Have you ever wondered, Does God really care about my relationship with food? Isn’t He more concerned with bigger, more spiritual things? If you’ve ever felt this way, you’re not alone.
In this episode of What’s God Got To Do With It?, we’re tackling a topic that hits closer to home than most of us realize: our relationship with food—and why God cares about it.
This isn’t a conversation about diets, calories, or “good” vs. “bad” foods. Instead, we’re digging deeper to explore how your relationship with food is tied to your beliefs, emotions, and self-image—and how those things affect your connection with God.
In this episode we talk about:
Why God cares about your struggles with food and body image.
How guilt, shame, and control can weigh down not just your body but your spirit.
Steps to invite God into this area of your life and find freedom through His grace.
With Scripture, personal stories, and practical steps, this episode is your invitation to lay down the chains of guilt, shame, and perfectionism and walk into the peace and freedom God has for you.
HOST: Leanne Ellington // StresslessEating.com // @leanneellington
To learn more about Leanne, head over to www.LeanneEllington.com, and to share your thoughts, questions, feedback, or guest suggestions instantly, head on over to www.WhatsGodGotToDoWithIt.com.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:08):
If you want to go on a journey. If you're skeptical,
don't worry not. Here a preaching to keep it clean
and talk to me and reclose where faith needs falls nature,
get in touch with your creator with a bacon, love
and jun She even speaks Hebrew.
Speaker 2 (00:27):
What's that got to do?
Speaker 1 (00:31):
What's that? Well sabosation, hil talking transformation?
Speaker 2 (00:41):
What's that?
Speaker 1 (00:42):
Gonzo?
Speaker 2 (00:44):
Hey? Hey, and welcome back to What's God got to
do with it? It is I Leanne Ellington, and today
we're diving into a topic that I think hits closer
to home than most of us realize. And we are
talking about food. And before you roll your eyes or
think like, oh no, here we go another conversation about
diets and calories and whether klee is better than cupcakes,
(01:06):
let me just stop you right there. This is not
that conversation. Instead, we're going to talk about something far
more meaningful, your relationship with food and more importantly, why
God cares about that relationship. And let me ask you this.
Have you ever wondered does God really care about what
I'm eating or how I feel about my body? Like?
Isn't he more concerned with bigger, more spiritual things and
(01:30):
if you've thought that before, you are so not alone.
I used to think the same thing, and I used
to believe that food was my problem and my burden
to solve, like something that didn't matter to God. But
what I've learned on my own journey is this is
that God cares about all of you, and he cares
about your heart and your mind and your soul and yes,
(01:50):
even your relationship with food. Because food isn't just about
fuel or what's on your plate. It's tied up with
your beliefs and your emotions and your habits that shape
how we see ourselves and how we interact with the
world aka our identity, and those things they affect your
faith walk and your connection with God and your ability
(02:11):
to live in the freedom that he's promised you that
He's promised all of us. So let's start with the
big question, why does God care about your relationship with food? Well,
the short answer is because He cares about you, and
so in firse Corinthians ten thirty one, Paul writes, so
whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do
(02:31):
it all for the glory of God. And this verse
is such a simple yet profound reminder that even the
smallest actions like eating or drinking can be a way
to honor God. But here's the thing. How can we
honor God with our relationship with food if that relationship
is tangled up with guilt or shame, or stress or struggle,
(02:51):
or if it makes us feel like I can't bring
this to God. There's too much shame there. And so
God created you as a whole person, mind, body, spirit,
and all of those parts are interconnected. And so if
your relationship with food is causing pain or stress, it's
not just affecting your physical health, it's spilling over into
your emotional health and your spiritual health and even how
(03:14):
you see yourself in the eyes of God. And as
you've heard me say before, I call this the weight
of the weight. And so when I talk about the
weight of the weight, I'm not talking about the number
on the scale or the size of your genes. I'm
talking about the emotional and spiritual weight that we carry
when we're stuck in an unhealthy relationship with food in
(03:35):
our bodies. And you know what I mean, Like that heavy,
rusty chain of guilt when you eat something air quotes
off plan or the shame that creeps in when you
look in the mirror, or the constant nagging voice that
whispers you are not enough, You're not doing enough. You're
not you know, perfecting this enough. You're not on plan enough.
And I carried those chains for years, and let me
(03:56):
tell you, they just didn't weigh down my body. They
weighed down my spirit. And they robbed me of my
joy and my peace and my ability to connect with
God in the fullness of who he called me to be.
And you better believe it. And you know it kept
me from connecting with others. And isn't that exactly what
the enemy wants? Right? Like John ten Ten tells us,
the thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy.
