You Are What You Eat-I Shall Not Lack

You Are What You Eat-”I Shall Not Lack”

     Our government is so concerned with our health they have made certain foods illegal, condoned vitamins and hormones in animals, and established not only what we should eat but how much or how little.

Now, while what we eat does have an effect on our health, we should have the liberty to choose what we eat, when we eat it and why we eat it. While some of the laws we live under regarding food have been beneficial to us, it is our decision what we eat, when we eat it and why.

     But what about our spiritual health? Can any government regulate that? Some try. But the more a government pushes itself against God's Word, the greater the increase in the harvest of souls who are won for Jesus Christ.

     Suffering the afflictions of living and sharing the gospel of salvation through Jesus Christ is a right even many Christians do not understand. In this country, having the comforts of life has made us fat, lazy and unable to live with pain and suffering for very long. We go looking for cures where there are none. The medical profession can only do so much; healing is God's territory.

     Psalm 34:8 “Taste and see that The Lord Is Good; blessed is the man who trusts in Him!” Our souls have taste buds. For once we begin to seek The Lord earnestly, He will make His presence known to us. God is everywhere at the same time, hence the word 'omnipresent'. But not every one has contact with Him. The only way to reach God is through Jesus Christ. Jesus is the doorway to heaven.

     For the first time in years, I walked into church without my cane. Truly, I can say, “Look what The Lord has done. Look what my Lord has done for me!” If I had not sought Him, I would not have found Him. Though we have been in each other's company all this time, throughout my trials and tribulations, the healing did not come in a thunderclap, but in the constant drip, drip, drip of a gentle summer dew. Though I am not fully healed, cause I seriously wobbled and needed help, it was wonderful to be able to walk with out it.

Indoors I have stayed close to furniture and walls; around people I have used their forearm for assistance.       To say the pain has decreased would be lying; I have learned to adapt and submit to my limitations. But, also, I have surrendered to God every part of my being. I pray over every cell, every neutron, every joint, muscle, tendon and ligament; every organ, every tissue. Every particle of my being have I not only prayed over and for, I have thanked God for, too.

I am blessed.

I am blessed.

Every day of my life I am blessed.

When I wake up in the morning,

When I lay my head to rest.

I am blessed, I am blessed.

     Remember that chorus? I sing it often. Singing God's praises, studying God's Word, and living in Jesus all honor God. Witnessing, telling people about God's amazing grace through His Son Jesus Christ, also honors God. If you don't know what you are talking about, when you talk about grace, then you are better off not talking at all. To know God you must know Jesus first. To know Jesus, you must be obedient to the voice, the nudge, the inclination to come near, of The Holy Spirit of God.

     “God inhabits the praises of His people.” This verse is found in Psalm 22:3 and reminds us, too, that God is holy. Where a holy God is, God's people must be holy also. Holiness is a process that refines us, makes us able to be in God's presence, stay in God's presence. And this process requires the daily instruction and buffering of The Holy Spirit in our hearts, our minds, our lives.

     Jeremiah 17:14, “Heal me, O Lord, and I shall be healed; save me, and I shall be saved.” I am saved from eternal damnation, an eternity without God and without grace, through the blood of Jesus Christ, heaven's Lamb of God. Before Christ died for the sins of the world, young lambs were used to atone for the sins of God's people. Each family, household, had to provide the lamb themselves and bring it to the priest for sacrifice. This was done yearly and the blood of the animal washed away their year's worth of sins. But once God sent His own Lamb, the animal sacrifice was no longer needed. For now, God had provided a young Lamb to die once and for all for all the sins ever committed, including past sins, present sins and sins not yet committed by people not yet born; people like you and me. For our sins also Christ suffered and died. And for our eternal hope, Christ rose from the dead, being our example not only in life, but in death and resurrection!

     I am blessed because I trust in God. I am blessed because I taste God's Word daily. I am blessed because God inhabits my praises; for He made me His people when I believe on the Name of His Son for my salvation. I am blessed because God is healing me. I had all kinds of health issues prior to these statements of faith and joy.

     While I was grieving the loss of a child, I started getting memory lapses. I would forget how to walk, climb stairs, stand up and even fasten my clothes. (My wonderful husband whom God brought into my life helped me with everything.) And because my brain couldn't remember these things I started to fall, thus I needed not only the cane, but eventually, the use of a walker and for long distances, a wheelchair.

Prior to that I was diagnosed with GERD and on medication. During that period I was diagnosed emotionally as depressed and crazy. Crazy because I would share my beliefs with the doctors. So I was put on medication(s); first one, then another. Too many doctors with not enough information. And I have been diagnosed with Fm, Fibromyalgia, which means every fiber of my being is in pain. So, I am on medications for that. I have osteoarthritis, which also added two more medications to my diet. But God is faithful. His Names are many and one of His Names is JEHOVAH-ROHI: GOD IS HEALER.

     See, studying God's Word draws a person closer to God and draws God closer to you. Or me, in this case. I am one of the faithful, one of the believers, one of the sheep in God's flock. God meets my daily needs and for this I am thankful. Psalm 23:1 “The Lord Is My Shepherd; I shall not lack.” This testimony is mine and my husband's.

     There was a year when he was laid off for nine months of it. I was not working due to all these physical issues, so I had no income either. GOD MET OUR NEED. WE HAD NO LACK. All of our bills were paid on time every month, even the mortgage. We had food on the table and never went hungry. Even the dog was fed daily. That's God. We had clothes on our back and the means to wash them. You know why? God says to tithe into the storehouse, His storehouse, that in times of famine, which we had a famine of income, the needs would be met for those who tithed. We tithe into our church. God says tithing is not negotiable, but mandatory.

     I have been told by many that they cannot afford to tithe of their income. I tell you now, YOU CANNOT AFFORD NOT TO TITHE. When you tithe of your income, no matter how small it may be, or how much you think you are giving to your church, let me tell you: You are OBEYING GOD'S WORD, when you tithe into HIS STOREHOUSE. While the tithe is of a physical nature, the storehouse is of a spiritual nature. Tithing is not supposed to make the church richer in wealth. The church needs your tithes to stay up and running. The tithe pays your pastor's salary, pays the utility bills for running water, electricity for the lighting, and heat so that you aren't cold and the pipes don't freeze. To deny your church your tithe, is to steal not only from your church, but you are stealing from God and you have disobeyed His command. To not tithe is to sin.

     God meets our household's needs because He is our God. We have chosen Him to be our God and our Savior, our Healer and our Deliverer. Were my husband and I to read the verse together, it would be like this, “The Lord is OUR Shepherd; WE shall not want.” We are in this life together because God brought us together for His purposes. And it is for God's purpose that we will continue to honor and adore Him. Everything does happen for a reason; but those reasons are God's reasons, not of our own.

The Lord Is My Shepherd; I shall not lack.” Ever.