In today’s episode in our series of healthy living, we are tackling the topic of healthy bodies. We have both acknowledged that this is a struggle for each of us and according to our Instagram poll, most of you feel the same way! Our poll indicated that 75% of you felt like the health of your body was your greatest weakness when compared to mind and soul.
Here’s what we need to understand, it is not about a number on a scale - we have got to get past measuring our worth by how much we weigh BUT we’ve got to examine ourselves through the lens of what do we crave and do we control what we ingest or does the food control us.
Let’s dive into 3 areas of physical health - nutrition, exercise and rest.
Nutrition - First of all, let’s establish that we are no longer bound by the ceremonial laws regarding food - the Jews were supposed to adhere to the law where food was considered clean or unclean. The law was fulfilled and we now live under grace. We can live by verses like 1Cor. 10:23 “All things are lawful for me, but all things are not expedient: all things are lawful for me, but all things edify not.”
This is one verse that allows us to live with Christian Liberty- if I want to eat pork, carbs, junk, fried foods, etc. I can, however, he warns us to not take advantage of those liberties. Sure, I can eat what I want but I will reap the consequences of my decisions.
Let’s look at 2 stories in the Bible
Eve - Gen 3:6 - we’ve talked about how she sinned but have you ever thought that the first sin involved food? Ultimately, her sin was disobedience to God but I don’t think that it’s a coincidence that her sin revolved around food - it was pleasing, desirable - Satan tempted her with something that looked delicious and she ate.
Jesus in Matthew 4:1-11 after spending 40 days fasting, what was the first thing Satan used to tempt Him? His ability to turn the stones into bread, He was tempted with food but let’s see what Jesus did in contrast to Eve. He took the devil back to the word of God, “It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.
In Lysa Terkeurst’s book “I’ll Start Again Monday” she says “Eve craved what she focused on. We consume what we think about. And what we think about can consume us if we’re not careful.” But what did Jesus crave? He had spent 40 days with His Father, fasting and praying, He craved the Word of God and He used it to counter the temptations of the Devil.
It’s crazy to think that the way we can counter the cravings and bad eating habits we have is through the Word of God. But we can turn away temptation by seeking to honor the Lord even in our nutrition.
Now let’s talk about exercise -
1 Timothy 4:8 - “For bodily exercise profiteth little; but godliness is profitable unto all things, having promise of the life that now is, and that which is to come.”
-Exercise profits little and what is the biggest issue with nutrition? Self-control and self control is a fruit of the spirit from Galatians - Godliness is profitable.
Not only should we be mindful of our nutrition and exercise but another area that the Bible talks about is REST and we see this example all the way back in Genesis at Creation. God created the earth and all its inhabitants in 6 days and on the 7th day He rested.
But not only that, but in Exodus when God gave Moses the 10 Commandments, God gave instructions to all of us that we should Remember the Sabbath and keep it holy and He goes on to say that 6 days you will work and labor but on the 7th day it’s the Lord’s day, a day of rest.
What’s the purpose?
With another quote from Lysa Terkeurst’s book…“It’s not the ‘how to’ I’m missing. It’s the ‘want to’...really wanting to make lasting changes and deciding that the results of those changes are worth the sacrifice.”
“With Jesus, if we want to gain, we must give up. To be filled, we must deny ourselves. To truly get close to God, we’ll have to distance ourselves from other things. To conquer our cravings, we’ll have to redirect them to God. God made us capable of craving so we’d have an unquenchable desire for more of Him and Him alone. Nothing changes until we make the choice to redirect our misguided cravings to the only One capable of satisfying them.”
What are you craving? What is the first thing you turn to? Jesus or Oreos, Jesus or a fancy coffee, Jesus or chips - What you’re craving is what is controlling you.
What’s the challenge?
Our health goals need to be measurable and attainable.
So we hope that you will take the challenge with us, set some measurable and attainable goals that fit your lifestyle and your own personal situation. And we’d love to hear from you this week on Instagram/Facebook as we share some of our journey with you. Let us know what your goals are and let’s encourage one another as we pursue a healthy lifestyle. We’ve mentioned this so many times before but our bodies are the Temple of God. If you are a child of God, the Holy Spirit lives within you and our responsibility is to take care of the gift of our bodies to the best of our abilities.
Resources:
“I’ll Start Again on Monday” by Lysa Terkeurst https://amzn.to/3Q1BCik
