Ozempic seems to be the drug everyone is talking about as it is helping people lose weight quicky. I don’t want to talk about the science behind it as I am no expert but I do want to express my concerns about Ozempic as a Christian. Let’s start looking at the way sin was brought into the world. It was not Eve being tempted by a donut or a Mars bar, it was because of an apple, and not even in an apple crumble. The food wasn’t the important thing, it was what that food represented. The devil did two things.
- He convinced Eve that she was missing out, that God had not given her something she deserved
- He then asked Eve whether God really wanted her to not eat the apple, making her question Gods will for her life “Did God really say, you must not eat from any tree in the garden?”
This is what happens in this modern day. Food has become a symptom of the real problem. The real problem is that we are looking to fill the God shaped hole in our lives with food. When the temptation of food is taken away and that God shaped hole is not filled with God, the now thinner person will look for satisfaction in other places. It is dealing with the symptom of the problem and not the problem itself. Even as Christians, we have the same issues. Studies have found that you are more likely to be overweight if you are a Christian. The devil has convinced us that the small amount of time that food satisfies for, basically while it is in your mouth for those few seconds, that will give us the answer to the feeling we are trying to medicate ourselves with. Whether it be anxiety, fear, sadness, guilt, worry, boredom or any other negative emotion, the devil convinces us that food is the answer. Just for that moment the issues will be alleviated, for that split second when we are chewing and enjoying the food, all our problems can be forgotten. The fact that once swallowed those problems are still there and now we have extra problems because we feel guilt from eating badly, less energised and frustrated that although we know from past experiences that this never works, we are still annoyed that, yet again, the answer hasn’t come in the shape of a donut. It’s the definition of insanity, repeating the same behaviours and expecting different results. It is the craziness of any addiction and although Ozempic will cause the desire to eat to disappear the problem remains. God isn’t in the conversation. God hasn’t been invited in to deal with the problems that the food will not solve. God is our comforter (2 Corinthians 1:3-4), our refuge and strength (Psalm 46:1), our place of peace (2 Thessalonians 3:16). He will answer when we call out to Him and yet we get convinced that God does not have our best at heart and so we eat instead. By not listening we get into a viscous cycle where we feel a certain way, overeat or do some other negative behaviour, feel shame and guilt and then are less likely to go to God about it so we feel alone and the cycle starts again. The good news is that God is a God of grace and loves you. Ask Him to help you with this. This cycle can be broken and you can be free from not only overeating but also any other barrier that the devil convinces you will be the solution when only God is the solution that lasts. If you need more help with this DM me for 1:1 support.
Fit for God 