(04:20):
I have come that they may have life, and have
it to the full. But how can we live that
abundant life if we're constantly at war with ourselves? And
so for years, my relationship with food was a toxic
and mean spirited battleground. And I was constantly swinging between
extremes like the obsessive dieting one minute and then the
(04:40):
emotional overeating the next. And I tell myself this time
will be different, only to end up feeling like a
failure when I couldn't stick to my plan. And in
all those years, I never once thought to invite God
into that struggle, Like I figured food was my problem
to solve and my burden to carry, Like why would
God care about what I was or how I felt
(05:01):
about my body? But here's what I learned. God cared deeply,
not because he was keeping tabs on my food choices,
but because he saw what that struggle was doing to
my heart. And it wasn't just about food. It was
about feeling unworthy and not trusting myself and trying to
use control as a way to feel safe. And maybe
(05:22):
that's where you are too. And you know, this reminds
me of one of my clients, Jesse, and she came
to me completely exhausted, and she was like, leanne, I
feel like food is running my life. I can't stop
thinking about it, and it's making me feel like I'm failing,
not just as a woman, but as a Christian. And
Jesse's struggle wasn't really about food, as you're probably understanding,
(05:43):
It was about deeper things, like, you know, feeling unworthy
and trying to use control as a way to feel
safe and believing that her worth was tied to her weight.
And again I've shared this before, but my stressless eating
program and the work I do with clients, it's not
a faith based program per se. But you better believe
that if my clients are open to it, I'm going
to invite them into a God conversation. And so for Jesse,
(06:06):
that's exactly where the shift happened. When she decided to
stop making like this just her problem, right and she
started inviting God into the struggle. That's when everything shifted,
and not asking him for more will power or discipline,
but asking him to show her how he saw her
and to help her let go of the shame that
(06:28):
she'd been carrying and trust in his grace. And when
Jesse started to see herself through God's eyes, her relationship
with food started to change. Psalm thirty four eighteen says
the Lord is close to the broken hearted and saves
those who are crushed in spirit. And so this is
the perfect place to invite God in. But also this
(06:48):
is where I'll say, and this is what I share
with all my clients, that once you make the decision
to heal, this fix this cut out the cancer that
the disordered eating and self image and body images that
comes alongside it. And it really is like a cancer.
It doesn't go away on its own, it doesn't heal itself.
But once you decide to heal it, God will move
mountains out of your way to make it happen, but
(07:10):
only once you decide to make it happen. And there's
a big difference between deciding to go lose weight versus
deciding to heal the real problem in your brain. And
that's the part you've probably never failed at, because that's
the one thing I'm assuming you probably haven't tried. And
that's where you have to go meet God halfway and
(07:31):
go rewire your brain. And that's where you use your
free will, right because until you do that, you're going
to keep inviting God into the same conversation and the
same definition of insanity, which we all know is doing
the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.
And so if food is a source of brokenness for you,
(07:52):
that's exactly where God wants to meet you. So how
do we start inviting God into this area of our lives. Well,
the first step is to simply be honest with God.
And I know that sounds so simple, but let's take
a second to unpack it, because for so many of us, honesty,
like real, raw, vulnerable honesty, it's really hard. And so
(08:13):
Psalm sixty two eight says trust in Him at all times,
you people, pour out your hearts to Him, for God
is our refuge, and it says, pour out your hearts, like,
not just the polished parts or the parts you think
are acceptable, but everything, the guilt, the shame, the frustration,
the exhaustion, because God already knows what's in your heart,
(08:34):
but there's power in naming it and saying like, here
it is God, here is what I'm carrying. And so
for years I carried so much shame about my relationship
with food, and I felt like I should have it
all together, and I thought like, this is something I
should be able to fix on my own, and when
I couldn't, I felt like a failure. And I remember
sitting in my car one day after another failed attempt
(08:55):
to stick to my plan. I was probably, you know,
just post binge from a gas you know, you know,
chocolate bar, and I was crying and feeling completely defeated,
and I finally said like, and I wasn't calling it
God at the time, because remember my relationship. My true
relationship with God came later, but it was I was
like calling out to the universe or something, and I
was just like, I don't know how to fix this.
I'm tired and I need your help. And the moment
(09:18):
wasn't pretty and it wasn't polished, but it was honest
and honestly that was the beginning of healing for me.
