The N.E.W. LIFE book and Seed blog are written to help people who struggle with a poor relationship with food to better health, for individuals in bondage to food and diets to find freedom, and to help those who have settled for a relationship with food to discover the incomparably more satisfying relationship with God and the abundant life that Jesus died to give us. Good relationships are built on trust. Handing over the “safety” of our coping mechanism (food) to God to deal with underlying unresolved emotional pain and/or current stresses and risking feeling painful emotions requires trusting God. It may be time to examine how much you trust (or don’t trust) God with your pain.
Have you been keeping your pain from God? Do you trust food more than you trust God?
If you realize you cannot fully trust God, go back to the God Loves Us blog post and meditate on His great love for you, especially if you are His child. And remember, God’s Word is a love letter to you. Do you read it? How well do you know Jesus, the Word (John 1:1)? The more you know Him—the more you realize His Love for you—the more you will be able to trust Him with your pain.
Even those of us who did not leave the church or the faith and go to the “far country” like the prodigal son can be prodigals right there in church. Ask yourself if you have been staying at a distance from the Father who longs to be in relationship with you. You may even have been coming to church for years in a desire to know God more, but have you been growing in relationship with Him? Ask yourself,
has food taken the place that is rightfully God’s place in my life?
If so, why not begin reading the Bible, daily? Think about it--can you love someone you do not know? Spend time with God--good relationships take time. Good relationships also require communication--let God communicate with you and pray to Him. Set aside at least a few minutes each day to read His Word.
Don’t Avoid the Hard Truths
There are also some hard truths in the Bible. As you spend time in God’s Word you will undoubtedly come upon some hard truths that speak directly and personally to you. Don’t skip those—they can be some of the most important messages that God uses to Heal you. Think of an infection that has to be cut open to let out the pus in order to heal. Sometimes the truth hurts, but it hurts to heal. Besides, a healthy relationship is an honest one—don’t you want honesty in your relationship with God?
Go where He takes you. He is a Good, Good Father.
Journaling
You may find it very helpful to journal. Journaling about your thoughts, feelings, and situations can help to make sense of things, to process thoughts and feelings, and to become “more aware” of things that may be bouncing around inside of you, clarifying things as you stop long enough to think about them. Journaling can help you to come out of denial as thoughts become more concrete words on the paper to face in reality.
God is trustworthy. You can trust Him with your pain.
Jesus died so we could have an intimate, personal relationship with God. This is how much God wants relationship with us!
Thank You God for being Perfectly Trustworthy and for loving us so much.
