7 Days of Hope for Overcoming Eating DisordersSample

The Truth Will Prevail

There are many factors to overcoming ED, but fighting and replacing negative self-talk is vital. What we think in our minds becomes what we believe, and what we believe eventually becomes who we are. Not only does science back this concept, but the Bible confirms it in Psalm 23:7: “For as he thinks in his heart, so is he.”

Our minds are more powerful than we will ever come to realize. As we repeat thoughts and behaviors, we begin to create neural pathways in the brain, which become patterns that more easily form habits. It takes a mere twenty repetitions to form a neural pathway and just forty to fifty repetitions to create a habit. Consider this: how many times in a single day do you think a self-defeating thought?

It’s daunting to think of the reality of that answer. Maybe you’ve hit that twenty mark before the day has even ended. That’s why it is absolutely essential to be mindful of what you are truly thinking and telling yourself. Paul explained in his second letter to the Corinthians why you need to change your self-talk, and how you can actually do it.

We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ. (2 Corinthians 10:5)

If you are constantly telling yourself, “I’m not good enough,” “They will never love me if I stay like this,” “If only I looked more like _____,” “God should have created me differently,” and so on, you will end up believing those thoughts are true. However, to believe those thoughts is to disobey Christ; God does not and will not ever say those things about us.

On the contrary, the enemy certainly does and will. He is the father of lies, whose goal is to cause us to believe the worst about ourselves. If he can convince us we are inadequate, he knows he will freeze us in our tracks, and we will be unable to complete the work God has called us to. But when we listen to our Heavenly Father, the one who declares, “I am truth,” we will begin to see ourselves as He does: loved, called, His, worthy, a child of light, chosen, and redeemed. Wow! Can you imagine what could be if you chose to believe that is who you are? God is truth. He is not capable of lies. He has spoken this of you, and you are free to believe it. Take captive every thought that tells you otherwise, replace it with His truth, and live in the freedom of who God says you are today.