I used to doubt that WLS was for anyone rational. Now I understand that WLS is a gift for those who are losing the weight loss battle. Let God show you His will. He will! Love in Christ! Heidi L-S