Do you not
know that your body is a sanctuary of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you
have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought at a price; therefore
glorify God in your body. 1 Corinthians 6:19-20, HCSB
I don't drink alcohol; I don’t gamble; I don’t smoke; I don’t take illegal drugs nor do I abuse
prescription medications; and I was never sexually promiscuous. However, I do
have a problem with food. I love to eat and I made food my drug of choice many
years ago. Food is my comfort—it is what calms me down when I am nervous or
upset. Food is my addiction.
As a result
of my addiction, I have struggled with weight issues my whole life. Several
months ago, the Holy Spirit began to deal with me about the state of my health.
After all, as Christians, we are not our own; we are bought with a price and we
are to glorify God with our bodies. We do that by presenting our bodies to Him
as a living sacrifice. (And BTW, that is our reasonable service as opposed to
our above and beyond service. WoW! That hits home doesn’t it?)
If I’m abusing
my body with food and I’m not exercising as I should then it follows that I’m
presenting a substandard (i.e., unacceptable) sacrifice to the Lord. Also, along with impeding my ability to
perform well I am more than likely affecting the longevity of my earthly life. To
cut to the chase—I’m sinning against God because I’m abusing my body.
We are to praise the
Lord in our spirit and we are to praise Him with our physical bodies. God meant
for us to put good things into our bodies. That’s why we feel better when we
eat the good stuff. God meant for us to exercise our bodies—our bodies are
built for movement—that’s why we have about 206 bones but three to four times
(depending on who you ask) as many muscles—and that’s why we feel better when
we exercise regularly.
My solution? I have started to walk for exercise again. The Holy Spirit has allowed me to see that I can make walking more than just
exercise, it can be worship as well.
Bringing my
body into submission as far as food is concerned is more difficult for me. But
I know the battle can be won. I now realize the battle is not
just a physical battle but also a spiritual battle. And the good news is
that God is on my side! However, my battle with food is not a battle I can win
in my own strength. If I could have won the battle on my own I would have won
it years ago. No, for me this is a battle that can only be won through total
dependence upon the Lord. He is there to bridge the gap for me.
Lysa
Terkeurst, President of Proverbs 31 Ministries has written a book, “Made to
Crave; Satisfying Your Deepest Desire with God, Not Food”. In the book, Lysa writes,
“Moment by moment we have the choice to live in our own strength and risk
failure or to reach across the gap and grab hold of God’s unwavering strength.
And the beautiful thing is, the more dependent we become on God’s strength, the
less enamored we are with other choices. “(168-169)
Yes, God is
there to stand in the gap for us; to give us strength when we are weak. Many
times we must lose to win. There must be a stripping away of those things that
hold us down and hold us back from being what God intends for us to be. But we
can be sure that, “He who started a good work in you will carry it on to
completion,” Philippians 1:6, HCSB.
God Bless!
