For every person who sees what is happening in the world and who is fearful:
STOP! Says the Lord God.
Stop the fear.
Stop the anxiety.
Stop the worry.
Do not take fear. Do not take bitterness.
Do not take anger, or doubt.
I have you, and I will not drop you.
As I have cared for you before, as I always have, I will care for you now.
No man is more powerful than God.
And no one can stop God’s plan.
Says the Lord God.
Merriam-Webster’s dictionary defines the word “eat” as:
“To take in through the mouth as food: ingest, chew, and swallow in turn”
When people hear the word “eat”, we often think of consuming food. Notice that the definition of “eat” states to take in… as food. Not, to take in… food.
The word “as” is important in this definition. Merriam-Webster notes that the word “as” is used to introduce an example. In the definition of “eat,” food is merely provided as a point of reference. So, the definition implies that we can consume substances into our bodies beyond protein, carbohydrates, fat and water.
Merriam-Webster provides a definition of “food” as:
“Something that nourishes, sustains or supplies”
Therefore, eating involves taking in, ingesting, chewing, and swallowing something that nourishes, sustains or supplies.
You are a spirit, you have a soul, and you live in a physical body. The Bible addresses these three parts collectively and separately. The Bible often identifies your spirit as the “heart.”
For health, we must address each part of our being. We cannot neglect any part of our selves.
We feed our spirit, soul and body individually and collectively. There is physical food that we feed to our bodies, and spiritual food that we feed to our spirits and our souls.
Healthy food provides energy to the body, enhances the operation of the body’s complex systems, and strengthens its resilience against disease. Junk food has the opposite effect and contributes to the breaking down of the body over time.
Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely; and may your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
1 Thessalonians 5:23, NKJV
Both physical and spiritual nutrition are important, because we become what we eat. Your spiritual health sets the foundation for your physical health. It is difficult to maintain a healthy body with an unhealthy soul. An unhealthy soul will undermine your efforts to maintain a healthy body.
Beloved, I pray that in every way you may succeed and prosper and be in good health [physically], just as [I know] your soul prospers [spiritually].
3 John 2, AMP
We eat when we feel hungry and we drink when we feel thirsty. The food that we eat becomes part of us. It is compiled into our blood, bones, and tissues. If we do not eat or drink when we hunger, then eventually we will die.
The righteous eats to the satisfying of his soul, But the stomach of the wicked shall be in want.
Proverbs 13:25, NKJV
Pleasant words are like a honeycomb, Sweetness to the soul and health to the bones.
Proverbs 16:24, NKJV
Jesus offered himself as the spiritual food that gives eternal life and eternal satisfaction to all who eat (John 6).
48 “I am the Bread of Life [the Living Bread which gives and sustains life]. 49 Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died. 50 This is the Bread that comes down out of heaven, so that one may eat of it and not die. 51 I am the Living Bread that came down out of heaven. If anyone eats of this Bread [believes in Me, accepts Me as Savior], he will live forever. And the Bread that I will give for the life of the world is My flesh (body).”
John 6:48-51, AMP
Jesus says that if you eat of Him as the bread from heaven, then you will not die. Feeding on Jesus by faith is necessary for eternal life, for temporal sustenance, and for temporal and eternal satisfaction.
Eating Jesus’ flesh and drinking His blood refer to believing in or taking possession of His death on the cross as your only hope for eternal life. When you believe in Jesus as your savior, then you will have eternal life.
If there is living bread that gives life, then there must be food that gives death. Death can manifest in pain, sickness, disease, and fear. So, what spiritual food is causing death?
6 Give strong drink to him who is perishing, and wine to those who are bitter of heart. 7 Let him drink and forget his poverty, and remember his misery no more.
Proverbs 31:6-7, NKJV
Before God created mankind in the book of Genesis, he created plants for us to eat for food. The Creator, who understands man’s every need, gave grains, fruits, and nuts for food, from which man could choose a balanced diet.
So God said, “Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the surface of the entire earth, and every tree which has fruit yielding seed; it shall be food for you;
Genesis 1:29, AMP
Later, after the fall of man and after the flood, God stated that mankind can eat all moving, living things. Presumably, all animals.
