Full Armor of God Diet

One day this week, I was not having such a good day -- not eating well, not exercising. I stepped on the scale and had put on 2 pounds since the previous week. I wondered "Am I ever going to get there?" "There" being a place where I fit into all the clothes I want to fit into and feel energized and at peace, taking care of my health properly.

"Lord," I prayed. "I'm tempted to give up."

Then I remembered the words to a song "He who began a good work in you, will be faithful to complete it." What a wonderful promise. I won't give up, because God won't give up on me.

Here is the verse in Philippians:

"And I am sure that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on that day when Christ Jesus comes back again." Philippians 1:6 (New Living Translation)

To overcome an addiction (or an obsession with anything - like food!), experts often recommend focusing on something else as a replacement. In the Bible, we find that Job found something to treasure more than food. The word of God.

"I have not departed from the command of His lips;I have treasured the words of His mouth more than my necessary food." Job 23:12(NASB)

Job was committed to the truth. To him, the word of God was more important than food. Experts tell us that most cravings last only for about 10 minutes (I found this fact in Reader's Digest.) So, here's a plan for the next time you have a food craving for something you really don't need. Don't give in to the craving. It's not necessary. Remember Job treasured God's word more than his necessary food, and your craving itsn't even necessary food! Get out your Bible and seek God's word. Read for 10 minutes and look specifically for a verse that you can carry with you to help you battle temptation the rest of the day.

I want to be like Job and treasure God's word more than food.

The wind blowing into my face creating resistance isn't exactly helping as I pedal up a 1/2-mile hill. I tell myself I can do it. Keep riding. Breathe in. Pedal, pedal. Breath out. Pedal, pedal. My water bottle is almost empty with only about 8 oz. of water left. I've been riding for over an hour. It's 90 degrees even though I started early to beat the heat. But I'm not discouraged.

Instead, I'm encouraged. Breath in. Pedal, pedal. Breath out. Pedal, pedal. I'm encouraged because I know when I reach the top of this hill, it's time to turn around. I'm thinking about how great it will be when I turn around and start cruising down this hill with ease. I'm thinking about the joy of the downhill ride. I'll finish off my water, and I'll have only 2 miles left of mostly downhill and flat road taking me home to air conditioning.

In life, perfecting Christian character involves climbing steep hills, too. Peter reminds us to be holy in 1 Peter 1. Being holy, following all of God's laws and walking in the path that Jesus took, is not always easy. The wind blows against us. We struggle. We even fail. But we must keep pedaling and moving forward with Jesus. When the hill gets steep, Peter reminds us not to think about our failures but to keep looking toward the future.

"Therefore, prepare your minds for action; be self-controlled; set your hope fully on the grace to be given you when Jesus Christ is revealed." 1 Peter 1:13 (NIV)

When life gets difficult, what do you do? Are you prepared for action? Have you put on the Armor of God so you will have self control? It's important not to let mistakes from the past discourage you or slow you down in your Christian walk. Instead, think about how great it will be to experience the grace you will receive when Jesus comes again. Think about the joy of heaven. Heaven will be even better than cruising down the last big hill on your biking course.

I've been contemplating more fully Jeremiah 13:23 (yesterday's blog Bible verse)...

I keep thinking about the metaphor of spots on my body. I have so many spots that need to change - vanity, pride, selfishness, lack of patience, judgemental attitude. I keep thinking about these spots, and I really want to get rid of them. But I can't. I'm like a leopard trying to change his spots. My prayer is that God will take away these 5 particular spots. These are the spots that seem to appear and grow even larger when I start reaching my health goals:

Vanity spot: Aren't I looking better?
Pride spot: I am doing so well. I sure do have my act together.
Selfishness spot: I can't take time to help you because I'm using up all of my spare time researching nutrition facts!
Lack of Patience spot: Results are coming, but not fast enough.
Judgemental Attitude spot: Why doesn't that person get on their bike and ride some of that weight off?

Aren't these horrible spots? They are ugly. These are not good spots to be in. I don't like the way these spots feel. In fact, they feel worse than having an extra roll on my tummy. Isn't it just like Satan to throw these spots on us right in the middle of our success with health goals?

If you are like me and you have spots you would like to get rid of, let's pray that God will remove these spots and keep Satan with his old ugly paint brush away from us.

When was the last time you tried to change your health habits? Is there anything in your lifestyle that needs changing? I have been trying to stop eating between meals. Surely three meals a day is plenty. It's not like I'm fasting. There is plenty of food to be had throughout the day. But even something as simple as this can be tough if it's a lifetime habit. In fact, the Bible tells us that when we try to change our ways, we are helpless without Jesus. We might as well be leopards trying to change our spots.

"Can the Ethiopian [a] change his skin
or the leopard its spots?
Neither can you do good
who are accustomed to doing evil." Jeremiah 13:23

However, with the power of Jesus, we can change. He will help us change our ways one baby step at a time. Whatever health habit you are trying to break, give it to Jesus and watch Him change your spots.

Exercise is a terrific way to add days to your life and a better quality of life to your days. Here is another way to have a long, happy life - keep God's law in your heart and follow it.

"My son, forget not my law; but let thine heart keep my commandments: For length of days, and long life, and peace, shall they add to thee." Proverbs 3:1,2 (King James Vesion)