In the past I made new years resolutions and had trouble keeping them or even remembering them after a few weeks or even a few days. Usually they center around eating better or getting in shape or being more consistent in my walk with the Lord or in general, or being nicer or or or..... They are all for selfish outward appearances. 1 Samuel 16: 7 says "People judge by outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart." Then I realized I have been getting it wrong all this time.
Over the last few years I have been putting on weight. I keep hearing "that is part of being in your 40's". I don't like that answer so I have tried different things to lose weight, but nothing has worked. I have been trying to lose weight because of a lot of outward reasons. I don't like the way I look. My clothes are too tight, I've always been thin. I've always been able to lose weight easily. Maybe my husband won't like the way I look. Maybe I won't be attractive, all outward reasons.
This past year I've had some pre-symptoms of health issues, so I've needed to change my eating habits and exercise level. I know what I needed to do. I had all the information of what to do, yet I choose not to do it but not intentionally. In my weak feeble mind I said I would do it, but then some temptation or stress came along and I gave in to it. I'm not like that with most things. I'm actually pretty determined even stubbornly so.
I am careful about what I read because I know that what I read affects the way I think and how I act. So I don't read romance novels that lead me to compare fictional perfect men to my unaware husband that can never compete. I don't listen to a lot of secular music because it tends to negatively affect my thinking and mood. I'm careful about what I watch on tv or the movies. Violent, scary movies affect my mood and my dreams. Chick flicks at times throw me into wishful thinking/daydreaming. All these things affect the words I say and how I say them. How and what I say is definitely something that still needs lots of improvements. God is still working on me in this area and "being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ." Philippians 1:6.
If I care what I goes in my head, past my eyes and out my mouth, then why don't I care what goes in my mouth? By not caring what goes in Gods temple am I telling God I don't care about what He thinks or what He wants. Do I care more about what I want or do I care more about what God wants? Pleasing me or pleasing my Lord? Obeying Him means loving him. Rebelling means rejecting God. "Don't you realize that all of you together are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God lives in you? God will destroy anyone who destroys this temple. For Gods temple is holy, and you are that temple." 1 Corinthians 3:16-17.
Someone I work with went through a sugar detox. I thought she was crazy! But I watched how she did, her determination and how she looked, not just physically but her face changed. There was more peace. Was it because of the sugar detox or something else? Either way I was intrigued from the beginning. Maybe I should try this, my doctor would be thrilled. But is that reason enough? What is it that will motivate me? What will finally get my attention? I decided to pick up a book I bought over a year ago called "Made to Crave", by Lysa TerKeurst. Don't get too excited! I only read the first chapter so far! But I am still reading. The first chapter talks about cravings and what they are, then I came across 1 Corinthians 10:23 "Everything is permissible-but not everything is beneficial". Wow, that hit me like a 2 by 4! The chocolates, the dessert and all the other sugary goodies are permissible but they are not beneficial. I have blood tests to prove it, I have headaches and tiredness to prove yet I have been unwilling to change.
This past weekend Pastor Adrian Tsingaris said that "sin breaks our unity with God and keeps us from being connected with God. Children of God do not intentionally sin or reserve a part of our life to sin." In many ways I am doing that when it comes to food. Food has become a comfort, a pleasure, something to look forward to and something I think about too much. It has become a sin. We need food for fuel not to have a party in our mouth several times a day.
Instead of a New Years Resolution that will soon be broken, I am choosing obedience. Choosing to show love to God in my actions. I don't want to make promises or lie to myself that I will get it right all the time. If I blow it, I won't give up and condemn myself, "So now there is no condemnation for those that belong to Christ Jesus", Romans 8:1. Any negative thought I have about this process is from my enemy, Gods enemy that wants me to be defeated. Romans 8:37 "...in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us."
This year I resolve to change the way I eat, not because it will make me look better or feel better (a nice bonus) but because I am God's temple and I desire to obey, to love and not sin against Him. Because He is changing me from the inside out.
I resolve, the only way I know how, through God's Holy Spirit leading me, because I can't do anything on my own, but "I can do all things through Christ that strengthens me" Philippians 4:13.
