A reader wrote to me and asked:
For me, being a type 2 diabetic, the balance between food, scales, and exercise is difficult. I want to handle it God’s way. I hate how I am with all this. It’s a battle each day. I would like to know how to have a healthy relationship with these 3 aspects of my life.
Since I also struggle with balancing these issues, I dove into God’s Word and wrote her the following response:
Over the past six weeks or so, I’ve been personally diving deep into understanding my own health, including monitoring myself for insulin resistance. I’ve been wearing a continuous glucose monitor (CGM) every day and paying close attention to how different foods, meals, and especially timing my exercise right after eating affects those real-time glucose spikes. The goal? To make small, informed adjustments that help bring my glucose levels down and improve how my body responds to insulin. It’s been eye-opening. Seeing those numbers rise and fall in direct response to what I eat and when I move has made the connection between daily choices and long-term health feel so much more tangible.
So your question arrived at just the right moment and is evidence of God’s timing for us both!
Your question prompted reflection and prayer right when the lessons from my own CGM data were fresh. We know diabetes and insulin resistance have become major health crises in our culture, fueled by the widespread availability of ultra-processed foods loaded with added sugars, refined carbs, and other ingredients that drive constant glucose spikes and inflammation. According to the latest data from the CDC in January of 2026, more than 40 million Americans—about 12% of the population—now live with diabetes, and over 115 million adults have prediabetes, a key precursor often tied to insulin resistance.
Recent research reveals an even more sobering layer to the crises; that is, many ultra-processed foods (UPFs) are deliberately engineered to be hyperpalatable and addictive in order to maximize craving, rapid reward, and habitual overuse. Studies from institutions like Harvard, the University of Michigan, and Duke University (published in The Milbank Quarterly in early 2026) draw direct parallels—UPFs optimize “doses” of reinforcing ingredients (refined carbs, unhealthy fats, salt, and flavor enhancers) to hijack the brain’s reward pathways, accelerate consumption, and disrupt natural appetite regulation, driving compulsive eating in ways eerily similar to nicotine delivery in cigarettes. In fact, tobacco giants acquired major food brands in past decades (like Kraft, Nabisco, and General Foods), applying the same profit-driven strategies to create and market these hyper-engineered products. Today, it is estimated that Americans derive over 50-60% of daily calories from UPFs, with estimates showing 14% of adults and 15% of children meeting criteria for ultra-processed food addiction—levels comparable to addiction rates for legal substances like alcohol or tobacco. Awareness of these engineered temptations empowers us to resist—not through sheer grit, but by turning to God, who satisfies the soul.
When these engineered products become our go-to for comfort or emotional escape, they add another layer of challenge to our ability to be healthy and glorify God!
But God is at work—using timely questions like yours to draw us closer to Him, to discover wisdom in caring for our bodies, and to build a deeper dependence on Jesus as our Bread of Life. To have victory, we first must KNOW we are born again. We cannot win without Christ in us. Then, we must put on the armor of God and be determined to daily develop the mind and attitudes of Christ.
For Christians, the battle for good physical health begins with good spiritual health.
When God is our center, He becomes our comfort and our greatest addiction. But developing a deeper relationship with Him is a journey. It requires steps. Just like good health—transformation comes one step at a time through surrender to Christ.
The struggle you described is one many believers know well. We all have areas where the flesh resists the Spirit, and for countless sisters and brothers in Christ—including the one writing these words—food choices, weight, and the daily stewardship of the body rank among the hardest battles. While the specifics differ (some face type 2 diabetes, others different challenges with appetite, scale numbers, or energy), the core fight is the same:
Learning to allow Christ to satisfy our souls so food can return to its God-given place as nourishment and enjoyment rather than comfort, control, addiction, or escape.
Jesus spoke directly to our deepest longing for comfort and satisfaction:
“I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst.” John 6:35
Healthy food is a gift from God. It is fuel for the body. It is a means for celebration. It’s a bridge for fellowship with other believers. But when it becomes a substitute for God because it’s being used to comfort us or we become addicted to it, it destroys us. Gluttony, emotional eating, or obsession makes food an instrument that can master us. Paul’s sober warning applies here:
“All things are lawful for me, but not all things are helpful. All things are lawful for me, but I will not be brought under the power of any.” 1 Corinthians 6:12
A healthy relationship with food, weight, and exercise begins by allowing Jesus to be the One who completely satisfies us. Nothing satisfies or comforts us like He does. Only Christ heals and fills the soul. Food nourishes the body; Jesus nourishes the real, eternal part of us—our soul. The same grace that saves us also empowers. When we are born again, we have the Holy Spirit’s power to bring the body into subjection. But, my friend—it is a battlefield! Even the great apostle Paul described the inner war we all know:
“O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?” Romans 7:24
This journey to good physical health is much like spiritual growth. No one masters prayer, Bible reading, church commitment, evangelism, or hospitality in a single day. Many begin small: ten minutes of prayer each morning, twenty minutes in the Bible, or opening the home once a week to share a meal and minister to someone who may never have tasted home-cooking. But we must do it if we want to make Christ the center of our lifes and thus have good spiritual health, which means we will be working in HIS power to attain physical health!
The same pattern applies to physical stewardship. For example, choose one new habit like some of the following and build from there:
- Commit your physical health to God.
- Commit to drinking a set number of ounces of water each day—maybe have a friend do it with you.
- Begin by eliminating just one processed food or drink.
- Learn to cook one whole food recipe that tastes good and share that meal with someone you are ministering to.
- Add a movement exercise you love—perhaps a short walk after a meal.
- Educate yourself on food, water, exercise, and sleep.
Building these small disciplines is exactly the path I’ve taken to reclaim my own physical health. It’s the SAME way I built my spiritual health. It works. Progress will not happen overnight—you have to give that desire for a quick fix over to God. But when we glorify God with every area of our life then each day presents endless opportunities for eternal results. Isn’t that exciting?
Bring every struggle to Jesus and let Him teach you what it means to be truly satisfied!
Prayer:
Heavenly Father, I confess my struggle with food, weight, exercise, and health. Satisfy me with Your presence. Give me grace for faithful choices today, strength against temptation, and freedom from shame. Help me steward my body as a temple of Your Spirit, growing in loving obedience to You. Thank You that You walk with me—help me to walk with YOU. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
