If you are reading this post, I am glad I didn't completely drive you away after my little soapbox post. This blog was truly never intended to be a place for me just to blast my opinions to the world. I have tried to be prayerful about what the Lord is revealing to me through the book of Deuteronomy while making some big changes in my life to become a healthier person. The prosperity gospel just was bothering me a bit lately so I chose that rabbit trail. Now, I want to return to the real reason I am here. To find God. To see Him in a more real way than I ever have before. I believe that He is the only reason I am finding any breakthrough in my heart and mind about food. There has also been some physical breakthrough but the greater impact I am finding is my ability to finally choose how I will think and feel about food. About 6 weeks ago, I remember talking to my brother on the phone while running on the treadmill (yes, I am sometimes one of those people) and telling him "I just haven't gotten it in my head yet." I recognized the need to have something "click" but had never experienced it personally. My brother has though. He chose to change his life about 7 or 8 years ago and only continues to find ways to become healthier. He has been the inspiration that I have just never allowed to inspire me enough to change. I am thankful for his continued encouragement and support throughout my own process. I lost about 30 pounds before my wedding because he created an online weight loss challenge. I personally felt like it was all a ploy to get me looking better in that wedding dress. Anyway, I am grateful to him for always accepting me the way that I am but also loving me enough to want me to change. I kind of wonder if this is the way God feels about us sometimes too. Please open your Bible and read Deuteronomy 29 or just click here.
Moses told the Israelites, "Your eyes have seen all that the Lord did in Egypt to Pharaoh, to all his officials and to all his land. With your own eyes you saw those great trials, those signs and great wonders. But to this day the Lord has not given you a mind that understands or eyes that see or ears that hear. Yet the Lord says, “During the forty years that I led you through the wilderness, your clothes did not wear out, nor did the sandals on your feet. You ate no bread and drank no wine or other fermented drink. I did this so that you might know that I am the Lord your God.” (v.2-6)
These verses mean so much to me right now because this is where I am with the Lord right now. I am in the wilderness, enjoying 40 days without bread or wine, relying on Him to fill me and be my Sustainer. He is giving me all I need. And I am satisfied. I will admit I have had a few moments of looking back. Paul told me today that the owner of "Melt" will be on the Today Show or something like that tomorrow and I immediately thought, "oh, how I would love a Melt grilled cheese sandwich." And I will again someday. When the Lord has brought me into my "promised land", just as He led the Israelites so many years ago. We haven't talked about Canaan for awhile. This is the promise I still hold onto. I know this is where I am going. And every day that I choose good health is another step closer to this promised land of transformation and new beginnings. Although, I have also been learning through this study, that it is not just a destination or a new chapter that I am trying to venture into. It is more of Christ, Himself, working in and through me. "I am your shield, your very great reward."(Genesis 15:1)
He is my reward. And He is the Blessing. I am rewarded and blessed by simply knowing Him. And the more I see and know Him, the more I will look like Him, which ultimately leads to looking less like myself. Dying to the flesh. Dying to my sins and bad habits. Dying to my old way of life and embracing new life, through the power of Christ alone.
"You are standing here in order to enter into a covenant with the Lord your God, a covenant the Lord is making with you this day and sealing with an oath, to confirm you this day as his people, that he may be your God as he promised you and as he swore to your fathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. I am making this covenant, with its oath, not only with you who are standing here with us today in the presence of the Lord our God but also with those who are not here today." (v.12-15)
This chapter focuses on the beauty of making a covenant with the Lord. A covenant was a very sacred contract and binding agreement. God made a covenant with the Israelites in Exodus 24 when Moses offered the blood sacrifice and they agreed to follow walk in obedience all the days of their lives. This was why they had to continue to offer sacrifices to find forgiveness for their sins when they weren't obedient. Please also remember that during the Last Supper, Jesus spoke of the new covenant by His own blood. His blood alone would be the one sacrifice for all who believed. Today's chapter is a reminder and renewal of the covenant God made with the Israelites.
I believe I entered into a sort of covenant with the Lord when I started this 40 day experience. He provided the offer and I accepted. I have been committed every day, just as He has been. As in a marriage covenant, there have been good days and bad, but I must honestly say that this has been a much more fulfilling, incredible experience than I could have ever imagined. I believe it is because of the One I entered into this covenant with. Again, like marriage, the person you choose to be committed to will play a pivotal role in actually living out the covenant day by day. I chose to marry the best man God could have ever planned for my life. He makes our marriage covenant fulfilling and incredible and I picked Jesus to be the Savior to enter into this physical health covenant with and there would be no better person for the job. He has encouraged, challenged and sustained me. I have been enlightened by His Word and by His ability to expose the more of what I am truly capable of. He has been breaking me free day by day, changing the way I think, feel and talk about food. He has been walking with me through this wilderness as I am tested and being refined. He has been making me new.
In verse 29 we read, "The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but the things revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may follow all the words of this law." I believe it was my choice to enter into this covenant with and commitment to God, I have been rewarded with Him and He has blessed me with greater revelation and breakthrough than I have ever had in this area of my life. I am so thankful I chose to follow Him. The victory belongs to the Lord but I am privileged to receive the overflow of blessings because I chose Him.
Could there be any area of your own life that you might need a little help with? Is there something you have wanted to find control over or find freedom from? Is it possible that Jesus might want to walk with you through your own trials and struggles as well? I know He does. Talk to Him today. Consider making a commitment to Him. Let Him be your Savior and your friend. There's no better choice you could ever make.
Thank You Jesus, for being the Blessing that overflows into my life. Thank You first and foremost for the covenant You made by Your blood on the cross that sets me eternally free but also for entering into this covenant with me to help me find physical health day by day. You are breaking me and I am forever grateful. I know it is not by my power alone but through You that I am experiencing any breakthrough. Help me to continue to stay committed to You and to myself on this extraordinary journey. I love You, Lord. Amen.
Now Choose Life.
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