The Blessing of Obedience

Ephesians 6:1 says, "Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right." The Lord Himself commanded this and He said, "for this is right"! Do we really want to do what is right? Sometimes I wonder. Why is it that it's so much easier to do the wrong thing than to do the right thing? Paul had that very same struggle and he walked with Jesus during His time here on earth. Paul says in Romans 7:14-8:4 " For we know that the law is spiritual, but I am carnal, sold under sin. For what I am doing, I do not understand. For what I will to do, that I do not practice; but what I hate, that I do. If, then, I do what I will not to do, I agree with the law that it is good. But now, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me. For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) nothing good dwells; for to will is present with me, but how to perform what is good I do not find. For the good that I will to do, I do not do; but the evil I will not to do, that I practice. Now if I do what I will not to do, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me. I find then a law, that evil is present with me, the one who wills to do good. For I delight in the law of God according to the inward man. But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members. O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? I thank God; through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, with the mind I myself serve the law of God, but with the flesh the law of sin."

When I read that I am comforted by the thought that a great Christian leader like Paul had the same struggle as I do.

I often wonder about honor. It seems so archaic, as man has developed this callousness that makes him forget all about honor & righteousness. If God is our Father (parent) and we are His children, then should we not obey Him? Is this not right? Obedience brings about great blessing, and disobedience holds us back from receiving all God wants to give us.

My struggle regarding disobedience has always been with gluttony. The bible says in Proverbs 23:19-21 "Hear thou, my son, and be wise, and guide thine heart in the way. Don't be among ones drinking too much wine, or those who gorge themselves on meat: for the drunkard and the glutton shall become poor; and drowsiness clothes them in rags. "

The book of Proverbs is so full of wisdom. Why, then, do we want to discount what it says? I thought about that verse a lot these past few days. I know I have been a glutton for so many years, but I learned something this past week that has really changed my way of thinking.
Ever since I got that rash (see previous post) and the Lord led me to cleansing and eating nothing but fruits, vegetables, water & juice, a real change has come about me. The health in Jesus diet I've been following tells me to "eat all the fruits & or vegetables I can eat" at certain meals. I struggled with that in the beginning, because it still felt like a form of gluttony. A glutton is one who "indulges in eating to an extravagant excess." Websters Dictionary says gluttony is "extravagant indulgence of the appetite for food; voracity of appetite." Voracious means to devour. Well I thought about that, because I didn't want to be gluttonous while I was trying to break free from this bondage. It felt like I might just be trading one form of gluttony for another. I ate the fruits & vegetables, and I ate them in abundance, but that just meant I ate a lot more fruits & vegetables than normal. I never felt ravenous, and I never felt like I was over eating. I simply felt like I was eating to fuel my body & I was taking in what my body needed. The truth is, I got full on a lot less fruits, juices & vegetables than I ever got on my usual eating sprees. I started to think a lot about this, and then I heard Michael Card sing a song in which he said, "And we will all eat freely from the tree of life." Something occurred to me when I heard that. God gave us the food in the garden of Eden in order that we might eat of it "freely". We were given permission to eat as much as we wanted, and it wasn't considered gluttony. Notice that in Proverbs 23 it says, "gorge themselves on meat" and it speaks of "drowsiness". It's not a coincidence that after consuming a meatball and spaghetti dinner the first thing we want to do is go lay down! Those foods weigh us down! There are some of us that do not eat to live, but we live to eat & it consumes us. We get tired & run down & are unable to work. Is it any wonder that the scripture says we shall "become poor"? The foods we eat, the wine we drink, all in excess, become addicting to us & we cannot get enough. We become drunkards &/or gluttons, and food becomes our master. The devil is cunning, and he is laughing at us. He loves that we have allowed the very thing that was given to bring us life become the vessel that brings us death. Death, disease, dehabilitation. Food addiction~ gluttony~ brings about death. If we make the choice to "eat freely" what God gave us in the garden (fruits & vegetables) we are, in fact, strengthening our bodies and instead of feeling tired, we feel energized. Foods in their natural state were not addicting because they were not processed, filled with unnatural ingredients and an over abundance of sugars. These processed foods we consume were designed to become addicting . They are missing nutrients we need and are filled with extra sugars and as a result we crave them. Good news for the manufacturers of such products, but bad news for us! In a world of fast paced living & fast food conveniences, man has traded the whole food fuel for the garbage that makes us tired and drains us of what we were designed to be...."Free" . We are free to eat what we want in God's garden.

The thing that amazed me more than anything these past few days is that no matter what, I never once felt like a glutton when I was eating that abundance of food. John 10:10 says, "...I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly." I believe that is true for the wonderful life giving foods He has given us as well.

Being obedient to the scriptures is so important in our walk with the Lord. God gave them to us to bring us life, and when we obey them we truly do receive so many blessings. When we disobey, we bring consequences that sometimes take years to overcome.

In my obedience to Proverbs 23 this week, I have received the blessing of losing 1 pant size & being able to get myself into a pair of jeans for the first time in almost 9 months. My stomach is flatter & my hips have gone down. Eating the foods from God's garden have given me strength & energy. They have, in effect, given me life just as they were intended to.

If you're struggling with food today, or any other addiction for that matter, look to God's word for a truth you can hold onto and then obey! The blessings associated with obedience are much better to receive than the curses we bring to our own heads through our disobedience.

God bless you as you walk in obedience!