Joy Comes in the Morning

1 Thessalonians 5:24

“The One who calls you is faithful and He will do it.”

Joshua 24:15

“Choose this day whom you will serve.”

Deuteronomy 30:11

“Lord, what You are commanding me today is not too difficult for me or beyond my reach.”

1 Peter 5:8

“Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.”

Isaiah 26:3

“You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You.”

Colossians 1:11

“God will strengthen you with His own great power so that you will not give up when troubles come, but you will be patient.”

These are just a few verses that have been encouraging me in my walk with the Lord as I try new things lately.

Simple things, but new things.

Like getting out of the house every day. Exercising. Having self-control with food.

Mostly the last one though.

I eat pretty healthy most of the time, but I love food, so, the more, the better.

That’s not always a good thing!

I’ve given the Lord control over my love of food for seasons, but never on a daily basis for long periods of time. I discovered after I got married that I ate food for comfort, especially in difficult or stressful circumstances.

Because I love food so much…eating it, baking treats for loved ones,cooking and looking through cookbooks…it can be pretty consuming.

Any time we go on a trip or have company over for the weekend, I plan everything around our meals and snacks for the day. It’s really not weird to me.

I was raised with a healthy appreciation for food. 🙂 I never abused it or obsessed over it when I was younger, I just really enjoyed it!

Now, seeing my family making changes with food for their health has inspired me to step it up and really get serious about self-control. The Lord has also been speaking to me through His Word and in my prayer life.

Years ago, when I did the Whole 30 for the first time, the Lord really opened my eyes to my lack of self-control when it came to food. I committed 30 days to letting Him reign in that area of my life and I’m so glad I did.

When we commit what we do both to the Lord and for the Lord, our plans will succeed!

Keeping in mind that what we do FOR the Lord should be spoken to us by HIM. You can’t just say, “I’m doing this for you Lord!” and think it’s going to succeed. No.

Proverbs 16:3 says,

“Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and your plans will succeed.”

When God says, “Lindsey, I have called you for more than this…more than being a slave to your appetite. I want to help you with this. Let me help you with this.”

When I finally stop trying to do it in my own strength and commit it to Him, it’s going to work because He is in control. Now that doesn’t mean I won’t mess it up from time to time, it just means that my eyes are on HIM and my trust is in Him and not on or in myself.

This also means that HE decides HOW He will work this out in me. He will give me strength and focus and whatever else I need to do this.

And that means I have been counting my calories lately. I know.

I’ve never done this. You know why? Because it’s hard.

But not really.

I’m doing better than I thought I would! I haven’t given up yet and I’ve learned so much.  I’m a HUGE snacker. A little something here and there certainly won’t add up to much, right? Not so. Let’s just say those flat pretzel crisps I down before dinner sometimes really add up. But I’ve been eating smaller portions AND not snacking AND I’m full!

That’s the Lord people.

I want to be satisfied by Him and Him alone. It’s working. But it’s a process. We have to start somewhere though. I was so afraid that it would be hard, so I never attempted anything. That’s not good either.

These two pictures are from a book I have been reading lately called “Prayers That Avail Much” by Germaine Copeland. Living a healthy lifestyle and walking in sanctification are kind of similar to me. Sanctification is not only good for us, it’s necessary for us. Just like living a healthy lifestyle, we have to participate. We have to be obedient to the Lord and not a slave to our flesh.

Every morning I get up and pray that God would help me give thoughts to my steps. Every.single.one. Anytime I go to the kitchen or before I put something in my mouth, I think of Proverbs 14:15:

“The simple believe anything, but the prudent give thought to their steps.”

Help me to give thought to what I’m doing Lord! What a concept. 🙂

What are you struggling to give to the Lord today?