And so if you're stuck, I want to encourage you
just be honest with God about where you are and
tell him about the guilt that you feel when you
eat something, or tell him about the frustration that you
feel when you look in the mirror, or tell him
(09:39):
about the exhaustion of trying so hard and feeling like
you're getting nowhere. And there is no shame in admitting
where you're stuck, and there's so much freedom in laying
it at God's feet. The next step is, once you've
poured out your heart to God, get specific with your prayers.
(10:05):
The next step is, once you've poured out your heart
to God, get specific with your prayers. So Philippians four
six through seven says, do not be anxious about anything,
but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving,
present your request to God. And the peace of God,
(10:26):
which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your
minds in Christ Jesus. And so this verse doesn't just
tell us to pray, It tells us how to pray.
It invites us to bring everything to God, our worries,
our fears, our desires, and to do it with thanksgiving,
which I know seems really hard. It's like, wait, I'm
(10:46):
supposed to be like grateful for my toxic relationship with food.
But here's what I've learned. Most of us pray for
the wrong things when it comes to our struggles with
food and body image. And I can't tell you how
many times my clients tell me that they're praying for
more willpower, like Lord, give me the strength to stick
with this plan, or help me be more discipline? Like
does that sound familiar? Right? But what if we stopped
(11:09):
praying for willpower and started praying for peace? And what
if instead of asking for discipline, we asked for self compassion?
And so one of my clients, Renee, had been stuck
in a cycle of dieting and overeating for so many
years before she came to me, and she told me Leanne,
I've prayed so many times for God to help me
stick to my diet or just take this control food
(11:32):
has over me from me, but it never works, and
I don't understand why He's not helping me. And so
I asked her, what if instead of praying for willpower,
you started praying for wisdom like new revelation, And what
if you ask God to show you how he sees
you and to help you let go of the shame
that you're carrying, And what if you use your free
(11:55):
will to go rewire your brain and then ask Him
to meet you in those conversations like what if it
was spiritual and it was neurological? And so at first,
you know, I'll be honest, Renee wasn't sure. It felt
really counterintuitive to her, but she gave it a try,
and over time her prayers shifted and she started asking
(12:16):
God to help her find peace in her relationship with food,
and to see herself through his eyes and to show
her the magic impossibility of the brain and the nervous
sess him. And guess what happened? Like that piece that
Paul talks about, the kind that transcends all understanding, it
started to take root in Renee's heart, and she stopped
focusing on controlling her food and started focusing on healing
(12:40):
her heart and rewiring her brain and then asking God
to meet her there. So let me encourage you, like,
get specific with your prayers and ask God to help
you see the root of your struggles and ask him
for wisdom and peace and compassion towards yourself while you
go rewire your brain. The third step is to shift
(13:03):
your focus. So so many of us are stuck in
a mindset of food roles and numbers and macros, and
we're focused on what we shouldn't or should eat and
how many calories we've consumed or what the scale says.
But what if we shifted our focus to something deeper?
And so First Corinthians six nineteen through twenty says, do
(13:23):
you not know that your bodies are temples of the
Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received
from God? And so think about that for a second.
Your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit. And
that means it's not just a project to fix or
a problem to solve. It's a sacred gift from God.
And again that feels a really foreign to a lot
(13:46):
of women like you know, really think of it, you know,
as a sacred gift. But when I started seeing my
body as a gift rather than a burden or a curse,
because that's really the opposite. If it's not a gift,
then it's a burden or a curse. When I started
doing that, it changed everything for me. But instead of
focusing on controlling my food or reaching a certain way,
I started asking myself, am I treating my body with
(14:06):
love and respect? And am I making choices that honor
this incredible gift that God has given me? Because until
I think of it that way, I am out of alignment,
and I'm out of integrity with who I want to be.
And that is the opposite of the identity with which
I'm rooted in. And so this isn't about perfectionism. It
is not about following a set of rules or hitting
(14:26):
a specific goal. It's about seeing your body the way
that God sees it, worthy of care and respect and love.
And if that's not how you're viewing it, that's where
your beliefs and your self image and identity have to shift.
Right If you think it's something to be punished or
controlled or beaten down, to submission through exercise. That is
where the problem lives. Okay. And so when you start
(14:49):
shifting your focus from numbers and rules to honoring God
with your body, it changes how you approach everything, from
the way you eat to the way you move, to
the way you think about yourself. The fourth step is
to celebrate progress, not perfection, right, And it's so hard.
It's like, oh, I'll celebrate when I get there, I'll
(15:10):
celebrate at the finish line. But Isaiah sixty one seven says,
instead of your shame, you will receive a double portion,
and instead of disgrace, you will rejoice in your inheritance.
