Great Devotional

akmett
akmett Posts: 75 Member
Just started this great devotional and wanted to share my enthusiasm

https://www.bible.com/reading-plans/419-made-to-crave-21-day-challenge


Here is a sample reading:
Day 1: Chocolate is my Comfort and Deliverer

God made you wonderful. Psalm 139 says you are wonderfully and fearfully made. You are beautiful and loved, no matter if you’re a size zero or a size thirty. You are beautiful just the way you are. But God loves you so much that He doesn’t want you to stay in a place of defeat.

There was a time when I felt utterly defeated in the area of food and health. I knew that I needed to make changes not because of the number on the scale or what clothing size I was. I knew it because of the battle that raged in my heart. I craved, I desired, I thought about, and arranged my life around food.

Yet I was a Bible teacher. I was a woman who loved Jesus. Why couldn’t I figure this out? I had found victory in so many areas of my life, but this area eluded me. I constantly asked, “Why shouldn’t I indulge?”

One day I looked up the definition of the word indulge, which means “unrestrained action.” And for me, it was unrestrained eating. You see, eating in its proper context is not the problem. God gave us food for nourishment, strength, and even celebration.

But when pleasure becomes unrestrained, there’s a problem.

I had to get honest enough to admit it that I relied on food more than I relied on God. I craved food more than I craved God. Chocolate was my comfort and deliverer. Cookies were my reward. Salty chips were my joy. Food was what I turned to in times of stress, sadness, and even in times of happiness.

I knew it was something God was challenging me to surrender to His control. Really surrender. Surrender to the point where I’d make radical changes for the sake of my spiritual health perhaps even more than my physical health.

Part of my surrender was asking myself a different question, a really raw question. May I ask you this same question? Is it possible we love and rely on food more that we love and rely on God?

Now before you stop reading, hear me out. This question is crucial. We have to see the purpose of our struggle with food as something more than getting to wear smaller sizes and receive compliments. Shallow desires produce shallow efforts. These good things are nice, but not as appealing in the moment as a cinnamon roll, or those chips, or that brownie.

The process of getting healthy has to be about more than just losing weight and focusing on ourselves. It’s not about adjusting our diets and hoping for good physical results. It’s about recalibrating our souls so that we want to change for the right reasons. I’ve realized that a healthy eating plan can be one of the most significant spiritual journeys I’d ever dared to take with God. As you join me for the next twenty days, I hope you soon say the same thing!

Replies

  • username3167
    username3167 Posts: 5 Member
    This is great. Thank you for sharing. :)
  • kimmieb2u
    kimmieb2u Posts: 43 Member
    As long as we're being honest, may I admit that food wasn't used as a comfort for me, more as a sedative. Because I didn't want to deal with the things that stressed me out, because I did not want to take the issue to God (since he might point out I needed to change in my attitude or actions) I went to food, specifically sugar for its soporific properties. Much as an alcoholic drinks to forget, I ate to sleep. It wasn't until I received a summons (for a real court case), that I woke up to the fact that my problems were not going to be slept away. I cried to the LORD; He helped me out of the pit and here I am. I started out with 180 pounds to lose. So far I've lost 17. The great news is that I didn't have to lose one pound to get my peace and joy back. God is merciful!

    I do appreciate the devotional, and especially this forum where I can openly credit the LORD for enabling my successes.