Simple And Steady Diet

This is love for God: to obey his commands. And his commands are not burdensome.

1 John 5:3, NIV

When I pick up a women’s magazine and find any tip that helps simplify my household chores, I think it is worth my time. Many times the word simplify even appears on the covers of those magazines because they specialize in that kind of advice.

Following their tips, I have cleaned out a kitchen drawer and have pared down my knives (pun intended) to simplify cooking preparation. I have followed their recipes to streamline my meals and save time because life is short.

However, two areas that I continue to struggle with are my closet and cooking organization. Those areas in my home don’t always look like the pretty pictures in the magazines because even if I’m inspired by clever ideas, I am overwhelmed thinking what it would take to carry them out. I can’t seem to stick to the plan for very long, like pulling everything out of my closet at one time. It is burdensome to wade through a long list of directions in a recipe, too, only to complete a task and then see it still fall short.

Fortunately God’s instructions are created for us to succeed, not fail; they are simple for us to understand and heed when we stay connected to Him as our source for ongoing inspiration.

God’s commandments are not burdensome when we desire to follow them out of love for Him. If we are walking around troubled, encumbered, and oppressed, then we probably are not walking obediently on God’s path, because His path leads to joy! The only way to enjoy a simple, unburdened life is by following Jesus’ commands.

Let’s follow God’s plan and let Him unburden us. When we love Him, we’ll obey Him, and we’ll experience joy in following Him. Doing so is possible only through His Holy Spirit’s power.