A 5-Day Bible Study by Danna Demetre
Note: A recorded version of this 5-day study is available at the bottom of this page.
DAY 1: CONFESS
“Hi, I’m Danna and I’m a foodaholic.” I never actually said those words out loud in a public setting, but I imagined doing so in the years I struggled to overcome my emotional eating and then out-of-control bulimia as a young woman.
Most people – even the thin – engage in emotional eating at times. It’s eating for any reason beyond pure physiological hunger for the physical pleasure it brings. Who hasn’t done that? Often, the trigger involves a negative emotion such as stress or loneliness. But sometimes, we eat simply because it tastes so good! Is that a sin? Probably not. Until it is.
My emotional eating journey grew into such frequent compulsive overeating that I began purging to avoid excessive weight gain. I felt so out of control that I sometimes wished my issue was with alcohol or pills because it seemed those would be easier to permanently remove from my life. But food? Food is essential for survival. Daily life and celebrations revolve around it. From family meals to holiday banquets, food is always at the center.
In the Bible, we see many examples of eating and feasting in a positive light. When the prodigal son finally returned home to his father, a feast was thrown in celebration. Jesus performed his first miracle – turning water into wine – at a wedding feast. Christ tells us “I stand at the door and knock”, inviting us to open the door so he can come in and eat with us.
God created us to celebrate and enjoy food beyond simply nourishing our bodies. That’s why he gave us taste buds! Yet for some of us, that beautiful gift of taste and the enjoyment it brings has become an enemy as well. We’ve allowed ourselves to seek food first when faced with a wide variety of emotions and circumstances.
We eat when we’re happy. We eat when we’re sad. We eat when we’re stressed and busy. We eat when we’re bored. When food becomes our comfort and consumes our thoughts, or causes us to feel out of control, it has likely become our idol.
Our relationship with food has been developing since the day we were born. Consider this: God created breast milk to be slightly sweet. Our taste buds have been delightfully tickled from the moment of our first meal. Most of us associate food with love and comfort because they have been beautifully intertwined. So, where do we begin to unravel our unhealthy relationship with food and rebuild it into one that promotes health and balance? How do we enjoy God’s delicious gift of taste in a way that brings him glory?
The first step: Confession
Confess what? Our unhealthy (dare we say sinful) relationship with food. It’s sinful if it’s hurting us physically, emotionally, or spiritually. We need God’s power to equip us to overcome. This begins with seeking his forgiveness. He does not shame or condemn us. He loves us.
It will take time to change the habit of running to food for the wrong reasons. God wants us to run to him instead. Try to see each temptation as an opportunity to seek the Lord and his comfort and strength. Give yourself grace for the journey and focus on progress rather than perfection.
If you continue to confess, repent, and gradually learn how to run to God for strength and comfort, you’ll one day introduce yourself like this: “Hi, I’m a fully recovered emotional eater. Come, taste, and see that the Lord is good – because He is so much more satisfying than food!”
QUESTIONS TO PONDER:
- Is there an attitude or food habit that you need to confess to the Lord?
- Have you brought it to Him as an idol you turn to rather than turning to Jesus?
- How do you believe food is filling a need in those moments?
PRAYER:
Lord, I pray the Holy Spirit will convict me of any sin I have related to food. I am thankful that your Word reminds me that there is “no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” I desire to be set free from any sin or bondage to food so that I can walk in victory and bring you glory.
FOR STUDY & REFLECTION:
1 John 1:9 (NIV)
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.
Revelation 3:20 (NIV)
I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me.
Psalm 34:8 (NIV)
Taste and see that the Lord is good! Blessed is the one who takes refuge in him!
DAY 2: SURRENDER
As a recovered bulimic, I remember how I could eat to the point of feeling like an overstuffed sausage almost ready to explode. A few hours after purging, I’d sometimes find myself binging once again. I never felt satisfied. I felt powerless, ashamed, and discouraged.
