What you feed grows, and what you starve dies. Yesterday, when I began a fast, I was awakened to the reality of how driven and how dependent upon food I’ve become. Jesus had a way of flipping tables, burgers, and life upside down. When his belly-filled disciples returned from their food fest, Jesus redefined food when He told them that His food was doing the will of the Father and completing it.
When we find our nourishment from doing and completing God’s will, we feel more satisfied than after we have feasted on a big, home-cooked meal. That’s because we were designed to do the will of our Heavenly Father. We feel most contented and at peace when do what God made us to do. Unfortunately, we frequently change a power word in our prayers. We shift from, “Thy will be done,” to “My will be done,” and then we ask God’s blessing upon it.
Why has food and getting (eating) what we want become so important? Is it because we turn to food for comfort or even for love? As my wife is helping me eat, drink, and live in a healthier manner, I’m discovering that I eat half as much. I’m also learning that what tastes good is usually bad for my health.
Maybe we all have some opposition in us, like Moses when God called him to free the Israelites from their bondage to slavery. Moses tried so many angles to tell God, “I’m not fit for the job.” Look how many times and ways God calls us to find pleasure from feeding on His will when initially it causes us to feel bad on the inside and to revolt.
Why does “taste good” or “feel good” determine what we eat or what we do? Are we addicted to our comfort zones or to doing God’s will? Danielle Strickland once said, “Life will only change when you become more committed to your dreams than you are to your comfort zone.” God has a call on our lives. He gives us passions and dreams that we must pursue. They’re usually countercultural, and they require us to say and to do things that initially don’t feel good or feel comfortable. But the more we taste and eat and complete the tasks God puts on our plates, the more we discover His joyful presence living within us.
It’s kind of like all those vegetables my wife hides in my morning probiotic shakes and in the foods she prepares. I guess I’ll know I’m really changing when I stop asking, “What’s in it?”, when I stop complaining, and when I enjoy the one who made it and the taste because of how good they are for me.
If you felt convicted or compelled by this Food Matters blog, I have a whole Food Matters deck of cards to initiate some lively meal-time discussions as you’re in your break room, dinner table, or at your favorite restaurant. Just email me at glenn@spiritdriven.org, and you can purchase any of our 30 Talking Matters decks to deepen your conversations and relationships.
If I eat healthier and stop opposing God’s will, my life will become…
If I talk less and listen more, my relationships will…
If I live for Christ and His calling on my life, instead of living in my comfort zone, I will be…
If doing God’s will has to “feel good,” we usually opt out and head for the fridge.
Everything we think, feel, say, do, and eat matters to God.