Say Goodbye to Emotional EatingChikamu

When we hear the word trial, we often think of big things—cancer, death, war, famine. But trials are also little things—stressful days, an argument with a loved one, or too many bills with not enough income.

These are the trials that send us to the refrigerator, but they’re also the trials God wants to use to mature us and make us more like Him.

Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. (James 1:2-4)

God wants to use our trials to help us mature. If we endure, we’ll grow in our character. We’ll also grow closer to God. And we won’t care if we don’t have a perfect life because we’ll be lacking in nothing. God will be enough.

We can see that God’s way is better. But what do we do when we’re having a rough day and a plate of brownies is staring us in the face?

It’s hard to go to God for help with life because it’s so much easier to go to the brownies. Those brownies not only give us a taste sensation, they also provide instant relief from our problems.

We don’t realize we’re missing out on all the lessons God could teach us from our trials because our minds are filled with the yumminess of that brownie. We also don’t realize we’re missing out on the intimacy that comes from going to God for strength, perspective, comfort, and refuge.

Jesus said, “Come to me all who are weary and heavy-laden and I will give you rest.” Jesus gives us rest when we come to Him with our troubles, but He also gives us perspective. When we see our troubles from His point of view, they don’t seem as bad. We remember that this too will pass. We remember our final destination. And we remember that life is about God, and that He is enough.

But how do we get from point A (filled with negative emotions because of our trials) to point B (living in peace and the freedom that God gives)? The answer is simple but not easy: We renew our minds.