It wasn’t until I began to surrender to Jesus as my Lord that I began to get a glimpse of how the Holy Spirit could renovate my thinking and tear down my destructive habits. With a lot of apprehension, I cautiously invited him into the very private parts of my messy life. I kept reminding myself that he could see it all anyway. Why not talk to him directly? Sometimes, even with my head in the bowl of the toilet, as I purged my last bag of Oreo cookies – I called out to God for forgiveness and told him I wanted to give my body fully to him and find my satisfaction in him alone.
I’m not going to sugarcoat it.
The battles of our flesh are tough ones to overcome no matter how much we love God and have victory in other areas. Sometimes the enemy would torment me with my failures and tell me that God was sick and tired of hearing me say the same old thing. But I knew that was a lie.
Over a few months, I realized I’d gone from binging four or five times a day, to five times a week. Within a year I was only binging two or three times a month. I remember thinking: “Wow, I am getting better. Just because I mess up now and then, it doesn’t negate the fact that I rely on food to satisfy me less and less. And I’m running to God to satisfy me more and more.”
It is essential to believe that God loves you and is loving you throughout your journey no matter how many times you fail. He knows your weaknesses. He sees your struggles to change. When we call out and surrender to him, he orders our steps and delights when we are obedient. (Psalm 37:23) When we run away, he runs after us. When we fail, he forgives us. He is a good and loving Father.
Are you willing to invite God into your struggles today?
Don’t worry that you’ll mess up. You will! Don’t let the enemy tell you the lie that you will never find victory. Do acknowledge that you are certain to have tough days or weeks when you feel like you’re moving backward. Remind yourself each day that you are focusing on Progress over Perfection. Ask the Lord to give you the courage to invite him into your struggles, and his strength to face off the day-to-day temptations.
We cannot do what only God can do, and He will not do what we can. ~Oswald Chambers
QUESTIONS TO PONDER:
- What do you sense the Holy Spirit is nudging you to surrender to Jesus?
- What fears do you have (if any) related to fully surrendering this area of your life?
PRAYER:
Heavenly Father, Lord Jesus, and Holy Spirit,
I pray you will give me the insight to know your will with regard to my relationship with food. Show me what surrender looks like for me. And help me when I try to take back the very thing you are asking me to release. Please give me faith to trust you. Amen.
FOR STUDY & REFLECTION:
Romans 8:1
Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus…
2 Corinthians 12:9
But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.”
DAY 3: RENEW
If changing our emotional eating habits and experiencing lasting weight loss were easy, there wouldn’t be so many people struggling. We’ve no shortage of good information. There’s a diet and health plan to meet almost every unique need. However, knowing what to do is not as big of an issue as knowing how to get yourself to do it!
In my journey and then decades of coaching women, I’ve determined that one of the biggest roadblocks to permanent transformation is our thoughts. We’re waging a battle of opinions that don’t agree with God’s truth. And that battle is happening in our minds!
Pay close attention to how you talk to yourself because you may just learn something very important. In the human brain, our most dominant thoughts win. Hopefully, you have many healthy and biblically sound thoughts that influence you.
But if you are continually struggling with habits and behaviors that you’ve failed to change, you are being driven by thoughts that are contrary to God’s word. I call these thoughts lies. In Philippians 4:8, Paul gives us a biblical prescription for what to think about:
Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.
All day long, remind yourself to tune in to the negative thoughts and words you say to yourself. Also, pay attention to your persistent negative emotions. These will often shed light on the lies you believe. The moment you become aware of that negativity, take that thought captive by calling it out and saying with strength and conviction, “That’s a lie!”
For example, in the past, I would often think or say things like, “I can’t control my cravings, I’ll never lose weight. I’ll never have a healthy relationship with food.” My new response to that negative thought became: “No! That’s a total lie! When I walk in the Spirit, I have self-control. I have the mind of Christ and he is empowering me to change day by day.”
Don’t underestimate what God’s doing in your struggle to draw you closer to him and transform you into the person he wants you to become. He wants you to believe the truth about yourself and Him.
Watch your thoughts, they become your words.
Watch your words, they become your actions.
Watch your actions, they become your habits.
Watch your habits, they become—your character.