3 Every moving thing that lives shall be food for you; I give you everything, as I gave you the green plants and vegetables. 4 But you shall not eat meat along with its life, that is, its blood.
Genesis 9:3-4, AMP
As illustrated in the book of Daniel, our nutrition has a direct impact on our appearance, health, and wisdom.
8 Daniel determined that he would not defile himself with the king’s food or with the wine he drank. So he asked permission from the chief eunuch not to defile himself. 11 So Daniel said to the guard whom the chief eunuch had assigned to Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, 12 “Please test your servants for ten days. Let us be given vegetables to eat and water to drink. 13 Then examine our appearance and the appearance of the young men who are eating the king’s food, and deal with your servants based on what you see.” 14 He agreed with them about this and tested them for ten days. 15 At the end of ten days they looked better and healthier than all the young men who were eating the king’s food. 16 So the guard continued to remove their food and the wine they were to drink and gave them vegetables.
Daniel 1:8,11-16, CSB
Many people assume that in the New Testament, the Bible advises that we can eat anything that we choose. However, we do not have a “free pass” to eat anything and everything, physically or spiritually.
All things are lawful for me, but all things are not helpful. All things are lawful for me, but I will not be brought under the power of any.
1 Corinthians 6:12, NKJV
I know and am persuaded in the Lord Jesus that nothing is unclean in itself. Still, to someone who considers a thing to be unclean, to that one it is unclean.
Romans 14:14, CSB
Our soul consumes what we watch, listen to, read, or discuss. Anything that distracts us from God is junk food for our souls. Our souls can crave junk food just as our physical bodies crave sugar, fat and salt. In the same way that we should resist eating junk food in order to maintain a healthy body, we should resist eating spiritual junk food in order to maintain a healthy soul.
When we feed harmful food to our souls, this can manifest into sickness, pain and other ailments in our physical bodies.
13 Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am being tempted by God” [for temptation does not originate from God, but from our own flaws]; for God cannot be tempted by [what is] evil, and He Himself tempts no one. 14 But each one is tempted when he is dragged away, enticed and baited [to commit sin] by his own [worldly] desire (lust, passion). 15 Then when the illicit desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and when sin has run its course, it gives birth to death.
James 8:13-15, AMP
The media that we consume affects our health just as much as the physical food we eat. Media is considered entertainment. Note that the first part of entertainment is “enter.” When we consume media, we invite the contents to enter into our souls. Food for our soul is essentially what we watch, listen to, read, or discuss.
Examples of poisonous food for our souls can include engaging in gossip or watching violent, scary or traumatizing television. If we continue to consume poisonous food, then eventually this harmful intake will create sickness in our souls, manifesting as anger, anxiety, sleeplessness, depression, and other ailments.
Therefore, I remind you to rekindle the gift of God that is in you through the laying on of my hands. For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but one of power, love, and sound judgment.
2 Timothy 1:6-7, CSB
28 “Are you weary, carrying a heavy burden? Come to me. I will refresh your life, for I am your oasis. 29 Simply join your life with mine. Learn my ways and you’ll discover that I’m gentle, humble, easy to please. You will find refreshment and rest in me. 30 For all that I require of you will be pleasant and easy to bear.”
Matthew 11:28-30, TPT
The secret to a healthy mind is the retention and meditation of Scripture. Those who feed their minds with quality literature, solid educational materials, truly relevant information, and regular Bible study become wise and sought-after leaders.
To be healthy, we must eat nutritious food often. Just as we must eat continuously to sustain our bodies, we must feed on the word of God and fellowship with Christ regularly to sustain our souls.
This book of instruction must not depart from your mouth; you are to meditate on it day and night so that you may carefully observe everything written in it. For then you will prosper and succeed in whatever you do.
Joshua 1:8, CSB
He sent His word and healed them, and delivered them from their destructions.
Psalm 107:20, NKJV
When we feed on Christ by faith, we become more like Him and enjoy a close relationship with him.
Feeding on Jesus by faith will:
The more you meditate on scripture and spend time in prayer, the healthier you will be. You are what you eat!
