Step Seven: Humility Without Shame

For a long time, I struggled with low self-esteem — perhaps you struggle with that too. What surprised me was how much it swung. Some days I thought too highly of myself. Other days I felt completely unworthy. I moved back and forth between pride and shame, never settling into a healthy view of myself.

That struggle didn’t stay in my head.

It showed up in my eating, my recovery, and my relationship with God.

If you’ve felt that tension, you’re not broken. Many of us have used food to cope with emotions we didn’t know how to process. Compulsive overeating often pulls our focus inward, and with that comes comparison, embarrassment, and confusion about our worth.

Step Seven gently invites us out of that cycle.

This step reminds us that we come to God neither puffed up nor beaten down, but humbly — grounded in truth. As written in the book 12 Steps to Recovery from Overeating by Julie Kleinhans:

“In Step Seven, we ask God to remove our shortcomings — not as one who feels unworthy or ashamed, but as highly valued, dearly loved children of God.”

We are not better than anyone else.

We are not worse than anyone else.

We are all children of God who have fallen short — and all equally forgiven and redeemed through Jesus.

When we truly understand how loved we are, asking God to remove our defects no longer feels like punishment. It becomes an act of trust. We stop trying to fix ourselves and invite God to do what we cannot.

And God doesn’t just remove things — He replaces them.

Anxiety with peace.

Shame with grace.

Indulgence with self-control.

If you’re practicing Step Seven today, you’re not failing. You’re growing. Each humble prayer is a step toward freedom — one rooted not in striving, but in grace.