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.