EMPOWERING LIVES WITH PURPOSE:
Watching over our Temple.
Many of us struggle with eating poorly; health concerns arise because of it, and excessive weight gain may come as well. Eating poorly can be my culprit at times.
I was not doing very well in honoring God’s temple in the past. If I made poor choices in my eating habits, I would feel the effects in my entire body and trace it to what I had eaten. I’m not making excuses, but my tendency to eat poorly came under stressful situations, and I would seem to have a reason why I would do this whenever I felt the effects of poor nutrition.
Today as I write, I am still talking to myself but hope to encourage you to honor your body. It is the temple of the Holy Spirit living within you. Does He abide in a healthy environment? Is it your choice to honor Him there?
In the past, I would catch myself thinking, “Yes, my life is the Lords, but my body, it is under my own control. If I feel bad, it’s ok; I deserve a break or reward for myself. Often, food is the prize. I would do whatever might feel good or taste good at the time, so I’d eat, leading to overindulging.
These thoughts that I deserve food to make me feel better are not true. They are lies that lead to obsessive issues and bad health situations. God cares what I consume, and God cares what you eat as well.
If I feel stressed, I will tend to eat more things I call “comfort food,” if I am in a rush, I grab something quickly, like fast food, cookies, etc., and not care what it is just to satisfy the desire.
“They willfully put God to the test
by demanding the food they craved.”
(Psalm 78:18)
There are so many different angles to the topic of overeating. Of course, there is the actual act of eating too much food, but there is also:
●idolatry
●treating your body poorly
●giving into temptation/the desires of our flesh
●lacking self-control
…and so much more.
My body belongs to the Lord. That is the truth. It is His temple—more truth. Everything I do with it matters to God.
If any of us belong to the Lord, our body must be surrendered to Him just like everything else in our life that we do and give over to God.
ALL of it…EVERYTHING belongs to God.
Caring for our body is NOT something we can do successfully or independently of God. We need to rely on Him for our strength to maintain it in a healthy way.
We must not have an attitude that God will “heal us” if we get sick. This would be wrong thinking. If we are not taking the precautions to eat properly and are disobedient to honoring God’s temple, then our bodies, which have the Holy Spirit living within us, suffer. We are living dangerously.
We sabotage our lives by not doing what is best for our bodies or our health.
God wants us to resist what is bad and be disciplined enough to do what is right. He will give you the strength to do it. We need to confess that we’ve eaten poorly if it applies, and we abused our temple.
I did this in the past, but now I confess it quicker and then get myself back on track as fast as I can.
I’d love to encourage you to make a decision to get healthy in your temple and try to eat more cautiously. It works.
I know completely well that God wants me to value myself enough that I will take care of my own body.
Yes, He forgives me in my weakness but gives me supernatural strength to look to Him inside the actual battle. And when this happens, we can be victorious in Him! Be confident in Christ.
If, after all my efforts of taking proper care are enforced, and I still get sick or gain weight, I will trust God completely for His healing touch on my body and that He will help me through it.
This can be a struggle for many until you get it under control, God’s control…It’s something we must surrender to God again and again, if necessary, by admitting when we make a mistake.
I have learned not to beat myself up time and again and ultimately make matters worse. Just STOP, thank Him for His forgiveness, and then move on to better choices again.
I pray that this helps you and you can relate to and resolve it.
Everything we have is the Lord’s. Especially our bodies; it’s His temple. Let’s try to remember this and not be lazy about it.
Here are some verses that will help us.
(2 Corinthians 6:16)
(1 Corinthians 6:19)
(1 Corinthians 3:16)