How to Stop Comfort Eating and Turn to God Instead
It’s 9:00 p.m. on a Thursday, and I stare at the cupboard with an insatiable appetite. I want to learn how to stop comfort eating and find my comfort in God, but when I’m honest about it, chocolate feels more tangible at the end of a long day.
Several cookies, way too many chocolate chips, and an hour later, I lie in bed and ask God to help me find freedom.
The heavens are silent, and I open my Bible for inspiration.
What the Bible Says About How to Stop Comfort Eating
My bookmark leads me to an unnamed woman in the fourth chapter of John’s gospel as she walks to the community well in the heat of the day.
As she approaches the well, her eyes rise to the form of a man at the well. He is a Jewish man, and since Jews don’t associate with Samaritans, he most likely won’t even acknowledge her. She’ll draw her water and be on her way.
“Will you give me a drink?” The Man surprises her with the question, and she studies his face for a moment.
“You are a Jew and I am a Samaritan woman. How can you ask me for a drink?” she cautiously responds.
As the scene unfolds, the man offers her living water that will never run dry. In addition, he asks questions about her husband, and when she replies that she has no husband, he all-knowingly asserts that he is aware of this: She has had five husbands, and the man she currently lives with is not her husband.
At the woman’s declaration that a Messiah is coming, Jesus responds, “I, the one speaking to you—I am he.”
The woman is completely undone. She leaves her water jar and returns to town to share this remarkable story with everyone she can find. As a result, many come to encounter Jesus, and they believe. (See John 4:5-42)
Are you turning to the wrong cistern?
While there may seem to be little connection between this woman and those of us who turn to food for comfort, we have more in common than we might first realize: We are turning to the wrong cisterns to fulfill our thirst. These cisterns fail to satisfy in a lasting way.
We are turning to the wrong cisterns to fill our thirst. These cisterns fail to satisfy in a lasting way. #comforteating #satisfactioninGod Share on XAfter encountering the true Source of living water that will satisfy her soul in a lasting way, the woman leaves her jar. She leaves the vessel she’s been using to quench her thirst.
Perhaps this is where we have gone wrong. If we turned from empty vessels and encountered Jesus in fresh ways, his living water would offer us the joy we lack.
Perhaps it is time to leave our old water jars at the well and encounter the living water that satisfies.
Practical Ways to Stop Comfort Eating
I know what you might be thinking: This is all very nice and spiritual, but I need practical help. I need to know how to stop eating my feelings!
I understand. I’ve battled with this behavior for decades and still have room for growth. Meanwhile, God is working in my life. Here are three practical ways I’m learning to turn away from food and turn toward God.
1. Ask Jesus to align your heart with his heart.
One of the first steps for breaking free from any habitual sin pattern is asking God to align our hearts with his heart so that we embrace what he embraces and reject what he rejects.
For decades, I didn’t consistently abhor my behavior of abusing food. I was stuck in a cycle of idolizing food and idolizing body image. My motives for trying to eat in healthier ways didn’t align with God’s motives. I didn’t want to overeat because I didn’t want to gain weight. All I cared about was maintaining a thin body.
Meanwhile, God was not worried about the number on the scale; he wanted me to live with a sense of freedom and joy. God wanted to help me find freedom in my relationship with food because he wanted me to be healthy, not because he wanted me in a smaller dress size.
As I began seeking a healthier relationship with food, God began illuminating my motives for wanting to eat in healthier ways. He also began to align my heart with his heart as I aimed to treat my body the way I would treat my children’s bodies.
Instead of telling myself not to eat junk food to stay thin, I started to say, “I want to make healthy food choices and care for my body in the same way I care for my most precious loved ones’ bodies.”
By God’s grace, I slowly stopped criticizing my appearance and started to see myself as God sees me. I started to ask questions such as, Would I shove handfuls of chocolate chips into my children’s mouths to help them escape their realities?
Would you shove junk food into your kids’ mouths to help them cope with stress?
As God renewed my mind over time, eating healthier was no longer about losing weight. It was about treating myself with care and compassion and honoring God in the process.
God showed me his great love and tenderness toward me and aligned my heart with his heart.
I was able to forgive myself when I ate too much sugar. One cookie no longer sent me into the abyss of an all-out binge. God changed my heart in such a way that I wanted to treat my body with love and care instead of criticizing and abusing it.
2. Fast from thinking about yourself.
Notice I didn’t say, “Fast from sugar or chocolate or carbs.”
A deprivation mindset will make it harder to lose weight or step into new patterns of healthy eating. Instead of fasting from certain foods or jumping into the latest diet craze, fast from obsessing over food or body image. In essence, fast from thinking about yourself.
