For so many of us, food has become more than nourishment for our bodies. I’m preaching to myself here, people! Sometimes it is the feel-better go-to when we are lonely, depressed, disappointed, angry, tired, worried, anxious, feeling forgotten … you fill in the blank. It might be a different feeling for you. And it might be a different substance for you – something besides food. #food #substance #feelings
It is important to recognize if food, or something else, has been transformed from a healthy part of life to an unhealthy coping mechanism that deprives of real peace. (Illicit substances are rarely, if ever healthy under any circumstances, but that’s another topic for another day.) #coping
Because the truth is, if we are not eating to fuel our bodies, we are using food (or whatever thing you’ve chosen) as a cheap substitute for the substance -- the nourishment -- we really require.
Our cravings lie though. They tell us comfort will be found in food, gadgets, pills, alcohol, relationships, and other things that leave us wanting and feeling broken. #cravings
That’s right our cravings lie. Think about it. Did that extra helping of pie create lasting peace for you? Did that supersized order of fries make you feel less alone? Did that diet pill ease your disappointment? Did that drink (or several) change your feelings of loneliness and instantly make you feel loved and accepted? Did it last, or did you wake up the next day still feeling the same empty feelings and cravings?
My guess is, if we stop letting our cravings lie to us, the answer to all but the last question is no. After the initial satiated feeling, guilt or remorse kicked in. We step on the scale in the morning and notice it has ticked up a couple of notches – and that’s not the goal we’ve been aiming for. Agh … failure. Again. We realize that the false hope of the diet pill or alcohol faded as quickly as the effects. And sometimes those placebos come with unpleasant after-effects.
There’s only one way to achieve real healing. Only one thing that will dash despair every single time without a guilt or remorse hangover. #healing #nohangover
John 4:32 (NLT), “But Jesus replied, ‘I have a kind of food you know nothing about.’”
And He was not talking about cake. If you’re confused, you are not alone – His closest followers were as well – they thought he was talking about not being hungry for food.
He was not implying he didn’t need to eat food. The next few verses (read them for yourselves) reveal what He meant. It is deeply soul satiating to be connected to the Father; to know and do His will. To sit in His presence and bask in His endless, perfect love. To live out the Purpose He designed specifically for you. #perfectlove #satisfying
Verse 34 in the New Living Translation says (Jesus speaking) “My nourishment” comes from doing what God desires. According to a quick google search, nourishment, in the Oxford dictionary, is defined as “food or other substances necessary for growth, health, and good condition”. #nourishment #health #growth
So, growth, health and good condition come from doing what God desires.
The real antidote to loneliness, depression, disappointment, anger, weariness, worry, anxiety, and feeling forgotten is a deep, abiding knowledge of who God is, knowing who He says you are. The real antidote comes from doing what God desires and living in relationship with Him -- and seeking that connection to Him when those negative human cravings, emotions, and cognitions try to lie to us with false hope. Not perfectly, but purposefully.
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