8 days, 17 hours and 22 minutes. That is how long I went with out Diet Dr. Pepper.
Now many of you may be thinking "she failed," however it is quite the opposite my friends. While I did not make it 30 days with out soda, I have succeeded in learning the lesson God had for me!
Let me explain. I hope you are listening because what I am about to say is deep.
Sunday at church one of the elders spoke. Now this particular person is one that I absolutely enjoy listening to. But friends I will be the first to say that this was not a fun lesson to listen to. I am pretty sure God spoke to Dr. Rice and said "listen this lesson is for Jessica C., but she probably won't listen unless you speak it to the whole congregation." You see, it was about how we take things and make them our gods (little g) instead of turning to our God (big g). Man it hit home with me. As you are about to read. I am guilty of turning to Diet Dr. Pepper as my god. It started out so innocently because well it is a 0 point drink, so no harm done. But then it turned into a drink that I wanted...needed even for situations that seemed hard, sad, frustrating or even on joyous occasions. Read on to see what I have learned...
When I am stressed I drink a Diet Dr. Pepper, when I am angry I drink a Diet Dr. Pepper, when I am sad, happy, lazy, bored you guessed it...I drink Diet Dr. Pepper. What is wrong with this? Well in and of itself Diet Dr. Pepper is not bad. It is not a sin to drink it. No where in the Bible does it say don't drink Diet Dr. Pepper. You know what is a sin? When you look to Diet Dr. Pepper for relief, strength, an out from your situation. Why is it as a God believing person that I didn't go to God in all those times? My honest to goodness first thought has always been "do we have any Diet Dr. Pepper?"
What has changed...
Tonight for dinner I had some Diet Dr. Pepper. You know what? I enjoyed it, but even better, I felt no sense of relief, no burst of energy and no new attitude saying "you can do it." I simply felt the burn of the soda and honestly a little tummy ache because of all the sugar. I didn't even finish it! And you know what? I am SO glad! I am glad that God showed me that I no longer NEED Diet Dr. Pepper to get through tough situations. I NEED God! Such a simple thing that took all of 30 years, 11 days, 17 hours and 22 minutes for me to figure out.
Tell me, what has God taught you lately? Is there something that you put first or something that you "use" to give you relief rather than going to God? I would love to hear your story.
I leave you with this quote from Amy Parham's (season 6 contestant of Biggest Looser) book 10 Lessons from a Former Fat Girl. "There is no substitute for the relationships God brings into your life. Food cannot be your boyfriend or girlfriend. Food cannot even be your friend. Turning to it for comfort, acceptance, love, respect or to feel warm and fuzzy will never satisfy the longings of your heart that are intended for a relationship with God and others."
Now many of you may be thinking "she failed," however it is quite the opposite my friends. While I did not make it 30 days with out soda, I have succeeded in learning the lesson God had for me!
Let me explain. I hope you are listening because what I am about to say is deep.
Sunday at church one of the elders spoke. Now this particular person is one that I absolutely enjoy listening to. But friends I will be the first to say that this was not a fun lesson to listen to. I am pretty sure God spoke to Dr. Rice and said "listen this lesson is for Jessica C., but she probably won't listen unless you speak it to the whole congregation." You see, it was about how we take things and make them our gods (little g) instead of turning to our God (big g). Man it hit home with me. As you are about to read. I am guilty of turning to Diet Dr. Pepper as my god. It started out so innocently because well it is a 0 point drink, so no harm done. But then it turned into a drink that I wanted...needed even for situations that seemed hard, sad, frustrating or even on joyous occasions. Read on to see what I have learned...
When I am stressed I drink a Diet Dr. Pepper, when I am angry I drink a Diet Dr. Pepper, when I am sad, happy, lazy, bored you guessed it...I drink Diet Dr. Pepper. What is wrong with this? Well in and of itself Diet Dr. Pepper is not bad. It is not a sin to drink it. No where in the Bible does it say don't drink Diet Dr. Pepper. You know what is a sin? When you look to Diet Dr. Pepper for relief, strength, an out from your situation. Why is it as a God believing person that I didn't go to God in all those times? My honest to goodness first thought has always been "do we have any Diet Dr. Pepper?"
What has changed...
Tonight for dinner I had some Diet Dr. Pepper. You know what? I enjoyed it, but even better, I felt no sense of relief, no burst of energy and no new attitude saying "you can do it." I simply felt the burn of the soda and honestly a little tummy ache because of all the sugar. I didn't even finish it! And you know what? I am SO glad! I am glad that God showed me that I no longer NEED Diet Dr. Pepper to get through tough situations. I NEED God! Such a simple thing that took all of 30 years, 11 days, 17 hours and 22 minutes for me to figure out.
Tell me, what has God taught you lately? Is there something that you put first or something that you "use" to give you relief rather than going to God? I would love to hear your story.
I leave you with this quote from Amy Parham's (season 6 contestant of Biggest Looser) book 10 Lessons from a Former Fat Girl. "There is no substitute for the relationships God brings into your life. Food cannot be your boyfriend or girlfriend. Food cannot even be your friend. Turning to it for comfort, acceptance, love, respect or to feel warm and fuzzy will never satisfy the longings of your heart that are intended for a relationship with God and others."
No comments:
Post a Comment