Wouldn’t it be nice if we could control the people and circumstances that are hurtful to us and find a way to avoid pain? Unfortunately, none of us has that kind of control. We do encounter painful situations. We also have to live the lives we have, and through a personal relationship with Jesus Christ we can enjoy our lives, whether all our circumstances suit us or not.
Even though we cannot control the circumstances that affect us, we can control what we put into our bodies. No doubt some of the things we eat, drink, or inhale give us temporary pleasure, comfort, or relief from the emotional pain we feel. Some people put alcohol or drugs into their bodies to try to feel better; others use food for the same purpose.
Most people know about alcohol and drug addictions. But people can just as easily become addicted to food, and food addictions do not carry the same stigma as these other things. Unlike those vices, food has a legitimate—even essential—role in health. Only when it slips into overuse does it become a problem. But getting to that point is really easy.
Food is reliable. Unlike some spouses, friends, or great weather, food is always there. And that’s the problem. Anytime we feel emotional pain or spiritual emptiness, whether through sadness, depression, or boredom, we can easily reach for food to numb the pain or fill the void. Before long we mistake our spiritual hunger for physical hunger, and food becomes our immediate solution when we have problems such as not feeling loved, wanted, or confident. The more people try to treat spiritual longings with food or other “feel good” substances, the greater their souls’ cry for spiritual nourishment will be and the greater their discomfort or dis-ease will be.
Thankfully, we have another source of comfort that is always there when we need it. Unlike junk food or drugs, it does not leave people overweight, sick, or lethargic. It doesn’t even cost anything. That something is God. He is called the “Father of sympathy (pity and mercy) and the God [Who is the Source] of every comfort (consolation and encouragement), who comforts (consoles and encourages) us in every trouble” (2 Corinthians 1:3-4).
When I hurt, I have learned to run to God first instead of to another person or to a substance. It took me years to learn to do this, and I still sometimes have to remind myself under certain circumstances that what I really need is spiritual nourishment. Developing this habit has been very good for me and it will be for you too. It will do more to keep your mind and body sound and your life on an even keel than anything I know. Your spirit needs nourishment just as your body does. I encourage you not to wait until you have a crisis in your life to start feeding your spirit and to make a decision today to grow in your spiritual health and strength, just as you are improving your physical well-being.
Today more people than ever before are spiritually malnourished. Too many things in our society distract people from the things of God and encourage them to concentrate on material life instead. People get caught up in making money to buy bigger homes and spiffier cars or to keep up with the latest trends. Families are less likely to live close together, which removes another important spiritual support structure. Time for church and religious matters, even spending peaceful time in nature, gets pushed aside by busy schedules and entertainment. The quiet voice of God gets drowned out by the constant drone of the television set or by excessively trying to keep up with Facebook friends.
I am certainly not immune to the temptations I have mentioned. I live my daily life in the spiritual realm, but I have a job running an international ministry and that can leave me just as exhausted as other people’s jobs can leave them. Those of us in the ministry have committed to lay our lives down to serve others, and we gladly do so, but that does not mean it is easy or exciting every single day. I have to stick really close to God to keep my spirit nourished and to draw my enthusiasm from Him.
No matter what people do for a living or what they feel their calling is in life, everyone needs to stick close to God. He is the only one who can give us the comfort, relief, and strength we need. If we try to fill our need for God with anything else, including food, we will continue to feel empty and dry. Many addictions come from being spiritually hungry. Even food addictions may actually be rooted in spiritual issues, not in any sort of physical hunger. Some of the classic signs of food addiction are the following:
If you have identified a lack of spiritual nourishment in your life, why would you want to fix it? What good would it do to get the spiritual food you need? How could growing spiritually help you kick an addiction? Let me explain.
If you have a rich spiritual life, you will be satisfied with the moments and experiences of your life and will not need to supplement those moments with any kind of food. Think about it. When you walk through a field on a summer night and see the fireflies, isn’t that a fulfilling moment? When you hold your new baby or grandbaby for the first time, that is a rich, fulfilling moment. You do not even think, It’s nice to hold this baby, but I would feel better if I had a donut. No, you are in awe and you are completely satisfied, maybe even overwhelmed with joy. That moment is complete in itself; you need nothing else.
