Enough Food...Exodus 16. The Faithful Weigh

The Daily Bread took me to Exodus 16 this morning and God showed me something.  I don't really know if I have heard this somewhere before but it is the first time it resonated in my thinking that this pertains to me and those of us who are on a healthy-eating journey, as we continue to resist change in our eating habits.   It came to me how much we are like the Israelites in the desert.  This account of the Israelites journey is after God had brought them out of Egypt where they suffered in bondage under the rule of Pharaoh. They are in the Desert of Sin.  (The notes say that this name could have been derived from Siani….makes me wonder.)   The Israelites begin to grumble against Moses and Aaron saying that they should have died in Egypt because there they had pots of meat and ate all the food they wanted.  The Lord heard their complaining and provided manna in the morning and quail in the evening for them to eat.  God instructed them to only enough for each person but on the day before the Sabbath to take enough for the next day, too.  Even with God’s specific instructions, some took more during the week and some didn’t take enough before the Sabbath.  So here we are.   God has brought us to this place in our lives that we realized we needed to be brought out of our destructive lifestyle due to our overeating and laziness.  God has given us the desire to invite Him into this part of our lives and change us from the inside out.  We have learned what is healthy for us to eat and the importance of exercise in our daily routines.  We do real good for a while, filled with joy at the work of the Lord in our lives.  We lose a few pounds and are hopeful for the future as we follow this healthy lifestyle.  But then, we start grumbling about the foods that we should not eat or the serving sizes we need to stick to, missing the very types and amounts of food that got us where we were! When we are choosing healthy foods to eat, we take more than we need or think we are doing well by not eating when we should.   We rebel from our exercise routine by finding excuses to sit on the couch or to stay away from the gym.  The Lord speaks to Moses in Ex. 16:28, “…How long will you refuse to keep my commands and my instructions?...”  I felt like I am these Israelites and God is asking this question to me.  How long will you keep holding onto your destructive “Fat Machinery”, this unconscious eating and still call it unconscious?   Oh my goodness….Ron Hutchcraft is on the radio right now…and his statement was about the Israelites!  He said, “The Israelites were brought out of slavery but the slavery wasn’t out of them.”  God is incredible!  It goes right along with what I was thinking!  We have been brought to this place on our healthy-eating journey, but we are still struggling with our old selves!  Isn’t it time to realize what it is to be made new by His grace and allow God to truly change us from the inside out?  We no longer have to wallow in the rebellious desire to want what we can’t have but leave the rubble behind and rebuild this temple God has given to us.  How long will we refuse God’s commands and instructions?  Today, I will go forth in His grace and strength to follow what He has shown me.  Blessings for this day!