Starve a cold...

"Let them give us vegetables to eat"
Daniel 1:12

Last week was an interesting week for me, food-wise. 

And by interesting, I mean kind of boring.

I had a cold all week, with a sore throat and laryngitis.  So for the most part, when it was mealtime, I didn't really feel like eating much.  All I wanted was something to soothe my throat, so I drank a lot of tea, and had a lot of soup and toast.

By the end of the week, though my throat was feeling better, my body in general felt weak and tired.  And I know a lot of that had to do with the war going on against the germs, but I could also tell that I was suffering from a rather poor diet.  I was staying away from dairy, so I wasn't getting a whole lot of protein.  And other than one veggie omelet, I wasn't getting any fruit or veggies, either.  And I was starting to feel the effects of that.  I was really lethargic, but I was also really longing for the foods I was missing.

Our bodies know when we are lacking something.  They send us messages when we are in need of fuel, nutrients, or water.  But we don't always recognize signs.  Or sometimes we recognize the signs, and respond poorly.  Feeling hunger, for instance, and eating a candy bar, is a poor response.

In the same way, my spirit knows when I am lacking something, too. Sometimes, when my schedule has kept me from being in prayer, or in the Word the way I should be, I can feel the difference.  Maybe a lack of peace or direction; maybe a temper or a heart to quick to judge someone else.  And I run the same danger of responding poorly to spiritual signs, as I do with physical signs.  When I feel anxious, for instance, I might choose to watch TV to take my mind off of it, instead of turning to the Bible.  That's the spiritual equivalent of a Snickers bar...

Physical health is achieved by a balanced diet that brings in all the elements our bodies need.  Everything we need for our spiritual health is found in His Word.  We do not live by bread alone, but by every word of God.

 ~ "Desire the pure milk of the Word, 
     that you may grow thereby" ~

1 Peter 2:2