And so let me say this loud and clear. God
is not asking you to be perfect, and he's not
sitting up there with a checklist keeping track of every
(15:30):
bite you eat or every step you take. What he
cares about is your heart, and he cares about the
effort you're making to heal and to grow and to
draw closer to him. And so one of the things
I tell my clients all the time is to focus
on small winds, like maybe you took a moment to
pray before eating instead of rushing through your meal, or
(15:52):
maybe you caught yourself in a negative thought about your body,
and you chose to find the data rather than feeding
the drama. Because those small moments matter and they are
a sign of growth and they're worth celebrating. But if
you totally skip over them, you are not going to
know and your brain is going to be continued to
be programmed for failure. And so if you find yourself
(16:13):
falling into the trap of perfectionism, remember this. God's love
for you isn't based on your performance, and it doesn't
only exist when you get to the end of the
finish line. It is based on who you are right
now as His beloved child. And so finally, the fifth
step is to walk in freedom as if you already
have it. And this is where it might sound a
(16:34):
bit woo woo, but it really is just science and
Tewod Corinthians three p. Seventeen reminds us where the spirit
of the Lord is, there is freedom. But here's the thing.
It's not just a destination. It's not something you arrive
at one day and never struggle with again. Freedom is
a journey, and it's a daily choice to trust God,
(16:55):
and it's a daily choice to use the tools that
you've used to rewire your brain and let go of
the chains that have been holding you back and to
step into the fullness of who He's called you to be.
And so one of my favorite metaphors for this is
just walking through a door, because when Jesus died on
the cross, he flung that door wide open. But we
still have to choose to walk through it. Right, We
(17:16):
have to choose to leave the chains of guilt and
shame and control behind and step into the freedom he's
offering us. That's where our free will comes in, and
that choice it's not always easy, but it is totally
worth it, and sometimes we need help teaching our brain
to make those choices. Okay, but this is where I
was talking about how it really is just science. You
(17:37):
are either positively anticipating your future and all the thoughts
and the beliefs and the behaviors that get laid down
off the back of that, or you're negatively anticipating your future.
And so you're either, you know, feeding fear and dread
and worry and anxiety, or you're feeding hope and belief
and faith. And you literally get to choose, right, like you,
that is one thing you have the choice over. But
(17:59):
most women are sleep walking through their lives and accidentally
negatively anticipating and then creating more of that. And so
which one are you choosing? Because you're choosing either way?
And so what if you started influencing your thoughts in
the direction that you want to go? And your relationship
with food might feel small or insignificant in the grand
(18:19):
scheme of things, but I promise you it is not.
And when your relationship with food is out of balance,
it creates a ripple effect. It impacts your thoughts, your emotions,
your relationships, and yes, even your faith. But when you
invite God into this area of your life, everything changes.
You stop seeing food as the enemy and you start
(18:40):
seeing it as a way to honor him. But you
have to create those transformations in your brain, right. You've
got to stop seeing your body as a problem to
fix and start seeing it as this incredible, miraculous creation
that we know from the science and the power of
the nervous system. You have the change to mold it
and change it and shift it any time you choose. Okay,
(19:01):
But it won't be molded and shifted and shaped in
a different direction if you're still on that definition of
insanity and doing the same thing over and over again. Okay,
So before we wrap, I just want to remind you
God cares about your relationship with food because he cares
about you, and he doesn't want you living in a
cycle of shame and guilt or obsession. He wants you
(19:21):
to experience freedom like not just physically, but emotionally and
spiritually too. And so I want to invite you to
just start this conversation with him. Be honest, pray for guidance,
and trust that He's walking with you even in this
and whatever your struggle with food or body image looks like. No,
you are just so not alone. God sees you, he
(19:41):
loves you, and he's inviting you to walk with him
on this journey towards freedom. But again, I invite you
to get off the definition of insanity, get off that
roller coaster, use your free will to go, rewire your brain,
and ask him to invite you into that. Okay, So
thank you for tuning in and spending this time with
me and us receiving what I'm sharing. And in the meantime,
(20:02):
I am praying for you as you take these steps
towards healing and peace. So by for now we'll be
back with more What's God Got to Do with It?
