By: Hanny Lynn Stearns
Fish N
Loaves Ministries, Inc.
“Multiplying
God’s Word Around The Globe”
August 29, 2016
Go
The Extra Mile
Matthew
5:41
And whoever compels you to go one mile, go with him two.
This weekend was another
learning experience for me. It is not like I have not experienced this same
situation before, but by the grace of God, I am believing that I will not fall
for the same scheme of the enemy again. My husband and I went out of town for a
lovely weekend. We attended a friend’s church Saturday night, and planned to
return to the same church for their Sunday service.
As a person who has
dealt with eating addiction, I have to be very careful when I am away from
home. I have come to know that eating at home is really the safest place for me
the majority of the time. By doing that I can count my calories, and I will
know what I am eating. In a restaurant, we never know for sure what we are
really getting or how something was prepared.
On Sunday I had planned
to go pick up a smoothie and then go to church. I heard a voice in my head tell
me to just stay at the hotel and eat their free full service breakfast buffet.
Then I heard, “Go get your smoothie later.” I should have stopped and
questioned those thoughts. What I needed to do is ask the Lord, “Lord, is this
You?” He would have been happy to tell me that it was not His plan or will and
to stick with my original plan.
What happens is the
enemy knows when we are in a compromising situation. He is lurking to find just
the right moment to slip in a subtle temptation that sounds almost like it is
the Lord Himself talking. But the best way to know is to A.) Ask the Lord, and
B.) Take a minute to think about how the suggestion would work with our plan.
By doing this, we can avoid a catastrophe. We can ask ourselves, “If I do this,
will it throw me off of what I know the Lord wants me to do?” If we can honestly
answer yes, then we know what we need to do. We need to resist the devil with
the word of God. We need to remind Him that man does not live on bread alone,
but on every word that comes from the mouth of God. (Mat.4:4)
I already know what God’s
will is for me when it comes to eating. I know what to do and what not to do.
But yesterday, I caved in to the suggestion and ate at the breakfast bar. I
didn’t stuff myself or anything like that, but that is not what is important
here. What I did was eat things I know I should not have eaten, and as a result
I was in disobedience to the will of God. In other words, I was acting in
rebellion. Rebellion is always of the devil.
When temptation comes,
we have a choice. To be watchful and pray, asking the Lord for help, or to give
in to the lusts of the flesh. But that’s not what Jesus did. He took up His
cross and He compels us to take up ours…
Matthew 10:38-39
And he who does not take his cross and follow after
Me is not worthy of Me. He who finds his life will lose it, and he who loses his life
for My sake will find it.
For any addict, or even
a former addict, we have to take up our cross. My cross is to deny myself the privilege
of eating whatever I want. It is to follow the plan of food that God has given
me for life. There will be times that I can eat some things that are not on my
plan – but as a general rule, I have to stick with the plan. And it is a good
plan. It is not a diet. It is a healthy diet that is more than enough to keep my
body running smooth, healthy and strong.
For the former
alcoholic, it is to make a commitment to never pick up alcohol again. That is
another thing that I committed to the Lord that I would never do again. For me
that is super easy. Drinking always made me sick and left me ill for days afterward.
I do not miss the drugs and alcohol one bit.
When it comes to
eating, that hits a little harder – a little closer to home you could say. Why?
Obviously we have to eat to live. But my life will be a life of fasting from
junk food, sweets and soda’s among other things that are just not healthy
things to eat. It will always be a life of low carb eating and exercising so I
can stay in good shape - inside and out. The Lord wants meand you to be His disciples.
Here is what He says about that…
Matthew 10:24
“A
disciple is not above his teacher, nor a servant above his master.”
Jesus had to deny Himself plenty while He lived on the earth.
Former addict or not, we as Christians will have to live lives of self-denial
if we really want to be His disciples. Many want to know they are born again
and going to heaven, but when it comes to actually making a sacrifice for Him,
they are not willing. The Bible tells us in Isaiah that if we are willing AND
obedient, we will eat the good of the land…
Isaiah 1:19
If you are willing and obedient, you shall
eat the good of the land;
What does
all this mean? If I am willing and obedient to what the Lord tells me to do,
and if I deny my flesh so I can live a holy and godly life, and if I go the
extra mile and do more than what is required of me, then I will become like my
Master – Jesus. I will be worthy to be called His disciple. I will have the
best food, clothes, houses and a host of other blessings.
But how do
I get there? By faith. By working His word in faith. This weekend I could have
worked the word when temptation came my way. I could have submitted to God and
resisted the devil and he would have left me alone. I would have had a clear
conscience before God and man. Instead, because of my response, I lost my peace
and my joy. It broke my fellowship with the Lord – the worst part of all. I
know it did not please Him. He does not want me to try to serve Him and food,
or anything else. He wants the number one spot in our lives.
When I
discussed this with my husband last night, I asked him to be my “faith buddy.” He had
a nudging in his spirit that I was making a wrong choice, yet he held back from
saying anything. So I gave him the permission to be my faith buddy. I told him
the next time, if there is one, where he gets that nudging again, he can let me
know in a loving way. This will help me to stop and work the word of God so I
can get through the situation victoriously. The word works when we work it. But
like we discussed before, no tool is helpful if it is left lying in the tool
shed. We have to pick up the word of God and speak it, stand on it, and believe
it. Then we will get the victory.
When the Lord asks us
to do something, we would all do well to take heed the words of the Master…
Matthew 5:41
And
whoever compels you to go one mile, go with him two.
We need to do more than He asks of us, and not look for ways
to do less. In that, we can prove our love for Him. Otherwise, our words are
meaningless. Be blessed as you go the extra mile for Jesus!
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