[Did you know that many of our physical illnesses and even some diseases have been linked to gut health—literally the good and bad bacteria that line our digestive tract and help us extract nutrients from our food? Often, symptoms such as headaches, fatigue, joint aches, etc can be reversed through eliminating something from or adding something to your diet. Many people deal with food allergies manifested in the form of achy joints or skin issues instead of nausea or respiratory problems.]
Last week, a friend on facebook was asking a group of ladies about some health issues her child seemed to have and if any of us had dealt with similar issues and how we handled it. While there were a myriad of answers and all was civil, something struck me when I gave my answer, in part it was this:
I am finding almost every physical “problem” I have comes back to what I eat. It’s really annoying. Lol.
And right as I typed that… before I even finished posting the comment, I felt a tug from the Spirit of God in me saying, Yes, this is true in your Spiritual health also.
It was really like a sucker-punch to the gut- my spiritual gut. lol.
And a few verses came to my mind:
John 4: 13 -Jesus answered and said unto her, Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again: 14- But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.
John 6:35 And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst. 48-I am that bread of life.
1 Peter 2:1-Wherefore laying aside all malice, and all guile, and hypocrisies, and envies, and all evil speakings, 2- As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby: 3 –If so be ye have tasted that the Lord is gracious.
1 Corinthians 3:1 – And I, brethren, could not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal, even as unto babes in Christ. 2- I have fed you with milk, and not with meat: for hitherto ye were not able to bear it, neither yet now are ye able.
Jesus is bread-not just bread, but the bread of LIFE. He is water for thirsty souls–not just water, but water that becomes a wellspring of everlasting life: LIVING WATER.
Bible study of doctrines and life principles are milk and then meat for a Christian-the FOOD of our Christian life.
When I consume excess sugar (or other foods to which I may be allergic, we are all unique) or processed foods that hold little nutritional value, my body gets tired, sluggish; and I do not feel well. My gut, where digestion takes place, becomes off-balance; and sometimes I get a headache. Other times my actual gut hurts or my joints get achy or I may have an unexplained patch of dry, itchy skin.
But when I consume life giving foods such as fruits and vegetables, good meats and healthy fats, other plants such as beans, grains and nuts, my gut is happy and my body feels nourished and energized to do the work of the day…..
So it is spiritually.
When I am not consuming personal Bible study but rather maybe just reading self-help items or relying on previous study, when Sunday comes around and the preacher only spouts “feel-goodisms” (even using Scripture, but there is no challenge to repent and GROW) without confronting sin and challenging me towards growth and a Christ-like life, my spiritual life gets tired. I become bored and sluggish in my attempt to live the Christian life… my spiritual gut becomes unbalanced. My spirit is not properly digesting Scripture for all its nutrients to cause me to grow in Christ.
But when I daily receive something from His Word, when the preacher expounds Scripture with challenges for me to repent of sin and grow and become more Christlike, I tend to feel energized and nourished to the point of growth and spiritual work.
And there are season of my life in which I look back and realize there was such a sluggishness to my walk with the Lord, and other times I look back and rejoice at realizing I grew through a period and am not the same person I was!
These are just a few applications of which the Lord convicted me… there are others, for another time. 🙂
Have you ever thought about spiritual digestion like that before?
I’d love to hear how the Lord taught you! Leave a comment 🙂