But in the meantime, I would definitely love to hear
from you, so just tell me where you are in
your story or maybe what questions you have, like where
do you feel you need clarity or support or wisdom
(20:25):
in your own journey. I definitely want to hear from you,
So head on over to What's God Got to Do
with It? Dot com and scroll down to the form
to share your thoughts, your questions, your feedback, and you
can do that instantly. So What's God Got to Do
with It? Dot Com? You'll find all the ways to
do that. And if you like this podcast and want
to hear more, go ahead and follow, like and subscribe
(20:48):
wherever you listen to podcasts to get your weekly dose
of What's God Got to Do with It? New episodes
drop every single Tuesday, and while you're there, be sure
to rate and review to show your it really means
so much. What's God Got to Do With It is
an iHeartRadio podcast on the Amy Brown Podcast Network. It's
(21:09):
written and hosted by me Leanne Ellington, executive produced by
Elizabeth Fozzio, post production and editing by Houston Tilley and
original music written by Cheryl Stark and produced by Adam Stark.
If you want to go on a journey. If you're skeptical,
don't worry not. Here a preaching to keep it clean
and talk to me and reclose where faith needs falls nature,
get in touch with your creator with a bacon, love
and jun She even speaks Hebrew.
Speaker 2 (00:27):
What's that got to do?
Speaker 1 (00:31):
What's that? Well sabosation, hil talking transformation?
Speaker 2 (00:41):
What's that?
Speaker 1 (00:42):
Gonzo?
Speaker 2 (00:44):
Hey? Hey, and welcome back to What's God got to
do with it? It is I Leanne Ellington, and today
we're diving into a topic that I think hits closer
to home than most of us realize. And we are
talking about food. And before you roll your eyes or
think like, oh no, here we go another conversation about
diets and calories and whether klee is better than cupcakes,
(01:06):
let me just stop you right there. This is not
that conversation. Instead, we're going to talk about something far
more meaningful, your relationship with food and more importantly, why
God cares about that relationship. And let me ask you this.
Have you ever wondered does God really care about what
I'm eating or how I feel about my body? Like?
Isn't he more concerned with bigger, more spiritual things and
(01:30):
if you've thought that before, you are so not alone.
I used to think the same thing, and I used
to believe that food was my problem and my burden
to solve, like something that didn't matter to God. But
what I've learned on my own journey is this is
that God cares about all of you, and he cares
about your heart and your mind and your soul and yes,
(01:50):
even your relationship with food. Because food isn't just about
fuel or what's on your plate. It's tied up with
your beliefs and your emotions and your habits that shape
how we see ourselves and how we interact with the
world aka our identity, and those things they affect your
faith walk and your connection with God and your ability
(02:11):
to live in the freedom that he's promised you that
He's promised all of us. So let's start with the
big question, why does God care about your relationship with food? Well,
the short answer is because He cares about you, and
so in firse Corinthians ten thirty one, Paul writes, so
whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do
(02:31):
it all for the glory of God. And this verse
is such a simple yet profound reminder that even the
smallest actions like eating or drinking can be a way
to honor God. But here's the thing. How can we
honor God with our relationship with food if that relationship
is tangled up with guilt or shame, or stress or struggle,
(02:51):
or if it makes us feel like I can't bring
this to God. There's too much shame there. And so
God created you as a whole person, mind, body, spirit,
and all of those parts are interconnected. And so if
your relationship with food is causing pain or stress, it's
not just affecting your physical health, it's spilling over into
your emotional health and your spiritual health and even how
(03:14):
you see yourself in the eyes of God. And as
you've heard me say before, I call this the weight
of the weight. And so when I talk about the
weight of the weight, I'm not talking about the number
on the scale or the size of your genes. I'm
talking about the emotional and spiritual weight that we carry
when we're stuck in an unhealthy relationship with food in
(03:35):
our bodies. And you know what I mean, Like that heavy,
rusty chain of guilt when you eat something air quotes
off plan or the shame that creeps in when you
look in the mirror, or the constant nagging voice that
whispers you are not enough, You're not doing enough. You're
not you know, perfecting this enough. You're not on plan enough.
And I carried those chains for years, and let me
(03:56):
tell you, they just didn't weigh down my body. They
weighed down my spirit. And they robbed me of my
joy and my peace and my ability to connect with
God in the fullness of who he called me to be.
And you better believe it. And you know it kept
me from connecting with others. And isn't that exactly what
the enemy wants? Right? Like John ten Ten tells us,
the thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy.
