Physically Obese and Spiritually Malnourished

Matthew 4:4 “But Jesus told him, ‘No! The Scriptures say, ‘People do not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’ ‘“ NLT

June 25, 2012 found me at the end of my rope. We had given everything we had to our ministry, but despite our best efforts, it just didn’t pay off in the tangible way we had hoped. The stress of the last few years had taken its toll on our family, our marriage, our finances, and our bodies. That day, it came to an end. I was physically obese and spiritually malnourished. We were drained, tired, burnt out, and I was obese.

For the first time in my entire life, I found myself outside of ministry, and it was an odd feeling. I had always had an identity in serving God, busy doing His work, whether as a pastor’s kid, a Bible college student, or a pastor. Now, I was none of those. What was my identity, I asked myself every day. I didn’t even have a job to contribute financially to my family, and my self-esteem was at an all-time low. All I was, was a fat woman, I thought. I believed it too. That’s all I was, and no one could take me seriously like this. What’s more, my spiritual life had been drained emotionally too. I was always giving out, serving, but never taking in enough spiritual nourishment to restore what I had given. I was so dry spiritually, and everything I read or heard, I just soaked up like a sponge. I was certain that my sponge would never be saturated again.

In our Scripture today, we find Jesus of all people, at low point. He has fasted for 40 days, is drained physically, and Satan is trying his best tactics to tempt Jesus and bring Him down. Jesus has an answer, though. Here Jesus refuses to use his God-given power to get something that He trusted God to give Him. It was God’s place to provide the strength Jesus needed. Originally, this verse is found in Deuteronomy chapter 8, when the children of Israel are complaining and struggling with unbelief in God to provide food and nourishment. Unlike Israel, Jesus here looks to God the Father, unswerving in His faith. Because the very thing that Jesus needed was a word from God. 

Sometimes we think we just need energy and strength, sometimes it’s a pat on the back in encouragement of our work for God. Other times, we pray for God to give us a sign that our labor for Him is “paying off,” but we must remember that our work for Him isn’t always visible in the here and now. We need only trust in the God who has always provided richly to His people and who gives us balance. There is no need to worry whether the manna will fall, but simply trust in the Word He has already spoken to us.

Sometimes we think we just need to lose weight, and things will be better. We fool ourselves to thinking that our problem is a physical one when often times, it’s a spiritual one. I’m totally of the opinion that our physical life affects our spiritual life in a big way, yet which is more important? I’ve heard it said that it would be a shame to be physically fit for this world yet unfit to meet the King of Kings. 

There will be seasons in life, seasons of both plenty and want. But in those times, we have to rely on the Word of God to sustain us. He has already provided!

Are you out of balance in the fitness of your physical and spiritual life? He can bring balance and order! Read through Deuteronomy 8 and Matthew 4:1-11 and contrast the Israelites’ response to Jesus’ response to times of testing.

Encouragement for Today

1 Timothy 4:8 “Physical training is good, but training for godliness is much better, promising benefits in this life and in the life to come.” NLT

Philippians 3:19 “They are headed for destruction. Their god is their appetite, they brag about shameful things, and they think only about this life here on earth.” NLT

Read more in my new book FitFaith, available on Amazon!

Physically Obese and Spiritually Malnourished

Matthew 4:4 “But Jesus told him, ‘No! The Scriptures say, ‘People do not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’ ‘“ NLT

June 25, 2012 found me at the end of my rope. We had given everything we had to our ministry, but despite our best efforts, it just didn’t pay off in the tangible way we had hoped. The stress of the last few years had taken its toll on our family, our marriage, our finances, and our bodies. That day, it came to an end. I was physically obese and spiritually malnourished. We were drained, tired, burnt out, and I was obese.

For the first time in my entire life, I found myself outside of ministry, and it was an odd feeling. I had always had an identity in serving God, busy doing His work, whether as a pastor’s kid, a Bible college student, or a pastor. Now, I was none of those. What was my identity, I asked myself every day. I didn’t even have a job to contribute financially to my family, and my self-esteem was at an all-time low. All I was, was a fat woman, I thought. I believed it too. That’s all I was, and no one could take me seriously like this. What’s more, my spiritual life had been drained emotionally too. I was always giving out, serving, but never taking in enough spiritual nourishment to restore what I had given. I was so dry spiritually, and everything I read or heard, I just soaked up like a sponge. I was certain that my sponge would never be saturated again.

In our Scripture today, we find Jesus of all people, at low point. He has fasted for 40 days, is drained physically, and Satan is trying his best tactics to tempt Jesus and bring Him down. Jesus has an answer, though. Here Jesus refuses to use his God-given power to get something that He trusted God to give Him. It was God’s place to provide the strength Jesus needed. Originally, this verse is found in Deuteronomy chapter 8, when the children of Israel are complaining and struggling with unbelief in God to provide food and nourishment. Unlike Israel, Jesus here looks to God the Father, unswerving in His faith. Because the very thing that Jesus needed was a word from God. 

Sometimes we think we just need energy and strength, sometimes it’s a pat on the back in encouragement of our work for God. Other times, we pray for God to give us a sign that our labor for Him is “paying off,” but we must remember that our work for Him isn’t always visible in the here and now. We need only trust in the God who has always provided richly to His people and who gives us balance. There is no need to worry whether the manna will fall, but simply trust in the Word He has already spoken to us.

Sometimes we think we just need to lose weight, and things will be better. We fool ourselves to thinking that our problem is a physical one when often times, it’s a spiritual one. I’m totally of the opinion that our physical life affects our spiritual life in a big way, yet which is more important? I’ve heard it said that it would be a shame to be physically fit for this world yet unfit to meet the King of Kings. 

