From Halloween to New Year’s Day is a food festival jumping out at you. From the commercials on the tv to the subtle food placements in our entertainments, food is thrown at you. Not just food, I can handle a beautiful platter of roasted vegetables, or grilled fish; however, that is not what is projected into our lives. No, it is the cookies, cakes, pasta and every other unhealthy food choice out there.
What’s a girl to do? I wrote a blog about giving up. Well, this is a bit of a play on that. I’m giving up. I am making a conscious decision to disconnect what I see ending up with what I want. Meaning, if I am watching a movie and they show a box of Krispy Kreme doughnuts, I do not have to start the thought process of wanting a doughnut. I can disconnect that visual desire so that I will not have a physical desire.
I struggle with eating. I joined Weight Watchers back in June. The process of losing weight is harder than gaining weight. The gaining part of life requires no discipline. None whatsoever. The losing part requires SO much discipline that it becomes overwhelming.
My devotional this morning by Lysa TerKeurst talking about making unhealthy choices. She provided the scripture I am going to use. But one thing she said struck a chord with me, so I am going to share it with you. “If we want to be sold-out for God, we have to break away from the everybody crowd.” The everybody crowd wants us to enjoy life, enjoy rich food, tempting sweets and do whatever feels good. But that goes against what God desires for us. Yes, God wants us to enjoy life and food; however, not in an over-indulgent kind of way. He has given us guidelines to follow. Kind of like Weight Watchers, you may eat whatever you want with in the perimeters of their guidelines.
Matthew 7:13-14 “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.” The passage is one of my favorites because it reassures me that life is going to be tough if I am to be a Christ follower. If it were easy, the everybody would be doing it.
Romans 12:2 “Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but transformed by the renewing of you mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.” Conforming allows us to be of the world, transforming allows us to be in the world for Christ. Applying this to my food struggle (or language struggle) means giving into the desires of my eyes makes me fall short of what I know to be right. I should disconnect the visual desire of that food item and allow myself to be transformed into a new creature. That new creature will always struggle with making the right food choices; however, allowing God to help me control the desires of my eyes will allow me a victory over that doughnut.
Our bodies are the temple of God. We should make that temple beautiful. So I am going to give my eyes over to Him who can actually control them, so that my temple meets His expectations.
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