Holy, Healthy, Whole: Growing Fruits of the Spirit for Weight Loss and WellnessEgzanp

New Mercies

The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. The Lord is my portion,” says my soul, “therefore I will hope in him.” The Lord is good to those who wait for him, to the soul who seeks him. It is good that one should wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord. Lamentations 3:22-26 (NIV)

For years, I overate every evening. I ate a huge dinner and then kept snacking right up until bedtime, when I fell into bed miserable, reaching for antacids because I was overstuffed.

A breakthrough came when I realized that I used food to relax and unwind after a long day. Evening snacking was a way to relieve stress and process the emotions of the day.

Do you know what I really needed during my evenings? Rest!

Lamentations tells us that God’s mercies are new every morning. Again and again, God has proven faithful in this way for me. Sometimes God even solves problems for me during the night without my doing anything!

If you find yourself mindlessly snacking your way through the evening, find a way to rest that doesn’t involve food.

This will take intentional work and practice. Give yourself patience as you learn this new way of coping with life’s daily stress without using food as a crutch.

The more you practice, the stronger you will become until one day you realize you don’t need food at all to get through a long evening.

Reflection: Is evening a time when you are tempted to overeat? How can you rest without food?

Prayer: Lord, thank you for mercies that are new every morning. Help me create my evening time as a space where I can relax and unwind without relying on food to cope with uncomfortable emotions. I am leaning on you for guidance, starting tonight. In Jesus’ name I ask. Amen.