Watch your character, it becomes your destiny.*
Becoming transformed by the renewing of your mind is life-changing. It’s something I’ve learned to pursue in all the dimensions of my life. And when I do, God tenderly reveals the lies I believe and where I’m living outside his will. It has not only changed my lifestyle habits, but saved my marriage, influenced how I run my business, changed my attitude about money, and so much more.
*This quote has been attributed to many different people over the years, but most often to Frank Outlaw.
QUESTIONS TO PONDER:
- What are the persistent negative thoughts and beliefs that you catch yourself thinking or saying?
- What scripture(s) come to mind that can help you erase and replace those lies?
- What simple statements can you repeat all day long to rewire your neuron pathways?
PRAYER:
Lord,
Your word tells us to “be transformed by the renewing of our mind”, to “take every thought captive”, and to “set our mind on things above”. I pray Holy Spirit will remind me of this all day long and prompt me to replace my lies with truth. Please help me have the commitment and perseverance to make this a daily habit.
FOR STUDY & REFLECTION:
Romans 12:2 (NASB)
And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.
2 Corinthians 10:5 (ESV)
We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God and take every thought captive to obey Christ.
Hebrews 4:12 (NASB)
For the word of God is living and active, and sharper than any two-edged sword, even penetrating as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.
DAY 4: WALK
Most of us own a wide variety of household appliances. Vacuums, crock pots, electric mixers, and coffee machines make our lives much easier. Who would attempt to use any of these tools without plugging them into an electrical outlet? Just imagine pushing your power vacuum across a thick carpet unplugged. Very little dirt or debris would get picked up. It would be an exercise in futility. Yet, we often do this with our spiritual lives.
I don’t know about you, but I often find myself navigating through my day sometimes a bit like Martha in the Bible who was “worried and bothered about so many things”. That’s because I’ve failed to “plug in” to the power of the Holy Spirit in the simple details of everyday life. That’s when I’d describe my day as stressful or frenzied. Those are also the days I’m more likely to cave into emotional eating. I know I have a choice, but for some reason, I don’t always choose it.
After all these years, it still amazes me that because of our position in Christ, the Holy Spirit resides in us permanently. The very same power that rose Jesus from the dead is in us and with us 24/7. He gives us the ability to walk in His divine power if we choose to. And when we do, we experience the fruit of the Spirit – to include self-control!
The fruits are not the result of some self-improvement program. They are supernaturally infused in us as we walk in the power of the Holy Spirit. One thing I’ve discovered and still must grapple with each day is that walking in the Spirit is always a moment-to-moment decision.
The Holy Spirit is ready and waiting for us to acknowledge his presence. He is not just an ethereal power that comes and goes. He’s a real person with personality and emotions. He dwells in us permanently and He loves us.
Set, Set, and Reset
Our big assignment each day –each moment – is to choose to “set our minds on things above” (Colossians 3:2). It’s an intentional setting of our mind and will to be in continual fellowship with the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit – seeking his wisdom and power in all things to include our battle to conquer emotional eating.
What God desires of us is always possible. His methods of transformation always work. By renewing our minds and abiding in Christ moment to moment, we have the power to be all God intended. To realize this wonderful destiny requires a surrender of our hearts and a willful intention to be in constant communication with God.
When we do this, we not only change our habits…we change our entire lives because God’s path is the one with all the best rewards.
QUESTIONS TO PONDER:
- What can you do each day to walk in the spirit rather than the flesh?
- What are some signs help you realize you are veering toward the flesh? (Hint: Evaluate your feelings and if they are telling you the truth)
PRAYER:
Lord,
I need help to surrender my flesh and its desires to You each day – and all day long – so I can walk in the Spirit. Show me my part to make this a reality in my life moment by moment. I know when I do, I will realize the fruit of the Spirit in my life which includes supernatural self-control. Amen.
FOR STUDY & REFLECTION:
Galatians 5: 16-17 (NASB)
But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh. For the desire of the flesh is against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; for these are in opposition to one another, to keep you from doing whatever you want.
Galatians 5:22 (NASB)
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.
John 14 (NASB)
16: I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, so that He may be with you forever…
26: But the Helper, the Holy Spirit whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and remind you of all that I said to you.
