By: Hanny Lynn
Stearns
Fish N Loaves Ministries, Inc.
“Multiplying God’s Word Around the
Globe”
October 13, 2016
Do Not Labor for Food
John 6:27
Do not labor
for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to everlasting
life, which the Son of Man will give you, because God the Father has set His
seal on Him.”
This is a verse that became very well known to me last summer in 2015.
The Lord was bringing this to me more than I had ever seen it. I was still
doing a lot of cooking and a lot of slipping where my eating was concerned. He
knew I wanted to do the right thing but my focus was still off. I was working
hard to obtain the food I thought I needed when what I really needed was to
spend time alone and quietly with Him.
If I had chosen to change my focus at that time from getting food and
eating it, I would have made more progress and quicker at that. The truth is,
what we spend our efforts on the most is right where our hearts are at. If it
is Jesus – then we are on the right path. But if it is all about, “What am I
going to eat, and when?”, then we have a problem.
The biggest things I learned about getting victory with Jesus was to
focus on Him more than food, and to say His word out loud over my life. Because
I have been doing this more lately than I ever have in my life, I have been
getting victory over sugar and food addiction such as I have never before
experienced. It has been so wonderful.
Let me share with you what just happened this evening. I went to fold
the bed down for the night for my husband. I knew I had to come back to my
office and work, but I wanted to get everything ready for our sleep. I have a Bible
by my bed and I always like to open it and see what the Lord’s final message to
me for the day is. It is usually “spot on” to something He wants me to hear at
the moment. Sometimes I will flip it open and walk away when I have more work
to do. Then, when I am all ready to climb into bed, I will look to see where
the page opened to.
Tonight I opened to this…
Daniel 1:12
“Please test your servants for ten days, and let
them give us vegetables to eat and water to drink.
Whenever I open to this verse, I know the Lord is
asking me to give something up. It isn’t usually to go without meat for ten
days like this says. He uses this verse to draw my attention to the fact that something
needs to go from my diet. When I opened to this tonight, I asked Him, “Lord,
did I miss something today? Did I eat something I shouldn’t have?” I was quite
confident that I had not. He spoke to my heart and had me just go sit back down
in my office. He would reveal it to me there. I knew something was going to
have to be changed in my diet – I just didn’t know what.
Well, once I sat down He let me know that He is
trying to help me hit a final, final, final weight goal. As a result, He is
asking me to give up the little muffins I eat for breakfast each day. These are
homemade without wheat, gluten or sugar and they are mighty tasty. I only get
one per day as it is. And they are pretty small. Still the Lord asked me to let
them go for now – just to get me to the goal He wants for me. While I was in
Branson I had none and it was really no big deal.
I ate at restaurants most of the time and had
little smoothies at the condo. I was never unsatisfied. It seems I can eat more
fat and protein and still lose weight as long as it isn’t out of control. My
body responds very well to a very low carb diet. So I said, “OK Lord. I’ll do
it.” Am I concerned? Not a bit. If He is asking me to do it – He will carry me
through it. While on my trip I had great big salads with olive oil and balsamic
vinegar, and there were times I couldn’t even finish the salad. The Lord gave
me more than enough to be satisfied from meal to meal.
The best part about my trip to Branson – and this
ties in perfectly with the opening verse in John today is this. I was there
seeking the Lord and to do His work as I was led to minister to others – like waitresses
in restaurants or people at the cash register at Walmart, or out by the lake on
the walking path. Being focused on the Lord and His work – laboring to show
people more about their Savior took my focus off of “Oh my, what am I going to
get to eat?!”
Fiends, let this encourage you. If food is your
addiction, this is one thing that you and I must face every day. We must have
food to live. Any other addiction issue is what I call a “Non-essential thing” –
we do not heroin to live. Nor do we need sex, shopping, gambling, cigarettes,
etc. If we stay focused on Jesus, we will not sink with our eating plans (or
anything else that has been addicting us). We just plan our meals, eat them at
the proper time, and get about the business of the day as the Lord directs.
Doing this will bring great success and wonderful fulfillment in Him. Saying
the word out loud over one’s self is critical. This is how we speak to the
mountain of addiction in our life. So remember my sweet friends – the word of
God works powerfully when we work it. Try it and see! You will be amazed!
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