There will be seasons in life, seasons of both plenty and want. But in those times, we have to rely on the Word of God to sustain us. He has already provided!

Are you out of balance in the fitness of your physical and spiritual life? He can bring balance and order! Read through Deuteronomy 8 and Matthew 4:1-11 and contrast the Israelites’ response to Jesus’ response to times of testing.

Encouragement for Today

1 Timothy 4:8 “Physical training is good, but training for godliness is much better, promising benefits in this life and in the life to come.” NLT

Philippians 3:19 “They are headed for destruction. Their god is their appetite, they brag about shameful things, and they think only about this life here on earth.” NLT

Expensive

It’s too Expensive

Read Matthew 25:14-30

Matthew 25:29 To those who use well what they are given, even more will be given, and they will have an abundance. But from those who do nothing, even what little they have will be taken away. NLT

My co-worker was exasperated. She had just gone to the grocery store and was shocked at the price of fresh produce. She had recently become interested in a life-style change but was frustrated quickly after her first grocery shopping trip. “I can’t believe how much it costs to feed my family a healthy diet for just a week! My bill this week was 30% more than I normally spend, and I just don’t have that every week,” she said. She was discouraged. Desperately wanting to model better habits for her children, she had committed but was worried she just couldn’t keep it up.

Many people blame their poor food choices on the opinion that eating healthy just costs more. In reality, this isn’t always the case. Need a quick snack? A candy bar costs roughly $1.29 versus $0.50 for a lunchbox apple. Didn’t have time for breakfast? Forget the $3.00 you would normally spend at the donut shop and opt for a $2.25 bowl of steel-cut oatmeal at Starbucks. For dinner, try using ground turkey instead of ground beef and save $1.00/pound, as well as about 50 calories and several fat grams per serving. 

There are also other factors to consider when changing your eating habits. Eating at home is always healthier and certainly saves on the pocketbook over dining out. As you lose weight and gain muscle, clothing choices will explode and the price tag gets smaller! As you become healthier, doctor bills come less often and premiums for health and life insurance decrease. When looking at the bottom line, it all comes down to looking at the return on your investment.

Matthew’s Gospel records the Parable of the Three Servants who were entrusted with their master’s money. Two of the servants invested the money entrusted to them, and one dug a hole and just hid the money in the ground. In the end, the first two servants doubled their’s while the third merely held onto his initial endowment. The Master was quite pleased with the first two servants, but threw out the third servant, angry that the servant didn’t even make an attempt. 

God has given us gifts, in today’s case, our physical bodies to care for and nourish. When we fill them with unhealthy food, chemicals, and processed substances, we have not profitably invested in the body that God, our Creator, has entrusted to us. We will not see a profitable return on our investment if we continue to make unhealthy food decisions and refuse to burn the energy that our food provides. Like the master in the parable, our Master expects us to use our body to glorify Him, and that takes an investment. Remember also, not only has He created us, He has purchased us with His blood. 

How will you invest? Investing the time and treasure to living a more pleasing lifestyle to honor God with our body will ultimately pay off in the end. The investment in the temple that God has created you to be will earn great rewards.

Encouragement for Today:

Proverbs 28:26 Those who trust their own insight are foolish, but anyone who walks in wisdom is safe. NLT

Proverbs 21:20 In the house of the wise are stores of choice food and oil, but a foolish man devours all he has. NIV

Proverbs 21:5 Good planning and hard work lead to prosperity, but hasty shortcuts lead to poverty. NLT



Here is a quick list of healthy foods under $1
Eggs
Yogurt
Apples
Bananas
Individual Portions of Nuts
Carrots
Onion
Sweet Potatoes
Garlic
Tea
Cabbage
Individual String Cheese Sticks
Beans
Lentils
Chicken Breast (Per Serving)
Canned Tuna
Canned Salmon
Milk (per Serving)
Wholegrain Pasta
Brown Rice
Quinoa
Popcorn (No Butter of course)
Kiwi
Cantaloupe
Watermelon (per Serving)
Pears
Oranges
Tomatoes
Lettuce (an entire head)
Squash
Broccoli
Water
Coffee

The Beginning of the End

Let me first start by saying that I do not believe for one moment that the end of the world will be happening tomorrow. But I do believe it could be today.

I don't think the Mayans had any sort of information aside from the information that we have today. We read in Matthew chapter 24 that no one knows the day or the hour that Christ is coming for His church, not even the angels OR Christ Himself...only the Father knows. That tells me one thing...we KNOW it will not be Friday.

I've heard a few reports from families in our area that are stockpiling water, ammunition, food, batteries, and emergency supplies just in case the Mayans were let in on a secret that we weren't privy to. That's all fine and good. I think we should all be prepared in an emergency.

What I'm wondering about though is this: Why aren't they concerned with what really matters? I haven't heard ANYONE talking about how we should be trying to point these people to Jesus. If they're so panicked about the world ending, don't we think they could be ripe for the harvest? There's obviously a need that's yet to be fulfilled in their lives. Why haven't we met it?

There were even news stories this morning about certain mountains in the United States that are believed to be gateways to time travel. There are people camping on those mountains this week just because they think they will be the first to enter. My husband personally took a plane ride a few months ago and sat next to a woman that watched out the window the whole time, expecting to see aliens appearing. It just amazes me what people believe in...but the fact that there was a Messiah sent by God Himself to die for our sins...that's too far-fetched?!?!

Heath and I didn't buy any extra water, but we have been buying a little ammunition here and there...but that's a whole other post entirely....

I'm asking myself though...what if TODAY is the end of the world? Are we prepared? I could care less about water, money that'll probably be useless, or other "emergency" items. In the end, all that matters is my relationship with Jesus. Have I prepared my family for the utmost urgent need?