(04:20):
I have come that they may have life, and have
it to the full. But how can we live that
abundant life if we're constantly at war with ourselves? And
so for years, my relationship with food was a toxic
and mean spirited battleground. And I was constantly swinging between
extremes like the obsessive dieting one minute and then the
(04:40):
emotional overeating the next. And I tell myself this time
will be different, only to end up feeling like a
failure when I couldn't stick to my plan. And in
all those years, I never once thought to invite God
into that struggle, Like I figured food was my problem
to solve and my burden to carry, Like why would
God care about what I was or how I felt
(05:01):
about my body? But here's what I learned. God cared deeply,
not because he was keeping tabs on my food choices,
but because he saw what that struggle was doing to
my heart. And it wasn't just about food. It was
about feeling unworthy and not trusting myself and trying to
use control as a way to feel safe. And maybe
(05:22):
that's where you are too. And you know, this reminds
me of one of my clients, Jesse, and she came
to me completely exhausted, and she was like, leanne, I
feel like food is running my life. I can't stop
thinking about it, and it's making me feel like I'm failing,
not just as a woman, but as a Christian. And
Jesse's struggle wasn't really about food, as you're probably understanding,
(05:43):
It was about deeper things, like, you know, feeling unworthy
and trying to use control as a way to feel
safe and believing that her worth was tied to her weight.
And again I've shared this before, but my stressless eating
program and the work I do with clients, it's not
a faith based program per se. But you better believe
that if my clients are open to it, I'm going
to invite them into a God conversation. And so for Jesse,
(06:06):
that's exactly where the shift happened. When she decided to
stop making like this just her problem, right and she
started inviting God into the struggle. That's when everything shifted,
and not asking him for more will power or discipline,
but asking him to show her how he saw her
and to help her let go of the shame that
(06:28):
she'd been carrying and trust in his grace. And when
Jesse started to see herself through God's eyes, her relationship
with food started to change. Psalm thirty four eighteen says
the Lord is close to the broken hearted and saves
those who are crushed in spirit. And so this is
the perfect place to invite God in. But also this
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is where I'll say, and this is what I share
with all my clients, that once you make the decision
to heal, this fix this cut out the cancer that
the disordered eating and self image and body images that
comes alongside it. And it really is like a cancer.
It doesn't go away on its own, it doesn't heal itself.
But once you decide to heal it, God will move
mountains out of your way to make it happen, but
(07:10):
only once you decide to make it happen. And there's
a big difference between deciding to go lose weight versus
deciding to heal the real problem in your brain. And
that's the part you've probably never failed at, because that's
the one thing I'm assuming you probably haven't tried. And
that's where you have to go meet God halfway and
(07:31):
go rewire your brain. And that's where you use your
free will, right because until you do that, you're going
to keep inviting God into the same conversation and the
same definition of insanity, which we all know is doing
the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.
And so if food is a source of brokenness for you,
(07:52):
that's exactly where God wants to meet you. So how
do we start inviting God into this area of our lives. Well,
the first step is to simply be honest with God.
And I know that sounds so simple, but let's take
a second to unpack it, because for so many of us, honesty,
like real, raw, vulnerable honesty, it's really hard. And so
(08:13):
Psalm sixty two eight says trust in Him at all times,
you people, pour out your hearts to Him, for God
is our refuge, and it says, pour out your hearts, like,
not just the polished parts or the parts you think
are acceptable, but everything, the guilt, the shame, the frustration,
the exhaustion, because God already knows what's in your heart,
(08:34):
but there's power in naming it and saying like, here
it is God, here is what I'm carrying. And so
for years I carried so much shame about my relationship
with food, and I felt like I should have it
all together, and I thought like, this is something I
should be able to fix on my own, and when
I couldn't, I felt like a failure. And I remember
sitting in my car one day after another failed attempt
(08:55):
to stick to my plan. I was probably, you know,
just post binge from a gas you know, you know,
chocolate bar, and I was crying and feeling completely defeated,
and I finally said like, and I wasn't calling it
God at the time, because remember my relationship. My true
relationship with God came later, but it was I was
like calling out to the universe or something, and I
was just like, I don't know how to fix this.
I'm tired and I need your help. And the moment
(09:18):
wasn't pretty and it wasn't polished, but it was honest
and honestly that was the beginning of healing for me.
And so if you're stuck, I want to encourage you
just be honest with God about where you are and
tell him about the guilt that you feel when you
eat something, or tell him about the frustration that you
feel when you look in the mirror, or tell him
(09:39):
about the exhaustion of trying so hard and feeling like
you're getting nowhere. And there is no shame in admitting
where you're stuck, and there's so much freedom in laying
it at God's feet. The next step is, once you've
poured out your heart to God, get specific with your prayers.
(10:05):
The next step is, once you've poured out your heart
to God, get specific with your prayers. So Philippians four
six through seven says, do not be anxious about anything,
but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving,
present your request to God. And the peace of God,
(10:26):
which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your
minds in Christ Jesus. And so this verse doesn't just
tell us to pray, It tells us how to pray.
