In my struggle with disordered eating, I have found peace in The Word. Slowly, as I find these verses, I have been saving them to go back to in times of panic. I hope they can give peace to someone else as well.
“Go, eat your food with gladness, and drink your wine with a joyful heart, for God has already approved what you do.”
-Ecclesiastes 9:7
I had to start with this one. This one is my new favorite. In my struggles with disordered eating I’ve come face-to-face with the fact that I must be validated in everything I do. It’s a great fault of mine, but Christ has already validated me. And my food...
“Instead of your shame you will receive a double portion, and instead of disgrace you will rejoice in your inheritance. And so you will inherit a double portion in your land, and everlasting joy will be yours.”
-Isaiah 61:7
Shame. The word that I, personally, associate most with eating disorders. Shame over not eating, or shame over eating a bowl of cereal (and not even a low-calorie one, at that). But look at this, we will not receive shame. Instead, we will receive a double portion. We will be blessed.
“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes?”
-Matthew 6:25
When you are in the midst of an eating disorder, it overwhelms your life. It completely takes over every thought and action you covey. “Is not life more than food?” Oh my… That sentence in itself brings me to my knees… There are bigger things. Thank God.
“Dear children, keep yourselves from idols.”
-1 John 5:21
When it all boils down, eating disorders are built on idolatry. Making an idol of your body. Allowing the attempt to control calories end up controlling everything. Making an idol of what other people think. Keep yourself from it. If keeping yourself from your idols means eating the freaking brownie, eat it. If keeping yourself from your idols means skipping the gym, skip it.
“I, even I, am he who comforts you. Who are you that you fear mere mortals, human beings who are but grass,”
-Isaiah 51:12
I think the root of my eating disorder is the opinion of mere mortals. But they are but grass. God cares so much more for my mental stability, my faith in Him, my reliance on His goodness, more than my gut.
“The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.”
-John 1:5
You know what’s wonderful? Christ has already defeated the power of darkness. When I look back at times in my life that I was in the worst of it, the hungry days, it’s dark. But Christ was there and he overcame it and continues to overcome it.
