God’s Promises Are YES and AMEN: How the Word of God Set Me Free from 40 Years of Food Struggles

He leads me by still waters....He restores my soul.

Where I’d Like to Begin:

I was recently asked by a peer coach if someone struggling with food and trauma can actually recover — truly heal — through coaching, counseling, or trauma work.

My answer?

Yes. Absolutely.But with this caveat:Only God’s Word could reach into the deepest places of my soul and bring the kind of transformation I needed.

I am living proof.

For over 40 years, I battled binge eating, body hatred, diet obsession, and shame. I had lost 100 pounds — and gained it back — more than once. I knew Jesus. I loved God’s Word. But I also hated myself. Hated the fact that I couldn’t seem to stop bingeing. Hated my body for being 100 pounds overweight. Hated the noise in my mind that never stopped shouting:**"You’re not enough. You’ll never change."

I doubted God. I doubted myself.My worth felt buried under decades of false starts and food failures.

The First Shift: Coaching + Thought Work

The breakthrough began when I started coaching with someone who taught me a radically simple idea:It’s not the food that’s keeping you stuck.It’s your thoughts.

That felt both liberating… and hard to swallow.

Who wants to admit that the stories you've believed for 50 years — about your body, your worth, your control — might be wrong?

But I began to shift.I started catching the thoughts that led to my shame cycles.I began practicing new beliefs.

The Deeper Work: God’s Word + Spirit-Led Surrender

Still, thought work only took me so far.

Even the best Christian weight loss Bible studies left me feeling like I couldn’t fully trust God or myself — because my proof of failure was everywhere. I had tried. And failed. And tried again.

When I'd lose a little weight, I’d double down. Restrict harder. Workout longer. Prove my worth.And then—one bad day, and I’d spiral back into food.

Was I too damaged to be healed?Was this my cross to bear?

But then, God’s Word started whispering a different truth:

“My thoughts are not your thoughts.”“You are fearfully and wonderfully made.”“Be transformed by the renewing of your mind.”

I realized that my own thinking was in the way of my healing.

Letting Scripture Become the Cornerstone

As I worked through trauma, emotional triggers, and eating patterns, I started hearing God more clearly — not in punishment, but in grace.

His promises weren’t just words on a page.They were alive.Personal.Powerful.

One verse became my anchor:

“All the promises of God in Him are YES, and in Him AMEN, to the glory of God through us.” – 2 Corinthians 1:20

Jesus fulfilled every requirement.And now, my job is simply to believe and say:“Amen. So be it.”

That’s not just theology.That’s transformation.

What I’ve Learned — and What I Now Teach

• God’s Word is not just inspiration. It’s instruction.

• Mindset work is powerful, but only when aligned with God’s truth.

• Shame loses its grip when grace becomes the guide.

• Every craving, every emotional spiral, every binge moment — can become a sacred space to pause and let God speak.

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This is the foundation of Rhythms of Grace.

A coaching approach rooted in truth.Transformed by grace.Led by Scripture.Anchored in compassion.

I invite my clients to lay their burdens down — and when they pick them back up (because we all do), we walk through it together.Not in striving.But in surrender.

If you’re weary of the cycle — the food, the shame, the fight — know this:God’s promises still stand.His ways are higher.His grace is enough.And in Jesus, the answer is already YES.

Let’s walk together in that rhythm.

Coach Shel

Copyright June 24, 2025