Eat For the Spirit You Want

In the fitness world, there is a popular phrase that goes, “Eat for the body you want, not for the body you have.”

What that means is simple: if you want a stronger, more muscular body, you cannot live off of crackers, fries, noodles, and sweetened lattes. Muscles need protein, so you load up on lean meats, eggs, and beans. If you want to trim body fat, you cut calories and limit processed carbs. Even if you are killing it in the gym, you will not see the results you want if your diet stays the same and you continue to eat garbage. You have to eat now for the health you want later.

Believe it or not, the same principle applies to your spiritual life.

If you want to grow in your knowledge of the Lord, walk closely with Jesus, and be more Christlike, you must change your spiritual “diet.” If you want to be a better husband, wife, father, mother, leader, or servant of God, you cannot keep consuming spiritual junk food.

Junk food for the soul looks different for everyone, but it often includes endless Netflix or Disney+ binging, hours of scrolling on social media, numbing your mind with video games, oversleeping, or avoiding fellowship with God’s people. These are not always sinful by themselves, but they become harmful when they dominate your time and attention. They dull your hunger for the things of God.

Paul warned us about this in Galatians 6:7-8: “Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap. For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life.” Your spiritual diet is the seed you sow. Feed the flesh, and you will reap decay. Feed the Spirit, and you will reap life.

Feed Yourself Well

If you want a healthy, growing walk with the Lord Jesus Christ, fill your daily intake with what nourishes your soul:

1. God’s Word – Jesus said in Matthew 4:4, “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.” Scripture is your primary source of spiritual nutrition. Read it daily. Study it deeply. Meditate on it often.
2. Prayer – Prayer is breathing in God’s presence and breathing out your worship, confession, and requests. Paul tells us in 1 Thessalonians 5:17 to “pray without ceasing.”
3. Christian Fellowship – Hebrews 10:24-25 reminds us not to neglect meeting together, but to stir one another up to love and good works. You need other believers, and they need you.
4. Worship – Fill your mind and home with praise to God. This is more than music. It is a posture of life that honors Him in all things (Colossians 3:16-17).
5. Serving Others – Jesus modeled this in Mark 10:45, coming not to be served but to serve. Serving keeps your faith active and outward-focused.

When you came to Christ, you were born again (John 3:3). In that moment, you became a new creation (2 Corinthians 5:17). But spiritual infants must grow into maturity, and that growth requires the right food. Peter writes, “Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up into salvation” (1 Peter 2:2).

You cannot expect to have a Spirit-filled, discerning, bold, and holy life if your spiritual diet is filled with distraction, laziness, and the values of the world. Just as an athlete disciplines their eating to reach their goals, so a believer must be intentional with what they allow into their heart and mind.

Take inventory of your spiritual life today. Ask yourself: “What am I feeding my spirit?” Then start making the small, faithful changes that will, over time, produce the kind of spiritual health and maturity that glorifies God.

Eat for the Spirit you want.