What's Eating You?

I recently picked up an old book titled The Power of Positive Thinking. There was a line in this small book that grabbed my attention. "Many people suffer poor health not because of what they eat, but from what's eating them."

Often it's not what's being put into our mouths that causes heartache in our lives, but why we are putting it in our mouths!

Mindless eating with no regard for hunger, eating out of boredom, frustration, or loneliness. Eating because we are angry with someone, or mad at ourselves. Eating to fill a void or emptiness that food seems to temporarily fill. Eating to get back at someone,or numb ourselves... The truth is that we were created with three types of hunger that function in our lives.

1. Body hunger is the natural function of the body to eat, be satisfied, and then need to eat again when hunger arises.
2. Emotional hunger is the need for certain emotional needs to be met. Love, companionship, respect, hope...are all examples of emotional needs we have that long to be comforted and addressed.
3. Spirit hunger is when our spirit needs to feed from God's love and His words to us through the bible, prayer, and fellowship with other believers.

When we stuff these types of hunger with food alone, we are starving the actual needs, and blindly stuffing food down as the false answer to all that we feel or desire. We eat instead of pray. Eat instead of believe for better things in our lives. Eat instead of feeling an emotion that is scary or has no quick resolve. Maybe we need to put the food down and actually feel our lives. Turn away from the refrigerator or mocha latte and pray. Food is meant to be enjoyed, but not to be a security blanket. Only God's love and assurance give that kind of security.

The Antidote to Fear

I once heard a speaker say that fear is the most powerful of all thoughts- with one exception, and that exception is faith. Faith always overcomes fear. Master faith, and you will master fear. I love the thought of mastering fear, because deep at the core of disordered eating, I think fear lies, rotting and growing, spreading like a fungus on a wet rock.
** fear of no self-discipline
** fear that you will loose control
** fear that you will stay trapped in behaviors you hate
** fear that food will stay in the "bully" realm of your mind
** fear that other people "get it" and you don't
** fear that God is irritated with you on this topic- or worse-doesn't care
The first time the word fear is mentioned in the Bible is when Adam and Eve are being pursued by God after they have done something they are ashamed of. They hid because they were afraid to face God.
Why do we run from the very one that comforts us?
If the antidote to fear is faith- then the question is how do we turn our defeated, fearful minds into minds that exercise faith rather than condemnation? Faith rather than destructive habits? Faith rather than the overwhelming fear that nothing will ever change in our lives?
I believe in the "plunger" method- and I've used this method repeatedly in my freedom walk with food. Like a plunger unclogs a stopped drain, so this method unclogs my fearful mind. Every time a fearful thought invades my mind I replace it with thoughts based on scripture such as:
"Let not your heart be troubled, believe in God, believe also in Me." Jesus(John 14)

"Peace I leave you; My peace I give to you- not as the world give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful." Jesus (John 14)

"Until now you have asked for nothing in My name; ask and you will receive, that your joy may be made full." Jesus (John 16:24)

Food has no power. It's just food. We give it the power to make us afraid.
May we plunge out the fear,and replace it with faith in a God bigger than what defeats us.