Do you have peace with your eating?
While it seems like a small question, it can have a big impact on your life! I once asked the question on my Take Back Your Temple page a while back:
Sadly, the answer was an overwhelming ”No.”
One reader described the issue eloquently:
”Kimberly, i need your advice. my goal is to have a NORMAL relationship with food. i want to be able to have cookies or whatever in my house and them not consume my thoughts. i just want to be normal and not have a bunch of food rules and restrictions, and no-nos. Given that God can do anything, why can’t he do this for me? i am not praying that i be able to eat a box of Oreos everyday, all i’m praying for is that i be able to enjoy God’s gift of food and not fear his gifts or feel like i can’t keep it in my house because i may “lose control.”
Being robbed of peace concerning food should never be acceptable to God’s people! After all, peace is part of our inheritance in Jesus:
Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.
– John 14:27
Jesus spoke these words of comfort to His disciples in the Garden of Gethsemane, before His eventual suffering and death at the cross.
Jesus left us peace through His Holy Spirit so that we can handle any troubles we would face in life.
Just as the Holy Spirit gave Jesus power to endure the cross and obey the Father’s will, so the Holy Spirit gives us power to overcome as we seek to do His will.
Now you may ask: What tribulation do you go through that can rob you of peace in eating?
I believe there are 2 robbers: A troubled brain and a fearful heart.
Jesus knew we, His disciples, would face tribulation in the world. So He gave us what we need to overcome the world!
A Troubled Brain
If any food has power over you, then that power arises from a troubled brain.
Think about the foods that you are lacking peace about and consider these questions:
- Do you have a tendency to overeat or binge on them?
- Does the food consume your thoughts?
- Are the foods causing health problems in your body?
- Do your eating habits make you feel guilty or ashamed?
- Do you feel a disconnect between the eating habits you know you should practice versus what you actually do?
Food addictions cause real changes to your brain. They hijack your brain’s reward circuits, which get re-programmed to support the addiction rather than God’s purpose for your life!
Ever heard of a computer virus or even virus that causes sickness in your body? A virus interferes with the system’s function, preventing it from functioning the way it was intended.
A food addiction is like a virus in your brain!
Would you tolerate a virus in your computer, your mobile device, or in your body without doing something about it? Of course not!
Food addiction is an intruder that must be destroyed.
Now you might say, ”Kim, destroyed is such a strong word! It’s not that bad. Can’t I just flirt with a little addiction?”
No! You see, the enemy is counting on that attitude because he knows that if you leave any opportunity for him to enter your life, he can get a foothold.
But he won’t stop with that foothold; he wants a stronghold, a base of operations in your brain.
From this base of operations, the enemy can accomplish his real mission, which is what Jesus warned us about:
The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.
– John 10:10
To bring peace to a troubled brain requires honesty with yourself about which foods hijack your brain and the desire to pursue healing from food addiction.
That will free you up so that you can get on with your Father’s business – sharing the gospel with lost people who need salvation!
Freedom also requires:
- Substituting addictive foods in your diet with foods that heal your brain
- Patience to take lying thoughts captive to the obedience of Christ
- The willingness to endure the discomfort of change as the virus is de-activated and your brain circuits re-programmed to return to God’s original purpose for them.
That last one is very important because the enemy’s trump card is fear of death. He may make you feel that you are going to die without the addictive substance in your life.
But you will not die, but live and declare the works of the Lord. Speak that truth according to Psalm 118:17 and repeat it as often as necessary.
Don’t give up fighting that virus.
When the virus speaks to you, it is really the voice of the enemy talking to you. Submit to God and resist the enemy.
According to James 4:7, the enemy must flee!
A Fearful Heart
Fear can take away your peace with eating because fear itself is torment. Another word for torment is torture:
There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love.
– 1 John 4:18
Typically when food and fear are linked, it means that you fear what will happen if you remove that addictive food from your life.
You fear how you will feel because you’ve come to believe that the food meets an emotional need that you can’t get any other way.
The enemy deceives you into thinking that you can’t handle life without it.
It is that belief that robs you of peace because if you believe that lie, then you are in bondage to that lie.
The enemy doesn’t want you know the truth – that God has loves you, has great plans for you, and that you can handle any life situation with His help!
Here is an illustration I love that illustrates a powerful Spiritual truth:
What can keep us in bondage is unwillingness to make the trade that God asks us to make!
The Lord wants to give us so much more than that for which we settle.
Pray and ask Him to give you a new heart and mind in this matter, plus a vision of food freedom – enjoying foods, but deny it power over you.
If you lack peace in your eating, refuse to accept that as your lot in life. Jesus has overcome the world and when you are in Him, you are an Overcomer too!
Will you trust Him in this area and walk with Him as you pursue your healing day-by-day? That is the path to true healing.
Be Blessed with Health, Healing, and Wholeness,
Kimberly Taylor
Author/Christian Life Coach of the Take Back Your Temple Weight Loss Community
P.S. Do you struggle with overeating sugar? If so, you are not alone!
Overcoming sugar addiction was a key factor on my weight loss journey; I lost 85 pounds and dropped from a size 22 to an 8.
In our 14-day Sugar Detox Challenge online course (inside the Take Back Your Temple Community), you’ll get the same success strategies and support to gain peace in your eating habits and achieve lasting weight loss.
Click here to learn more about the Take Back Your Temple Christian Weight Loss Community.
I appreciate the wisdom in this study. Thank you
Praising God with you for His truth, Kirsty! 🙂