Amplified Bible (AMP). The Lockman Foundation (2015).
“as.” Merriam-Webster.com. 2022. https://www.merriam-webster.com (01 January 2022).
The Christian Standard Bible. Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers.
Cole, Steven J. “Lesson 36: What Are You Eating? (John 6:48-59).” Bible.org. 2013, November 24. https://bible.org/seriespage/lesson-36-what-are-you-eating-john-648-59.
“eat.” Merriam-Webster.com. 2021. https://www.merriam-webster.com (31 December 2021).
“food.” Merriam-Webster.com. 2021. https://www.merriam-webster.com (31 December 2021).
Jeremiah, David, Dr. “You Are What You Eat.” Oneplace.com. https://www.oneplace.com/ministries/turning-point/read/articles/you-are-what-you-eat-16995.html.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations marked TPT are from The Passion Translation®. Copyright © 2017, 2018, 2020 by Passion & Fire Ministries, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. ThePassionTranslation.com.
“For God loved the world so much that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not die but have eternal life.
For God did not send his Son into the world to be its judge, but to be its savior.”
John 3:16-17
“We all have sinned.”
Romans 3:23
“The wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life.”
Romans 6:23
“Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.”
Romans 10:13
Heavenly Father,
I believe that Jesus died on the cross for me and rose again.
I give You my life.
I want Jesus Christ to come into my life and into my heart.
Amen.
For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.
John 3:16-17, KJV
A thief has only one thing in mind—he wants to steal, slaughter, and destroy. But I have come to give you everything in abundance, more than you expect—life in its fullness until you overflow!
John 10:10, TPT
For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus: Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God; To declare, I say, at this time his righteousness: that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus.
Romans 3:23-26, KJV
But now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life. For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Romans 6:22-23, KJV
That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed. For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him. For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.
Romans 10:9-13, KJV
So I say to you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened. If a son asks for bread from any father among you, will he give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent instead of a fish? Or if he asks for an egg, will he offer him a scorpion? If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!
Luke 11:9-13, NKJV
Therefore if anyone is in Christ [that is, grafted in, joined to Him by faith in Him as Savior], he is a new creature [reborn and renewed by the Holy Spirit]; the old things [the previous moral and spiritual condition] have passed away. Behold, new things have come [because spiritual awakening brings a new life]. But all these things are from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ [making us acceptable to Him] and gave us the ministry of reconciliation [so that by our example we might bring others to Him], that is, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not counting people’s sins against them [but canceling them]. And He has committed to us the message of reconciliation [that is, restoration to favor with God]. So we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making His appeal through us; we [as Christ’s representatives] plead with you on behalf of Christ to be reconciled to God. He made Christ who knew no sin to [judicially] be sin on our behalf, so that in Him we would become the righteousness of God [that is, we would be made acceptable to Him and placed in a right relationship with Him by His gracious lovingkindness].
2 Corinthians 5:17-21, AMP
13
You formed my innermost being,
shaping my delicate inside and my intricate outside,
and wove them all together in my mother’s womb.
14
I thank you, God,
for making me so mysteriously complex!
Everything you do is marvelously breathtaking.
It simply amazes me to think about it!
How thoroughly you know me, Lord!
15
You even formed every bone in my body
when you created me in the secret place,
carefully, skillfully shaping me
from nothing to something.
16
You saw who you created me to be before I became me!
Before I’d ever seen the light of day,
the number of days you planned for me
were already recorded in your book.
Psalm 139:13-16 (TPT)
God wrote down his heart in a book. He established everything about you before you were born.
Where will we end? It has already been written.
Where do we start? Here, now.
It doesn’t matter how far off the path we have drifted. God has a plan to lead us along his plan as quickly as we give ourselves to him. God Almighty, he who created us – He has written the plan for our lives and it will not change.
Who are you called to be?
What are you destined to become?
We have become his poetry, a re-created people that will fulfill the destiny he has given each of us, for we are joined to Jesus, the Anointed One. Even before we were born, God planned in advance our destiny and the good works we would do to fulfill it!
Ephesians 2:10, TPT
