Lately, I’ve noticed my waistline has expanded as has the number on the bathroom scale I step on regularly. Even a doctor’s checkup showed I had also developed high blood pressure as I result of my lineage, age, diet, and sporadic exercise.
Two friends of mine in a similar situation decided they’d had enough of their extra weight and decided to do something about it and joined Weight Watchers. Through dedication and hard work over the past several months and simple lifestyle changes, they’ve already seen tremendous results and fruit of their commitment.
My diet and exercise in life need to change if I’m going to shed the extra pounds and see a change in my overall health and well-being as well. But it’s not just my natural diet I need to change.
I’ve noticed a parallel here with life. Lately, I’ve been indulging in far too much news and social media. This diet of tragedies, war, economic difficulties, wildfires across the USA and Canada, floods in Mexico and California, the resurgence of the Covid virus, death tolls across the world in a variety of difficulties, and news proclaiming all the bad news has left my heart trembling with fear. Instead of ingesting so much bad news and fear, I need some good news and faith to counter the daily digest of difficulties. I also need to exercise my spiritual muscles of faith as well.
If I consume more bad news rather than letting God’s Word or encouraging words and hope flood my heart, then doubt, fear, and despair can set in. Just like consuming too many calories or eating the wrong foods affects my physical body, the same is true spiritually and emotionally speaking.
Also, if I lounge around eating chips, cookies, and junk food, my waistline is sure to expand. If I spend most of my time scrolling through the numerous feeds on social media, I can quickly get addicted to the various forms of news and entertainment and find I’ve wasted valuable time.
It’s good to stay informed, but in our information-saturated culture, we can get lazy, indulgent, and overwhelmed by this never-ending source of information. I’ve noticed too I spend more time listening to the opinions of others rather than the truth of God’s Word. And just like the unhealthy eating and exercise habits I’ve developed in the past few years, I’ve allowed this form of knowledge or entertainment to invade my world. It’s time to change my ways and get a steady healthy diet of good choices and good health in more ways than one.
It’s time for a change: both in my diet and consumption habits.
Beloved:
Do you not know that what you consume defines you in every way? If you have a poor diet and lifestyle, you will have poor health—both literally and spiritually speaking. I have not given you a spirit of fear but one of hope in every trial in life. Come to Me for peace and life and all that you need. Let Me direct your life. I am the God of hope.
“Say to the anxious and fearful, ‘Be strong and never afraid. Look here comes your God. He is breaking through to give you victory...’” (Isaiah 35:4)