“Defiling ourselves”

But Daniel resolved that he would not defile himself with the king’s food or with the wine that he drank. Therefore, he asked the chief of the eunuchs to allow him not to defile himself. Daniel 1:8

Verse Reflections:  Daniel is a strong Biblical example of how to eat healthy.  The King wants Daniel and his men to eat the rich foods of the kingdom.  Daniel makes a deal that they can eat nothing but vegetable for ten days and then they will be tested against the others that ate the king’s foods.  At the end of those ten days they all looked and felt healthier than the other men that ate the rich foods and wines.  And yet here we are centuries later still craving the processed, rich foods that the King was offering Daniel and his men.  The verses go on to share the fact that Daniel and his men were wiser and worth more than 10 x their numbers in the kingdom.  So why do we keep feeding our bodies foods that do not nourish our brains?  Why do we keep drinking wines or alcohol that dulls our ability to think?  So why do we keep ordering, cooking and buying foods that have absolutely no nutritional value?  We have been given these amazing bodies that can hear the birds sing, can take in beautiful shades of color and see shapes and words and distinctly see faces and objects.  We can walk and run with our legs and lift fragile babies with our hands and arms.  And yet, we blindly, stubbornly choose to pour in foods that turn to sugar.  We literally age faster, gain weight, increase our chances of heart disease and diabetes, metabolic disorders.  The sugar affects our ability to think.  And yet… we keep pouring it in.  Today, let’s choose to have the strength that God gave Daniel.  Other verses mention that Daniel prayed three times a day.  When we pray for strength, when we pray for God to blend His power with us “we can do all things through Christ who strengthens us.”  Today, choose to eat the pure, natural foods that God created that have the nutrition that will heal us, nourish us.  We can all be healthier just by eating these “God foods.”

Prayer:  Father, give me the power of Daniel.  He stood strong against a king and refused to eat unhealthy foods.  I don’t even have the power to stand against my own temptations.  And yet, I know starting my day in communion with You makes all the difference.  I reach up to You now in desperation.  I am asking You for the strength of Daniel.  T-shirt… “I have the STRENGTH of Daniel through Christ”.  Remind me when I absently order foods that are not nutritious.  Remind me when I consciously order foods that are not nutritious.  You sacrificed Your son’s life for me, the least I can do is thank You by eating what is good for me rather than concentrating on ordering what tastes good to me.  Thank You for giving me examples in the Bible of eating right and choosing to be healthy.  I forget sometimes that I am choosing to be unhealthy when I eat certain foods.  I am so enthused by the tastes that I erase the consequences of my choices.  Father, Your foods also taste delicious and I can close my eyes and imagine the delicious fruits with real whipped cream, peanut butter, steak grilled, potatoes with butter… the list goes on.  I know that the delicious foods that You created are amazing and better for me than the other foods.  Today, give me the strength of Daniel to eat Your amazing pure, natural foods that will restore my health.

Did you know?  Eating foods high in saturated fats will increase your cholesterol levels and the amount of plaque in your blood vessels which increases your risk for heart disease.  Saturated fats are in animal products and some plant oil (coconut and palm oil).