How is your new year's diet going?
Maybe you tried giving up something for lent...How's that going?
I've tried just about everything for dieting, I think:
Slim fast (remember that one, 80s teens?)
Dexatrim--yet another 80s fad
The Military diet
The Exodus diet
The Grapefruit diet
The Cabbage Soup diet
The Adkins Diet
Smoothie Cleanse
The Mediterranean Diet
The Daniel Diet
The Keto
Fasting
There are probably more, but these are the ones I've tried...and given up on. I've also tried the see-food diet and the junk food diet, but these are the ones that did the most damage to my body. I was not disciplined to maintain any of these diets beyond a short period of time. After quitting each diet, weight would gradually start to creep on again. In all honesty, these are also the current plights of my current spiritual predicament: Discipline.
After watching a recent sermon, I felt convicted about my discipline in studying God's word. I survive on a steady diet of devotions. Sometimes I read from a book of devotions following a central theme. Others, I rely on my You Version Bible App. Sometimes, I watch a video from the Bible Project and read the biblical scriptures from the work. These are good snacks, but they are not filling. Yet, these are not deep dives into God's word; these are supplements that help me better understand God's word.
Don't get me wrong--these are just 2 resources I love to tap for more information about my God, but I feel a strong need lately to get deeper into God's word and gorge myself on lessons from scripture. Nom nom nom nom nom. Healthy food for an unsatiated soul!
With food dieting, most people have a goal to get healthier. The same thing applies with scripture; getting into the word improves spiritual health. Several places in scripture show how God's word fulfills our spiritual thirst, just as food and water quench our hunger and thirst.
A little digging brought me to these scriptures about how scripture provides nourishment and sustenance to our spiritual selves:
As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, my God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When can I go and meet with God?
Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’ ”
Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. For on him God the Father has placed his seal of approval.”
Then Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.
Just like I have to take care of the physical body God designed just for me by paying attention to which foods I consume, I have to take care of my spiritual body by consuming scripture and tending to my faith. When I read God's word, especially the scriptures about Jesus, I'm filled with hope and peace. When I read God's word, I learn about who I am in Christ and whose I am by design. When I read God's word, I learn about how faithful God is and how much God loves me. These are just a few of the things The Bible addresses that serve as spiritual sustenance.
Friends, wherever you are in your faith journey, take some time to get into the word of God. You can consume all of the words of the Bible and keep on eating. It is good. The Bible tells me so.
Bless you,
Michelle
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