It invites us to bring everything to God, our worries,
our fears, our desires, and to do it with thanksgiving,
which I know seems really hard. It's like, wait, I'm
(10:46):
supposed to be like grateful for my toxic relationship with food.
But here's what I've learned. Most of us pray for
the wrong things when it comes to our struggles with
food and body image. And I can't tell you how
many times my clients tell me that they're praying for
more willpower, like Lord, give me the strength to stick
with this plan, or help me be more discipline? Like
does that sound familiar? Right? But what if we stopped
(11:09):
praying for willpower and started praying for peace? And what
if instead of asking for discipline, we asked for self compassion?
And so one of my clients, Renee, had been stuck
in a cycle of dieting and overeating for so many
years before she came to me, and she told me Leanne,
I've prayed so many times for God to help me
stick to my diet or just take this control food
(11:32):
has over me from me, but it never works, and
I don't understand why He's not helping me. And so
I asked her, what if instead of praying for willpower,
you started praying for wisdom like new revelation, And what
if you ask God to show you how he sees
you and to help you let go of the shame
that you're carrying, And what if you use your free
(11:55):
will to go rewire your brain and then ask Him
to meet you in those conversations like what if it
was spiritual and it was neurological? And so at first,
you know, I'll be honest, Renee wasn't sure. It felt
really counterintuitive to her, but she gave it a try,
and over time her prayers shifted and she started asking
(12:16):
God to help her find peace in her relationship with food,
and to see herself through his eyes and to show
her the magic impossibility of the brain and the nervous
sess him. And guess what happened? Like that piece that
Paul talks about, the kind that transcends all understanding, it
started to take root in Renee's heart, and she stopped
focusing on controlling her food and started focusing on healing
(12:40):
her heart and rewiring her brain and then asking God
to meet her there. So let me encourage you, like,
get specific with your prayers and ask God to help
you see the root of your struggles and ask him
for wisdom and peace and compassion towards yourself while you
go rewire your brain. The third step is to shift
(13:03):
your focus. So so many of us are stuck in
a mindset of food roles and numbers and macros, and
we're focused on what we shouldn't or should eat and
how many calories we've consumed or what the scale says.
But what if we shifted our focus to something deeper?
And so First Corinthians six nineteen through twenty says, do
(13:23):
you not know that your bodies are temples of the
Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received
from God? And so think about that for a second.
Your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit. And
that means it's not just a project to fix or
a problem to solve. It's a sacred gift from God.
And again that feels a really foreign to a lot
(13:46):
of women like you know, really think of it, you know,
as a sacred gift. But when I started seeing my
body as a gift rather than a burden or a curse,
because that's really the opposite. If it's not a gift,
then it's a burden or a curse. When I started
doing that, it changed everything for me. But instead of
focusing on controlling my food or reaching a certain way,
I started asking myself, am I treating my body with
(14:06):
love and respect? And am I making choices that honor
this incredible gift that God has given me? Because until
I think of it that way, I am out of alignment,
and I'm out of integrity with who I want to be.
And that is the opposite of the identity with which
I'm rooted in. And so this isn't about perfectionism. It
is not about following a set of rules or hitting
(14:26):
a specific goal. It's about seeing your body the way
that God sees it, worthy of care and respect and love.
And if that's not how you're viewing it, that's where
your beliefs and your self image and identity have to shift.
Right If you think it's something to be punished or
controlled or beaten down, to submission through exercise. That is
where the problem lives. Okay. And so when you start
(14:49):
shifting your focus from numbers and rules to honoring God
with your body, it changes how you approach everything, from
the way you eat to the way you move, to
the way you think about yourself. The fourth step is
to celebrate progress, not perfection, right, And it's so hard.
It's like, oh, I'll celebrate when I get there, I'll
(15:10):
celebrate at the finish line. But Isaiah sixty one seven says,
instead of your shame, you will receive a double portion,
and instead of disgrace, you will rejoice in your inheritance.
And so let me say this loud and clear. God
is not asking you to be perfect, and he's not
sitting up there with a checklist keeping track of every
(15:30):
bite you eat or every step you take. What he
cares about is your heart, and he cares about the
effort you're making to heal and to grow and to
draw closer to him. And so one of the things
I tell my clients all the time is to focus
on small winds, like maybe you took a moment to
pray before eating instead of rushing through your meal, or
(15:52):
maybe you caught yourself in a negative thought about your body,
and you chose to find the data rather than feeding
the drama. Because those small moments matter and they are
a sign of growth and they're worth celebrating. But if
you totally skip over them, you are not going to
know and your brain is going to be continued to
be programmed for failure. And so if you find yourself
(16:13):
falling into the trap of perfectionism, remember this. God's love
for you isn't based on your performance, and it doesn't
only exist when you get to the end of the
finish line. It is based on who you are right
now as His beloved child. And so finally, the fifth
step is to walk in freedom as if you already
have it. And this is where it might sound a
(16:34):
bit woo woo, but it really is just science and
Tewod Corinthians three p. Seventeen reminds us where the spirit
of the Lord is, there is freedom. But here's the thing.