John 15:4–5 (ESV)
“Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in Me. I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing.”
DAY 5: PERSEVERE
Confess – Surrender – Renew – Walk
Learning to consistently implement the four spiritual steps to conquer emotional eating takes time. That’s why Step #5 is so essential: Persevere!
Let’s recap the four steps before we talk about what it means to persevere:
#1: CONFESS
Asking the Holy Spirit to convict us of our sin each day no matter how many times we’ve confessed it before. This releases our guilt and reminds us we are not alone.
#2: SURRENDER
Choosing to invite God into our daily struggle through the surrender of our will tells Him we’re serious about our desire to transform our habits and glorify him in every corner of our lives. This permits God to take control because He will never override our free will unless we surrender it.
#3: RENEW
Renewing our minds with the daily habit of healthy self-talk with statements or scripture that erase and replace the lies we believe is essential to our lasting transformation. This practice will rewire our brains physically and perform “surgery” on us spiritually.
#4: WALK
Lastly, choosing to look up and set our mind on things above so we can walk in the power of the Holy Spirit is essential to overcoming temptation and walking in victory. We were never meant to do this in our own power.
#5: PERSEVERE
When we persevere, we begin to experience encouraging signs that we are indeed making progress. But beware. On this side of Heaven, we never fully “arrive”. We do get stronger and more equipped as we lean into God and put his principles into practice. However, the battle of the flesh will continue for our entire lives because we are human, and the enemy does not want us to succeed.
Not Today, Satan!
Though Satan has lost the battle for your salvation, he is still highly interested in tripping you up and diminishing the effectiveness and intimacy of your walk with God. There are several ways he can disrupt our lives if we allow it. Here are a few that relate to our desire to live a healthier lifestyle:
Temptation:
He often tempts us by appealing to our natural inclinations and weaknesses. He will tell you that you “deserve” the very food you are trying to avoid. He whispers that you are unfairly deprived and cannot enjoy your social time when others around you are eating and drinking things you are choosing not to.
Doubt and disbelief:
As you tell yourself the truth – that you can have victory with God’s help, He can plant seeds of doubt in your mind, making you question yourself and your faith in the power of the Holy Spirit to help you change.
Accusations and discouragement:
Satan may accuse you when you slip up, making you feel ashamed and condemned. He hopes you will give up on yourself and God. There is a difference between shame and guilt. Guilt is the result of conviction by the Holy Spirit and ideally leads us to confession which protects us from shame. Shame is from the enemy and tells us we are unworthy of God’s forgiveness. Do not believe this lie!
Idolatry:
He wants you to be obsessed with food or any other thing that makes you feel out of control. Constant focus on food both positive and negative, diverts your focus from God.
What’s the solution to this roaring lion that wants to devour you? It is to remind ourselves who this fallen angel is in comparison to God. Satan is not God’s opposite and equal foe. He is God’s creation who in his free will chose to reject God’s love and perfect plan. Yes, he is God’s enemy, but never his equal.
By consistently practicing the four steps of daily confession, surrendering our will, renewing our minds, and walking in the Spirit, we can persevere long enough to build new, godly habits from the inside out. In Jesus’ name, we can overcome our weak flesh and the spiritual attacks we encounter.
Don’t allow Satan to intimidate you! We are “more than conquerors” when we apply God’s truth to our situation. Just like taking your thoughts captive, call out the enemy with a forceful, “Not today, Satan! In Jesus’ name and by his blood, I am victorious”!”
QUESTIONS TO PONDER:
- What holds you back from persevering some days?
- What is your part in staying on track?
- What is God’s part?
PRAYER:
Lord, I want to be surrendered and obedient, walking in the Spirit and being constantly transformed by the renewing of my mind. But some days, I feel so weak and weary of the battle. Please give me the strength and the “want to” to continue with consistency the path that leads to victory and Your glorification. Amen
FOR STUDY & REFLECTION:
1 John 4:4
You are from God, little children, and have overcome them; because greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world.
James 4:7
Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee
1 Peter 5:8
Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.
Romans 8:37
No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.
AUDIO RECORDING OF 5-DAY STUDY: