How to Take Every Thought Captive in Eating Disorder Recovery with Dr. Alisa Shanks
"We need to surrender and ask the Lord to root his fruit in us and ask him to show us where we need to uproot the weeds of that poisoned fruit."
You've heard it a hundred times: Take every thought captive. Maybe you've even written it on a sticky note, highlighted it in your Bible, whispered it to yourself in a hard moment. But if you've been walking through eating disorder recovery or struggling with body shame, you may know this verse and still feel completely at the mercy of the thoughts that won't stop coming.
Dr. Alisa Shanks is back, and friend, this one goes deep. Because the question Alisa is really asking isn't just about managing your thoughts. It's about what kind of fruit those thoughts are growing. Not the fruit you want to grow. The fruit that's actually taking root in the soil of your mind right now.
Dr. Alisa Shanks is a licensed clinical psychologist in Colorado with over two decades of clinical expertise in eating disorder recovery and university mental health. This conversation started not in a podcast studio, but in a therapy session, when the Holy Spirit planted something in the middle of a session with a client that Alisa couldn't stop thinking about. That's where the fruit of the Spirit versus the poisoned fruit of the enemy was born.
Here's what we cover:
What it means to take every thought captive, and why it's the hinge point between the fruit of the Spirit and the poisoned fruit of the enemy
Galatians 5 unpacked: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control, and the antonyms Dr. Shanks calls the poisoned fruit of the enemy
Why the fruit is singular, and what it means that you cannot manufacture it in your own strength
How unforgiveness can function like drinking poison and expecting someone else to die, and what the path toward forgiveness and healing looks like
Why self-forgiveness in recovery is often the hardest kind, and how to apply the fruit of forgiveness toward yourself when you feel like you should have been further along by now
What bitterness and unforgiveness do to the soul, and why staying on that treadmill gives the enemy a foothold
How to feel a hard emotion without planting its seed, and the difference between experiencing poisoned fruit and cultivating it
Why vengeance is so hard to surrender, and what it means that God's justice is not on our timeline
The closing invitation: surrendering, asking God to root His fruit in us, taking every thought captive, and leaving justice to the Lord
The Fruit of the Spirit vs. The Poisoned Fruit of the Enemy
Galatians 5:22-23, expanded by Dr. Alisa Shanks
| Fruit of the Spirit | Poisoned Fruit of the Enemy |
|---|---|
| Love | Hatred · Indifference · Selfishness · Fear · Disdain |
| Joy | Sorrow · Misery · Despair · Discontent |
| Peace | Conflict · Chaos · Anxiety · Turmoil |
| Patience | Impatience · Restlessness · Irritability · Frustration |
| Kindness | Unkindness · Cruelty · Harshness · Selfishness |
| Goodness | Evil · Wickedness · Corruption · Malice |
| Faithfulness | Disloyalty · Betrayal · Inconsistency |
| Gentleness | Harshness · Aggression · Rudeness · Violence |
| Self-Control | Impulsivity · Recklessness · Undisciplined · Chaotic |
| Humility | Arrogance · Pride · Egotism · Self-Importance |
| Justice | Oppression · Corruption |
| Hope | Despair · Hopelessness · Doubt · Discouragement |
| Forgiveness | Unforgiveness · Resentment · Bitterness · Grudge-Holding |
| Gratitude | Entitlement · Ungratefulness · Resentment |
| Wisdom | Foolishness · Ignorance · Recklessness |
Friend, if you have ever found yourself cycling through shame, bitterness, or the quiet accusation that you should be over this by now, Dr. Shanks knows that place. So does Chrissy. And what this conversation makes clear is that the fruit of the Spirit is not something you muster up. It is something that grows in you when you stay grafted to the vine. Your job is to trust. His job is to fill you to overflowing.
"We're not trying to pull ourselves up by our bootstraps and manifest love, joy, peace, patience, kindness. This is being planted in us through the power of the Holy Spirit." — Dr. Alisa Shanks
Taking every thought captive is not a one-time victory. Alisa is honest about that. The poisoned fruit will show up again. The seeds will blow in. But you get to choose what you plant. And with Christ-centered healing as your anchor, you can feel the hard feelings, bring them to the Lord, and release them, without pitching your tent in them.
The thoughts will come. The fruit you grow is up to you. And Jesus is already in the soil, ready to help you tend it.
If this episode resonated with you, would you share it with someone who needs to be reminded that the fruit of the Spirit is already available to them?
This is part one of a two-part conversation with Dr. Alisa Shanks. In part two, she brings the science. We talk about what modern neuroscience says about the fruit of the Spirit, why your brain was designed to run on joy, and what neuroplasticity has to do with taking every thought captive. She also walks us through two beautiful, practical tools, including the Golden Memories exercise, that you can return to any time the poison fruit starts taking root. Come back for that one, friend. It is worth it.
We’d love to hear your thoughts, so please drop us an email at admin@findingbalance.com, send us a voice message via SpeakPipe, or you can also subscribe for more practical episodes coming your way.
More About Dr. Alisa Shanks
Dr. Alisa Shanks has been a licensed clinical psychologist in Colorado since 2004, having built her career around three deep passions: her faith, eating disorder recovery, and university mental health. She has served at Biola University and the University of Colorado at Boulder, and currently serves as Director of the Larry Crabb Center for University Counseling at Colorado Christian University in Lakewood. Dr. Shanks believes wholeheartedly in full eating disorder recovery and brings that conviction to everything she does. She also serves as Chair of the FINDINGbalance® Board of Directors and brings over two decades of clinical expertise to her role. Alisa has been married for 25 years and has 2 teenage sons.
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No pretending, no fixing yourself first, come just as you are. If you want in, your next step is to join us at findingbalance.com/community.
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Resources Mentioned
Book: The Other Half of Church: Christian Community, Brain Science, and Overcoming Spiritual Stagnation by Jim Wilder and Michel Hendricks
Book: Life Changing Art of Self-Brain Surgery by W. Lee Warren
Mentioned Scriptures
Galatians 5, Galatians 5:22-25, Micah 6:8, Romans 15:13, Matthew 6:14–15, Colossians 3:12–13, 1 Thessalonians 5:16–18, James 1:5, Proverbs 2:6, Romans 12:2, John 10:10, Galatians 5:1, Romans 15:13, Philippians 4:4-7, Romans 12:19, Deuteronomy 32:35
Connect with Dr. Alisa Shanks
Christian Treatment Finder Profile
FINDINGbalance
Facebook
Instagram
SpeakPipe – Send us a voice message!
CHRIST-CENTERED RESOURCES TO HELP YOU FIND FREEDOM
The Daily Vitamin eDevo: A free devotional with bite-sized truth emailed 5 days a week
Community Groups: Find connection with prayer groups and our Hello, Freedom! community.
Christian Treatment Finder: Connecting you with Christian providers experienced in treating eating issues.
Lasting Freedom Online Course: A Christ-centered, non-diet course to work through false beliefs about food and weight so you can live free from disordered eating and body image issues.
CREDITS
Interlude music by “Hotham” – Morning Thoughts
Intro music by “MokkaMusic” – Old Jeans (Funk)
Wrap-up music by Jesse Quinn – Christian Instrumental
Production & Editing by Leah Bryant Co
The content in this podcast is for informational purposes only and is not intended to diagnose, treat, or prescribe a particular course of action. If you have, or suspect you may have, an eating disorder, please consult your healthcare provider. If you desire to receive faith-based care, visit ChristianTreatmentFinder.com to browse professionals with a Kingdom campaign against eating disorders.
