Stop Dieting: Feast on God’s Word First

Photo by i yunmai on Unsplash

I skipped breakfast this morning.

By mid-morning, I could feel an emptiness gnawing at me from the inside out, but I just ignored it.

For lunch, I went out to a restaurant with a friend, but I didn’t eat. I felt a pang of loneliness, but reasoned that it didn’t make sense because I was with my friend.

I had time for a mid-afternoon snack, but chose to surf around on the internet instead.

By dinnertime, I was famished. It was difficult to be around people who had eaten breakfast. Their cheeks were glowing with health and joy. My eyes and words communicated how hangry I was.

I crawled into bed, refusing to eat.  

After just one month, I had Ozempic face - visibly changed.

That’s when I realized the truth: Christians should never diet. Fasting from God’s Word is a bad idea.

John Piper has long touted his daily practice of “No Bible; No Breakfast.” If we have not feasted first on the Word of God, we should not be feeding our bodies with physical food.  Seek God first, and everything else will be added. 

What kind of nourishment can be found in the Bible?

Joy: “Your words were found, and I ate them, and your words became to me a joy and the delight of my heart.” (Jeremiah 15:16) Filling up on Scripture keeps my eyes on Jesus. As things inevitably fall apart throughout the day, I am reminded that my hope and future are in Jesus.

Purpose: “My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to accomplish his work.” (John 4:34)  Just as Jesus had a divine purpose, we, too, were created for a purpose.  Every morning, I pray that I would glorify God in all that I think, say, and do.  Even though I daily fall short of this goal, knowing my purposes of loving others, telling people about Jesus, and worshipping the one true God, helps me not to get distracted with earthly stuff. 

Sweetness: “How sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth!”  When I became a believer in Jesus, His Word became my addiction. Don’t get me wrong, I still enjoy sweet treats like ice cream and chocolate, but they are temporary. They don’t satisfy for long. God’s Word is true sustenance for my soul; it’s the all-natural, organic, zero-calorie sweetener.

Eternal Life: “For the bread of God is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.” (John 6:33)  When Jesus said these words, He was speaking the truth about himself. Jesus is the bread of God who came from Heaven to give life to the world. Eating physical food temporarily gives us nourishment for our bodies;  the food Jesus offers satisfies forever. “It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh is no help at all. The words I have spoken to you are spirit and life.” (John 6:63). Just as Jesus told the woman at the well, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” (John 4:13-14)

Anchor: Without the anchor of God’s Word, we will be “…tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes.” (Ephesians 4:14)  As I daily read God’s Word, I am filling myself with God’s truth.  As I am daily confronted with Satan’s lies, I am able to cut the cancer of Satan to pieces with the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God. 

Jesus’ Secret Stash: “I have food to eat that you do not know about.” (John 4:32) I think every mom has had a secret stash of hidden food.  If the kids find it, the treat is spoiled. The special candy to be hidden in the plastic eggs at Easter?  Ruined. The chips and salsa to be the appetizer for company tomorrow night? Gone to a midnight teenager’s binge. The raspberries for the top of the birthday cake? Mysteriously disappeared. What food does Jesus have that the disciples don’t know about?  Read John 4 and find out.

I’ve decided to stop fasting from God’s Word. Scripture is filled with nourishment for my spiritual life; nourishment for my soul. When I open my Bible in the morning, it’s like having a coffee date with God;  He speaks to me through His Word, and I speak to Him through prayer.  

And then I eat breakfast.

First published in Pursuing Perfection on Substack by © Tessa Lind, tessalind.substack.com