When you receive the spiritual nourishment you need, you will be thoroughly and deeply satisfied. All your moments will be complete and you will not need to supplement them. You will not feel that you lack or crave anything, and you will have no problem eating and drinking only what your body really needs.
1. Be Honest
The first step to receiving God’s love and true fulfillment is to stop denying to yourself (or others) that your problem is a spiritual one. You cannot lie to God anyway, so why bother trying to deceive yourself? For years I was addicted to cigarettes, but I told myself I kept smoking to stay thin; I did not admit to myself that I was addicted to nicotine. Truth is the way to spiritual fulfillment and freedom, and now is the time to start. If you need to, admit to yourself that your spirit is not getting what it needs from life. Once you do, God will show you how to change that.
Some questions that will help you be honest with yourself: Who are you? Do you love and accept yourself? What are your core values? Do the things in your life—the people, your job, and so on—support those values, or do they keep you separated from your true self? Try to identify the sources of the emptiness that drives you to eat, smoke, drink alcohol excessively, or overwork. What imbalances are these things creating in your life? What can you do to start filling those empty areas with activities or people that will help feed your spirit and connect you with God?
Doing things you know are wrong is a big source of depression and discontentment. Ask God to help you be honest with yourself and with Him as you begin breaking the power of addictions in your life and finding your fulfillment and joy in Him instead of in other things.
2. Ask
God loves you very much and wants to help you, but He also wants you to ask for His help. A man once told me that when he feels overwhelmed, he lifts one hand toward Heaven and says, “Come help me, Jesus.” That really helps him. We all need to realize God hears the faintest cry of our hearts. We can stop trying so hard to do everything on our own and ask Him for help.
The next time you are tempted to eat because you are upset or sad, say “no” out loud. Then go sit quietly for a moment and ask God to help you in your situation. You will be amazed at how much difference asking makes.
God’s grace is always available to partner with our choice, and He responds to our sincere requests for His help. As we choose to do what is right and lean on Him to give us strength, His power enables us to follow through and experience victory.
3. Crowd Out Bad Habits
Bad habits need room to operate. Not much—they’re pretty clever—but we can learn to give them no place to take up residence in our lives. One good strategy for keeping bad habits at bay is to recognize what your temptations are and then set up your life in such a way that they have no room to operate. Fill your life with so many positive, spiritually reaffirming things that there is no room for anything else. Praying regularly about temptations and not waiting until you’re tempted is wise, and an aggressive battle plan. Jesus said we should pray that we “come not into temptation.” He didn’t say to pray that we would never be tempted. Temptation is part of life, but aggressive praying can keep it from overwhelming us.
4. Support Programs
Breaking the habit of anesthetizing your spiritual hunger with food or other substances can be really tough. Many people find the road easier if they have the support of a group of people who have been there, can identify with how hard it is, and are trying to walk the same path. Several good programs are available throughout the country to help people break their addictions. They teach people to admit that without God they are powerless over the addiction, to believe that only God can restore them to health, and to make the decision to turn their will and life over to His care. Not everyone is comfortable finding spiritual nourishment through groups, but many who were skeptical at first have found success this way. If you find yourself struggling alone for a breakthrough, give a group a try.
5. Give It Some Time
Instant success rarely happens, so don’t plan on it. When you first separate from a destructive behavior, you will feel there is a void in your life. You have become so used to wrong behavior as a part of your daily existence that you do not quite feel like yourself once it’s gone, even if you know you are better off.
Don’t worry. Change is always rough at first. As you may have heard, breaking a bad habit takes about 30 days. Focus on the good habit you are forming instead of the bad one you are breaking. Commit fiercely to success, but love yourself no matter what happens. You will have some slips, but you will have more successes. If you maintain faith in God and believe that you can do it, suddenly a day will come, perhaps weeks later, when you realize that things are much easier for you. You no longer consciously have to try so hard. You have curbed your spiritual hunger at last and broken the addictive cycle in your life.
Which of the five actions in this key will you take to curb your spiritual hunger and get your spiritual needs met? Write them down, commit to them, and start today.