We need both a physical and spiritual plan and support system for getting off sugar and refined carbohydrates. We are complex beings with a body, mind, spirit, and soul. From the Food Addiction Leads to Weight Gain and Poor Health article we understand the biochemical component of addiction to wheat and sugar. However, the spiritual component remains—that these products may be a stronghold we turn to instead of God to meet our needs. In the Five Steps to Freedom from Addiction article a detailed five-step spiritual plan for resisting temptation was examined so you could break the cycle of addiction. Today we will return to the spiritual nature by reviewing the importance of a support system.
Accountability/Prayer Partner
Having a friend for accountability who you can call when temptation arises is a crucial key to your success.
Obtaining a support system helps address the emotional aspect of this transformation. As Ecclesiastes 4:12 tells us, “Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken” (NIV). I recommend that you ask someone to be your accountability and prayer partner.
It is validating when someone understands how we feel. Having a friend for accountability who you can call when temptation arises is a crucial key to your success. It is powerful when a friend speaks the truth in love. Pray with your friend. The security of knowing someone prays for you is comforting.
At times all of us eat unhealthy foods. When this happens, we may experience guilt and depression. Having someone pray for us during these challenges is essential to our spiritual victory. In fact, calling a friend when we feel temptation can redirect our thought process from the food.
Sharing trials with a friend helps defuse the burden.
A friend shared the challenges she faced while she changed her eating habits. She got hungry in the afternoons, and finding a healthy snack remained difficult. I gave her suggestions and prayed with her. She decided to move her family’s dinner time earlier so she could satisfy her hunger. Sharing trials with a friend helps defuse the burden. I prayed for her many times during her transitory journey to renewed health and healing of her rosacea.
Bringing our struggles out of the closet, and sharing them with someone we trust is valuable. Prayers are powerful, especially from someone who loves and understands us for who we truly are—including the good, the bad, and the ugly.
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Scripture Support
If you memorize scripture, you can unsheathe the sword of the Spirit and slash the enemy when he tempts.
Another essential component of this lifestyle change is tapping into God’s power through reciting Bible verses. God’s Word offers guidance to every area of life, including our health and our emotions. Since emotions trigger negative food habits, learn to use this weapon as you need it. I suggest that you write down a Bible verse that opposes your food issue. Speak the verse out loud and with authority, believing in its power. The spoken Word of God is a double-edged sword that defeats the enemy.
If you memorize scripture, you can unsheathe the sword of the Spirit and slash the enemy when he tempts. Hiding God’s Word in your heart is vital to your spiritual success on this journey to change.
Prayer Support
The earnest prayer of a righteous man has great power and wonderful results. James 5:15
To make the lifestyle changes necessary to improve our health we need to access our heavenly father through prayer. When Jesus was in the garden of Gethsemane sweating blood, he was on his knees praying to his father. We need to follow Jesus’s example. God wants to communicate with us, and that’s another way we receive his power to face our struggles. Jesus’s brother told us in James 5:16, “The earnest prayer of a righteous man has great power and wonderful results” (TLB).
Prayer helps break down the resistance you may experience as you make these changes. During prayer, ask God to give you a willing spirit to surrender to him, and replace your desire for food with the desire to please and serve him.
Plan for Pitfalls
Every morning spend time with God and plan your day. Determine your menu for the day and what temptations you might encounter.
No one is perfect. You will have days when you eat sugar, wheat, or processed foods. That’s okay. This happens to everyone; don’t let it discourage you. Share your feelings with your accountability/prayer partner. Pray together. Write about your feelings, obstacles, and victories in your journal. Changing the way you eat will be a challenging journey, but one you can conquer.
Every morning spend time with God and plan your day. Determine your menu for the day and what temptations you might encounter. What time of the day would you most likely engage in unhealthy eating? Decide how you will fight food temptation and where you will turn for support for that specific day. Select a scripture verse and begin the day by reciting it out loud.
Resist Food Temptations
When you recognize temptation, remove yourself from the area containing the food. Also, write down five reasons why you do not want to eat the food. Put the timer on for ten minutes and spend that time with God.
When you recognize temptation, remove yourself from the area containing the food. Also, write down five reasons why you do not want to eat the food. Put the timer on for ten minutes and spend that time with God. Some strategies for resisting temptation include: pray, go for a walk, recite your Bible verse, call your prayer partner, drink two glasses of water, listen to praise music and start praising God, or utilize other helpful strategies that you develop. Also, think about how far you have come in overcoming your food addiction and whether you want to experience the withdrawal symptoms again.
If you relapse, get up, brush the dust off yourself, and start again. Realize what triggered your cravings. Was it your emotions? Turn to the Lord for support: Ask Him to help you do better next time. It is a normal process for people to stay the course and fall off the wagon. This cycle continues to repeat itself, but as you continue to turn to God and rely on his mighty strength, slowly but surely, you will gain control of your body, mind, and spirit.
The changes in your eating habits are a lifelong lifestyle journey so you can live the abundant life Jesus wants you to experience. Not a life filled with disease and unwanted, unhealthy symptoms.
If you would like more information on improving your health, get your free copy of 7 Steps to Get Off Sugar and Carbohydrates. This is a special promotion offered only to One Christian Voice readers.
