“Be firm in the faith”

Be on your guard, stand firm in the faith; be courageous; be strong. 1 Corinthians 16:13

Verse Reflections:  These words summarize the characteristics that we need to win the battle against temptation:  Be on guard, stand firm, be courageous, be strong!  We must start by knowing that every day, every week, we will be tempted.  We must be on guard against these temptations. We must start our day with the sword of the word of God. It is the only offensive weapon we have in the armor of God.  When we draw our sword daily we are on the lookout for the enemy. We have to start our day pulling out the word of God which Christ describes as our sword. Then we can stand strong and not give way to the temptations that get thrown our way daily. We can have faith knowing that we can turn down any temptation thrown our way. We can be courageous and strong. It takes courage to walk this journey of eating healthy because it is a slow burn of weight but it is a lifestyle that does yield results in a multi-layer process. Our bodies become healthier because we are feeding it nutritious foods, our joints are less inflamed from sugar intake, our brains begin releasing leptin which   tells our bodies we are full and causes us to eat less. And, yes, slowly but surely we will lose weight. We have to be strong in this process even when we backslide. God will give us the courage and the strength to move forward even when we slide backwards. If you are changing a lifetime of bad habits, you will slip but God is telling us here to stand firm in the faith. Be courageous and pick up the pieces of your binges or habits and choose today to be strong with Christ. Eat God foods. He made them for our body to live in health.

Prayer:  Christ, I absorb these habits, these characteristics into my body today. Your word daily has allowed me to be on guard and to prepare myself for the daily challenges of eating healthy and avoiding temptation.  Help me to stand firm because there are days on which I cave. I know you have won the victory for me and I am eating healthy most days.  Keep me firm in my resolve to say no.  Give me the courage to pick myself up off the floor when I slide back into a binge or make bad choices. Give me the strength to keep going even when the progress is slow. Give me the faith to know that I am making the right choices. You will determine the speed at which I show any physical manifestations of my choices. Help me not to make this journey about vanity. When it is about vanity I tend to choose fast working crazy options that do not change my lifestyle. I know this is a change for life that I can maintain. I can eat God foods and allow myself one splurge. Thank You for giving me these qualities: vigilance, firmness, courage, and strength. I am trusting You to reaffirm these characteristics in me daily. Today I claim them and look forward to eating Your delicious, precious foods. I love You and thank You daily for the strength and life changing verses in Your word.

Did you know? Eating added sugar can cause depression (British Medical Journal)