Do You Want to Be Strong Without Depending on Chocolate?

Isaiah 30:15-16 (ERV)

15 The Lord God, the Holy One of Israel, says, “If you come back to me you will be saved. Only by remaining calm and trusting in me can you be strong.”

But you don’t want to do that. 16 You say, “No, we need fast horses for battle.” 

On any given day, okay most days, I need to find the strength to get through the day. I feel like there are way too many items to check off my to do list! I feel defeated before I even start the day and want to give up because I feel so discouraged…like the battle is too overwhelming for me. So at that point, I have two choices. 

First choice, eat!!!  Eat something that will make me feel better, give me energy, give me strength. I can't tell you how many times I take the first choice. It may be evening time and I have too much schoolwork to get done and I will spend my evenings working on that, as well as laundry and dinner and a host of other things. Eating something unhealthy seems to be a great solution to give me the energy I need. I can sit down and get busy and have a "snack" right beside me and I tell myself this will be perfect.  Only problem is when I finish that snack and I have to stop and get another snack and then another and suddenly I realize that the thing that was supposed to make me strong made me feel weak. Has that ever happen to you?

Read what it says in Isaiah, “Only by remaining calm and trusting in me can you be strong”But you don’t want to do that. 16 You say, “No, we need fast horses for battle.” .

I took that right out of the Bible!  I thought,"God, you read my mind."  You told me that if I wanted to be strong, the way to accomplish this is to remain calm and trust in you.  But instead, I say "I don't want to do that. You were not enough for the kind of strength I needed." God's ways are always going to seem contrary to the world's logic. When the world says to go shopping and buy something you don't need then you will feel better, God says remain calm and trust in me. When the world says to yell at your kids or your spouse and you will feel better, God says just trust me. When the world says to go through the closest drive-in and order something very unhealthy because you had a bad day, God says "Can you trust me, instead of food?' 

The second choice is always the choice that works every single time! There is not enough energy in a candy bar or bag of chips to help you through your day. The enemy will lie to you every time and a lot of time you will listen to him. And then you know what he has the nerve to do…condemn you for eating the whole thing. You just cannot win if you choose that way. Next time you get to this point where you are desperate for some strength, remember this promise:

Isaiah 40:29 

He helps tired people be strong. He gives power to those without it.

How God feels about me

In Psalms 51:3
Going through the motions doesn’t please you,
    a flawless performance is nothing to you.
I learned God-worship
    when my pride was shattered.
Heart-shattered lives ready for love
    don’t for a moment escape God’s notice.

I was over at my 10 month old grandson's house today watching him play with his toys.  I was enjoying seeing him crawl around, pulling up on everything in sight and trying to stand by himself for a few seconds. He is so close to taking that first step.
At lunch time, my son placed little baby bites of chicken, sweet potatoes, cheese and his favorite…blueberries on his tray and Zeph would gobble them up. I was amazed at how easy it was to feed him "normal" food and not have to mash things up for him. After lunch, he would get to play all over again until nap time.

I was so full of love at watching him take those tiny steps toward maturity.   I was amazed and wondered if anyone had grandchildren as delightful as mine.  My grandchildren enchant me.  They have brought to life a heart approaching 59.  Grandchildren do that…make you feel young again.  And then he did it…he turned and spotted me and held out his arms for me. Are there words to describe how this feels?  When he says Pat-pat for the first time, I will start crying as I did when my other grandson said it.

My son said the most profound thing when I remarked how big of a deal that is to see your grandchild turn to you and reach out for you.  He says,"Can you imagine how God feels when he has been watching you do the things he has created you to do and he sees you growing in maturity and then all of a sudden…you turn and notice Him. you not only notice him but you reach out your hands for him to grab you in his strong arms."  Read that again to get a grasp of the way God feels about you.

He is not that impressed when he sees me "going through the motions" of the Christian life.  I am boring him to death when I am busy, busy, busy doing all the amazing things in my own power and strength. I bet he weeps when I say "I am independent now. I don't need you anymore. I'm fine. I grew up to maturity. I am strong without you." If you think for a moment that this is not truth, imagine how I would feel if my grandson say to me,"Pat-pat, I am fine and I don't need you anymore. In fact, I am too busy doing great things so I won't have time to look at you anymore." What a knife through my heart that would be,

Shatter my pride and do whatever it takes to help me realize how much it delights you, Lord, when I turn to you everyday and reach out with weak, powerless arms.

If God asks me to give up cheesecake…is that too much to ask?

And so, dear brothers, I plead with you to give your bodies to God. Let them be a living sacrifice, holy—the kind he can accept. When you think of what he has done for you, is this too much to ask?  (Romans 12:1)

I have noticed that over the past two years, as I have denied myself the junk foods I used to enjoy, the Lord has increased my focus on him. So many Christians do not realize the power of a "denial list." Daniel created a denial list when he was forced to leave his beloved homeland and was taken to Babylon. The richness and temptations of the kingdom of Babylon(like America) could have sent him spiraling down a dangerous road. Instead he decided that he needed to protect his body, his mind, his walk with God by taking certain things out of his life. 

If you recall, Daniel was the guy who got thrown into the lion's den because he bowed down to God and not King Nebuchadnezzar. The background to the story involved Daniel giving up some sleep, maybe lunch or perhaps popularity in order to continue to pray many times a day. I am sure it was not the popular thing for the chosen group from Israel to be against the traditions of Babylon.    

Also, in the beginning verses, Daniel made a denial list about food. Read what happened:

"But Daniel made up his mind not to eat the food and wine given to them by the king. He asked the superintendent for permission to eat other things instead." 

Interesting. He made up his mind that he would not eaten certain foods.  Have you ever done that? Have you decided that once and for all you will stop eating things that have no nutritional value and add way too many calories that you simply do not need? Have you considered allowing "your body to glorify Christ" and not detract from your testimony? There is a clear decision to be made. Is there a single item of food that you could look at and say,"you are not worth more to me than what I will gain if I deny myself a bite"? Cheesecake is a precious food item to me.  I love Cheesecake Factory!  However, a couple of years ago I looked at cheesecake right in the eye and said,"you are no longer worth it to me."

Look at the next part of the story:

"Well, at the end of the ten days, Daniel and his three friends looked healthier and better nourished than the youths who had been eating the food supplied by the king!"

I have been rewarded by denying myself certain foods.  I look healthier than I used to two years ago.  A lot of people have commented on this. Not only do I look healthier, I feel more confident and more focused in other areas. God did something similar to Daniel.

"God gave these four youths great ability to learn." 

God is patiently waiting for us to do things his way, instead of our way. His ways are always going to help us and not harm us. Truthfully, it seems like he is trying to harm us and make us give up wonderful things. But the reality is he is all about us doing things that will bring glorify to his name. Being healthy brings glory to his name. Back to the beginning verse:

"When you think of what he has done for you, is this too much to ask?"