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.
