Fuel

My auto-immune and high cholesterol issues have forced me to eat the types of food my body needs for ultimate health to lower my bad cholesterol, raise the good, and get rid of inflammation. I use the word force, but I could ignore it and keep eating foods that worsen my condition. The way I see it, food is fuel for my body. When I don’t eat healthy, I feel it. It’s like putting diesel fuel in a gasoline engine – it shuts off and sometimes causes significant damage.

Fasting is for God – eating is for us.

When God spoke to His people through the prophet Zechariah, He asked them if their fasting during the seventy years of exile was for Him. The Israelites had lost their sincere desire to have a loving relationship with God. Zechariah told them they needed an attitude adjustment – their fasting was not for repentance or worship. They weren’t thinking of God or the sins that caused their exile in the first place (Zech. 7:4, New Living Translation, Chronological Life Application Study Bible).

This passage challenges us today to ask ourselves if we have lost our zeal for God. Are we going to church, praying, and having fellowship with others out of habit or just the experience we get out of it? Does our attitude of worship reflect a genuine desire to know and love God? If it doesn’t, it will lead to ruin (Zech. 7:5-7).

Sometimes we eat junk food out of habit and don’t think about what we put in our bodies or how it will affect our overall health. It’s the same thing for what we put in our minds and allow our eyes to see. In today’s culture, we need to fast from social media and too much TV and instead spend time in God’s Word to feed our minds something healthier that will sustain us and not cause damage –not merely to memorize verses or check a box but with a genuine desire to know and love God more.

Today more than ever, kids have everything at their fingertips on their phones. Social media, internet sites, and video games have explicit content and violence. We need to protect their minds, especially at tender ages, but some of what’s out there is not fit for anyone at any age. Are we honoring God with what we put in our minds? What we read, watch, and saturate our minds with matters because it affects our hearts. Our mind, body, and spirit all work together; if one is off-kilter, they all get out of whack. God can help us re-align and add the right fuel for optimal results.

“Wherever your treasure is, there the desires of your heart will also be” (Matt. 6:21, NLT, emphasis added).