It's not just a destination. It's not something you arrive
at one day and never struggle with again. Freedom is
a journey, and it's a daily choice to trust God,
(16:55):
and it's a daily choice to use the tools that
you've used to rewire your brain and let go of
the chains that have been holding you back and to
step into the fullness of who He's called you to be.
And so one of my favorite metaphors for this is
just walking through a door, because when Jesus died on
the cross, he flung that door wide open. But we
still have to choose to walk through it. Right, We
(17:16):
have to choose to leave the chains of guilt and
shame and control behind and step into the freedom he's
offering us. That's where our free will comes in, and
that choice it's not always easy, but it is totally
worth it, and sometimes we need help teaching our brain
to make those choices. Okay, but this is where I
was talking about how it really is just science. You
(17:37):
are either positively anticipating your future and all the thoughts
and the beliefs and the behaviors that get laid down
off the back of that, or you're negatively anticipating your future.
And so you're either, you know, feeding fear and dread
and worry and anxiety, or you're feeding hope and belief
and faith. And you literally get to choose, right, like you,
that is one thing you have the choice over. But
(17:59):
most women are sleep walking through their lives and accidentally
negatively anticipating and then creating more of that. And so
which one are you choosing? Because you're choosing either way?
And so what if you started influencing your thoughts in
the direction that you want to go? And your relationship
with food might feel small or insignificant in the grand
(18:19):
scheme of things, but I promise you it is not.
And when your relationship with food is out of balance,
it creates a ripple effect. It impacts your thoughts, your emotions,
your relationships, and yes, even your faith. But when you
invite God into this area of your life, everything changes.
You stop seeing food as the enemy and you start
(18:40):
seeing it as a way to honor him. But you
have to create those transformations in your brain, right. You've
got to stop seeing your body as a problem to
fix and start seeing it as this incredible, miraculous creation
that we know from the science and the power of
the nervous system. You have the change to mold it
and change it and shift it any time you choose. Okay,
(19:01):
But it won't be molded and shifted and shaped in
a different direction if you're still on that definition of
insanity and doing the same thing over and over again. Okay,
So before we wrap, I just want to remind you
God cares about your relationship with food because he cares
about you, and he doesn't want you living in a
cycle of shame and guilt or obsession. He wants you
(19:21):
to experience freedom like not just physically, but emotionally and
spiritually too. And so I want to invite you to
just start this conversation with him. Be honest, pray for guidance,
and trust that He's walking with you even in this
and whatever your struggle with food or body image looks like. No,
you are just so not alone. God sees you, he
(19:41):
loves you, and he's inviting you to walk with him
on this journey towards freedom. But again, I invite you
to get off the definition of insanity, get off that
roller coaster, use your free will to go, rewire your brain,
and ask him to invite you into that. Okay, So
thank you for tuning in and spending this time with
me and us receiving what I'm sharing. And in the meantime,
(20:02):
I am praying for you as you take these steps
towards healing and peace. So by for now we'll be
back with more What's God Got to Do with It?
But in the meantime, I would definitely love to hear
from you, so just tell me where you are in
your story or maybe what questions you have, like where
do you feel you need clarity or support or wisdom
(20:25):
in your own journey. I definitely want to hear from you,
So head on over to What's God Got to Do
with It? Dot com and scroll down to the form
to share your thoughts, your questions, your feedback, and you
can do that instantly. So What's God Got to Do
with It? Dot Com? You'll find all the ways to
do that. And if you like this podcast and want
to hear more, go ahead and follow, like and subscribe
(20:48):
wherever you listen to podcasts to get your weekly dose
of What's God Got to Do with It? New episodes
drop every single Tuesday, and while you're there, be sure
to rate and review to show your it really means
so much. What's God Got to Do With It is
an iHeartRadio podcast on the Amy Brown Podcast Network. It's
(21:09):
written and hosted by me Leanne Ellington, executive produced by
Elizabeth Fozzio, post production and editing by Houston Tilley and
original music written by Cheryl Stark and produced by Adam Stark.
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Amy Brown
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