God’s Food

God’s Food

By his divine power, God has given us everything we need for living a godly life. We have received all of this by coming to know him, the one who called us to himself by means of his marvelous glory and excellence. 2 Peter 1:3

Seth pinched his stomach, and he could pinch a lot more than an inch. “Dr. Anderson, I need to lose this gut. What’s the best way to do that?”

“Tell me about your diet.”

“Not every day, but I usually get a muffin or croissant with my latte for breakfast. For lunch, I’m usually busy, so I hit whatever fast food joint is close. If I’m running late at night, which is often, I’ll grab a pizza or Chinese takeout on my way home.”

“Do you snack?”

“Sometimes I’ll grab a candy bar or chips out of the vending machine if I’m hungry.”

As I listened to Seth describe what he ate, I thought about how much things have changed. Growing up on the farm, I understood firsthand that our food came from God. He gave us the rain and the sun. Some years, he blessed us with bumper crops; but even in the lean years, we knew that our needs were in his hands.

With the rise of fast food, things are certainly more convenient, but they’re also disconnected from God’s divine purpose. If my patients understood more about where their food came from, I knew they’d be more likely to choose foods that were healthy, not just convenient.

I gave Seth a few simple rules to help him lose weight.

“First, eat food the way God made it. If you can pick it and eat it without doing much else to it, it will be healthier for you. That’s not always the fastest way to get a meal, but it’s the best way. God’s food is simple. But when we highly process it, we change those simple foods into something that isn’t good for our bodies. If you want results, eat more fruits and vegetables and avoid the drive-through windows and vending machines.”

When Seth came in a year later, I immediately noticed the change in his weight. He had dropped forty pounds.

“What did you do with it all?” I asked.

“I left it at the drive-through window.”

TODAY’S RX

What’s convenient for your schedule may be catastrophic for your health. For best results, choose foods according to God’s plan.

Father, it can be a struggle to eat healthy foods. Help me to give up what’s quick and convenient for what is nourishing. Enrich both my body and my life with food that you’ve designed to bring me energy and physical strength.