When I’m stuck in a place of eating my feelings, it’s like the throne of my heart is occupied by two entities: thoughts about food and thoughts about my body. I turn to food for comfort and feel guilty about it. I resent what the food will do to my body, and I might even deprive myself for a few days, feeling accomplished when I turn to the scale and see the number drop.
It’s an ugly cycle, and self is at the center. In these times, I’m desperate to take self off the throne of my life and return Jesus to the throne.
When thoughts about comfort eating, depriving, or feeling fat come to your mind, cast down the thoughts. Then, shift your focus. Take a walk outside. Pick up a book. Call a friend. Write a note to an elderly relative and stick it in the mail.
This has been my biggest personal breakthrough in learning how to stop comfort eating. When I refuse to obsess over food, feel guilty about food, or crave food, I am surprisingly less tempted to eat for comfort.
3. Replace lies with Truth.
In addition to showing me my flawed motives for wanting to eat in healthier ways, God also began to show me the lies I believed about food. The greatest lie told me that food was my ultimate source of comfort.
In response to this realization, I changed my inner dialogue. Instead of telling myself that food was my greatest source of comfort, I started to tell myself, God is my ultimate source of comfort.
I meditated on Bible verses about God’s comfort, such as, “As a mother comforts her child, so will I comfort you” (Isaiah 66:13, NIV).
I repeated this verse hundreds of times in the months after God revealed the lie I was believing. It took time to change the neuropathways in my brain, but I eventually began to believe that God offers greater comfort than food.
God is inviting you to uncover the lies that are feeding your behavior as well. To find these lies, it might help to ask what your flesh is telling you about the behavior. Is your flesh saying something like, This habit is my source of comfort, escape, or release?
Find the lie that is feeding your behavior, and then dig into your Bible and find a truth to speak when the lie tells you to indulge.
Speak the verse day after day. Speak the verse when you fail (because we all fail). Ask God to renew your mind. Here are a few examples of the lies we believe and the truths that help us align our hearts and minds with the Lord:
Truth to Replace the Lies and Help You Stop Comfort Eating
Lie: I indulge because I deserve a reward at the end of the day. Truth: Jesus is my great reward, my comfort, and my portion (see Revelation 22:12, John 14:27, and Psalm 73:26).
Lie: I can’t say no, and I am powerless. Truth: God will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you can bear, and he will always provide a way out of your temptation (see 1 Corinthians 10:13).
Lie: It’s worth indulging because when I indulge, my worries and cares disappear. Truth: Cast your cares on him, and he will sustain you (see Psalm 55:22).
Lie: It doesn’t hurt anyone, and I like the way it makes me feel. Truth: Everything is permissible, but not everything is beneficial (see 1 Corinthians 10:23).
Turning to food for comfort is most likely causing damage to your body, mind, emotions, or spirit. Most likely, self-effort has been telling you to get it together and stop being such a failure. When you mess up, self-effort condemns you and tells you you’ll never find freedom. Self-effort tells you to try harder, buckle down, and punish yourself for your failures.
Refuse to give in to shame and condemnation when you fail. Instead, imagine Jesus taking hold of your hand, helping you to your feet, and encouraging you to continue walking forward. He is leading you toward the freedom you long for.
Read About My Full Journey of Finding Freedom in This Area Here:
God is healing my relationship with food! I share my journey in this book, which is FREE on Kindle Unlimited or available in print for 12.99. God wants to help you find healing, too.
He wants to work in your life to accomplish what you’ve been unable to do through willpower alone. Lean Into Grace: Let God’s Grace Heal Your Heart, Refresh Your Soul, and Set You Free shares practical ways to experience God’s freedom, healing, power, and presence in your life. Find this life-changing book right here. This book will transform your life and revitalize your relationship with the Lord!
Calling all moms and daughters!
Additionally, my teen daughter, Bekah, and I are passionate about helping moms and daughters grow closer while connecting with God. We have written two mother-daughter devotionals together. Girl to Girl: 60 Mother-Daughter Devotions for a Closer Relationship and Deeper Faith is written for girls ages 7-12. It includes 60 devotions with Scripture, conversation starters, and a shared journaling section after each devotion.
Heart to Heart: A Mother-Daughter Devotional With 50 Devotions for Teen Girls is for teenage girls ages 13-20. It includes 50 devotions, each with a shared journaling section to help moms and daughters connect through writing. This is a great book for moms who want to communicate about awkward topics—like dating, purity, peer pressure, and more—but don’t know where to start. We will help you!
Multitudes of mothers, daughters, mentors, and younger women are being transformed by these books! You can buy them as paperbacks or get your free Kindle Unlimited eBooks on Amazon right here.
