Made to Crave
Your Deepest Desire with God, Not Food
By Lysa TerKeurst
Reviewed By: Ashley Davis
Since it’s just after the middle of February, this seemed like a good time to recommend a book that most of us don’t want to hear about but NEED to! Did you begin this year with bold, optimistic goals about your eating habits and/or physical health? How’s it going for ya? If you’re like the average American, the answer is a mediocre, “Not so great!” In her book, Made to Crave: Satisfying Your Deepest Desire with God, Not Food, Lysa TerKeurst digs deep into the topic of health, fitness, food, cravings, self-control, and more! If you’ve never considered what God and His Word may have to say about the relationship you have with food, this is a great starting place.
During the years 1960-2018, 73.6% of adults (ages 20+) were classified as overweight or obese*. I’m not saying there are never valid health reasons for being overweight, but we all know what a struggle maintaining a healthy weight and a healthy relationship with food can be, especially in our culture of over-processed overabundance. Lysa tackles this tough topic by setting the stage with a simple concept: We were made to crave God. We, in our flesh, attempt to satisfy this natural, innate, spiritual craving with nearly anything or anyone else – including food.
In one-of-a-kind Lysa TerKeurst style, the book begins with plenty of relatable, raw, laughable personal stories and examples of this struggle in Lysa’s own life. She continues in the first few chapters, laying the foundation that we were made to crave and sharing with readers what the beginning of this “health eating” journey looked like for her. Just as an aside, Lysa does describe her personal choices for eating, but doesn’t emphasize a specific eating style or named diet.
In chapters 4-6, Lysa encourages readers to bring a friend along with them on the journey, reminds readers that they’re made for more, and considers how this journey draws us closer to God. Chapters 7-10 jump into the “real talk” surrounding this topic. In these chapters, Lysa explains her journey toward not being defined by a number on the scale, to making peace with her body, to exercising even though she hates it, and to dealing with the internal “It isn’t fair!” dialogue. During the next several chapters, Lysa takes the readers through several facets of this issue and how to deal with them. I’ll just give you the chapter titles so you can chuckle and relate: Stinkin’, Rotten, Horrible, No Good Day (11), The Curse of the Skinny Jeans (12), Overindulgence (13), Emotional Emptiness (14), The Demon in the Chips Poster (15), and Why Diets Don’t Work (16).
To conclude the book, Lysa encourages readers to focus on the very next choice they will make. This intense focus helps readers to stay on the right track and not get entirely derailed by a single poor choice. Finally, she gives guidance on how to live as an overcomer, only through the grace of Christ, in this area.
Three helpful things to know about this book:
Each chapter is relatively short, making the book very easy to consume.
At the conclusion of the book, all the scriptures shared in the book are condensed into a “by chapter” appendix.
This book has also been redesigned and shortened as I’ll Start Again Monday, released January 2022.
I think the greatest thing I personally took away from this book was the fact that those of us that struggle in this area can turn this issue into a tool to draw us closer to God. So if we struggle with overeating or poor choices or poor planning in this area, let us consider Paul’s writing,
“’My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me”
2 Corinthians 12:9 (ESV)
Here are a few quotes I liked from Made To Crave:
“Truth is powerful. The more saturated we are with truth, the more powerful will be in resisting our temptations” (24).
“Our flesh buys right into Satan's lie that it's not fair for things to be withheld from us” (101).
“If we fail to understand how to fill our souls with spiritual nourishment, we will be triggered to numb our longings with temporary physical pleasures” (129).
“We need to be empty enough and open enough to discover the holiness we were made for” (168).
“Virtually everyone who overcomes will tell you their victory is the sum total of a whole lot of wise decisions that they made day by day” (191).
Audience:
Women, young adults & older. I would not recommend this book for a person with an eating disorder. It is designed for the average woman that has struggled to have a healthy relationship with food, her body, and/or weight.
Usefulness Rating:
Made to Crave is as useful as readers are willing to make it.
Entertainment Value:
If you’ve ever read a book by Lysa TerKeurst, you know she’s a gifted, witty, entertaining writer. This book is no exception; it is entertaining and helpful.
Good for Groups:
Yes! I’ve lead it with a small group. Each short chapter concludes with questions for reflection that could be used for small groups.
To learn more about Lysa TerKeurst, you can visit her ministry’s website at https://proverbs31.org/
For more information about this book or other reading suggestions, feel free to contact me directly.
