How to Trust God When You are Hungry: Shaped by Faith

Our God is a genius Creator.  He made our bodies able to do all sorts of different things, many of which they do without our conscious knowledge.  Our lungs breathe in and out, our hearts pump blood, our livers screen out toxins, all without any direct reminders from us.  So why is it that we doubt the stomach’s ability to let us know when we should eat and when we have had enough?

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will direct your paths.” Proverbs 3:5-6

If we truly trust in God, then we don’t have to be afraid of “hunger pains.”  We don’t have to worry whether or not we will get “enough.”  God loves us and wants to give us good things in His time.  That is why God gave us a stomach that will direct our food intake.   When I am hungry, I feel a hollow sensation and even a rumbling underneath my sternum.  This is my signal that my body needs fuel.  Any time that I eat without first feeling that sensation, I am eating outside of the boundaries that God made for my body.  I am eating more than my body needs and therefore I will gain weight.

But when I wait for my stomach’s hunger signal, the food tastes better and I eat without any guilty feelings.   I wait for hunger in order to glorify God and to show Him that I trust Him to allow me the pleasure of eating again.  I am no longer afraid of hunger because it is like a whisper from God, reminding me that He loves me and wants to be involved in even the mundane aspects of my life.

I trust in God to feed my body the correct foods in the correct amounts.  I listen to the signals of the stomach, when it is hungry and when it is full and what it is really craving.  I acknowledge that God is directing my stomach, and I praise Him for it.  As a result, He is guiding my weight loss journey.