When I came to the Weigh Down Ministry, my life was in ruins. I was miserable at work and appeared to be a great employee, but behind the scenes I always took care of my needs first. My children were disobedient and beginning to turn to the world just as my example had taught them. My marriage was failing as I prepared to leave my wife rather than face the consequences of my sin. I had heart full of lust. I would also turn to food anytime I was stressed out, tired, lonely, or angry. I was full of pride, stubbornness, hatred, anger, lust, greed, and honestly did not know what love was and if it even existed.
I was raised very legalistically, and as I applied this in my life, a legalistic diet of counting calories, avoiding certain foods, and trying to make the food behave began to take control of me. What a miserable way to live that was. I also applied this with other things in life like alcohol. I believed that alcohol wronged me earlier in life and therefore believed that the alcohol was the problem not me. As I turned to pornography and lust, I was full of projection and took no responsibility for my greedy, lust-filled and sinful heart.
Coming into the Weigh Down Ministry was so incredibly freeing. As I looked to God and His Spirit, He removed the burden in my life which my past sins had created. This message of truth has taught me that God is to be my everything and that He has to be my first love in life. I must seek God's approval in all things and that if I do, he will answer my prayers and needs. He began to answer small prayers which I had previously believed He wouldn't even care to hear. He even at times has answered my prayers and my heart’s desires before I had a chance to pray about it. He is such a personal God. His power, love, and mercy place me in continual awe.
Through the truth of the Weigh Down Ministry, God has set me free. He repaired my marriage to a better state than it ever was. I love my wife more than I can explain and will never look at another woman with lustful eyes again, nor do I even have the temptation anymore. I no longer have a heart full of anger, hatred, and projection. I have a soft heart full of abounding love and joy to share with all those around me. I have more patience with my children and my employees at work. I have become a better employee to my boss with my heart set fully on pleasing my boss at all times. After 8 years of avoiding alcohol and claiming that it was evil, I am now able to have an occasional drink without wanting more. The alcohol no longer controls me now that my heart of greed, hatred, and self will has been transformed to a heart of contentment, joy, love, happiness, and seeking of God's will.
Physically, God has removed 50 pounds of greed from my body. I feel so much healthier and am constantly told that I look like I am getting younger. My knees which seemed to be failing now seem to be healed. I had digestion issues and chronic stomach pain for over 20 years which I had tried to control through dieting and avoiding certain foods. I now can eat any kind of food I want within God's perfect boundaries, and I have no digestion issues or stomach pain anymore. All praise to our God Almighty!
Life inside God's boundaries is awesome! He gives back so much to us when we trust and obey. I truly do not have to greedily seek things in life, I can truly and contentedly enjoy it knowing that it was a very personal gift from God. My high places have been torn down and I no longer run to worthless, false, and self serving worldly idols. God is my only stronghold, my only addiction, and my only GOD! Thank you to Gwen Shamblin for her dedicated service to our God Almighty and for continually sharing God's word with us. I praise God for Weigh Down and for Gwen Shamblin as they have changed my life forever.
Ben Dudley