This Diet May Cause You to Gain More Than You Lose

When the seasons began to change, I decided to do a little closet clean out to get rid of any outdated or old clothing. On a beautiful Saturday, I tried on each pair of pants that I wore last spring and found, to my dismay, that many of them were too tight or wouldn’t even button. Ugh, talk about a fast way to turn a sunny Saturday dark!

It seemed as if the “middle age spread” had finally hit my waistline and I decided that I needed to do something about it. A friend had recently had some success losing a few pounds by counting macros (carbohydrates, protein, and fats). I jumped online, did some research, calculated my macros, and was ready to go.

As I began counting my intake that first day, I was surprised by the revelation that I had been eating all wrong. I thought my daily food intake was pretty well on target, but I learned that what used to work for me, wasn’t working anymore.

As we mature, our bodies change and, therefore, our diets must also change to adapt. The same is true as we mature spiritually. When we are new Christians, we may turn to things like devotionals, Bible studies, sermons, or podcasts to help us learn and grow in our understanding. These are great supplements, but they were never intended to be our only source of sustenance. Only the Word of God can feed us what we need.

In order to lose a few pounds and fit back into those spring clothes, I had to be diligent in eating the proper balance of macro-nutrients each day. When it comes to our diets, we can’t just eat anything we want and expect our bodies to remain healthy. Similarly, we can’t keep feeding our minds the same lessons that we learned when we were new believers and expect to grow in our relationship with the Lord. We can, however, maintain healthy hearts and minds by feasting diligently on the Word every day!

The devotionals we provide here at Created Woman are a great supplement to a healthy spiritual diet. They can help us learn and grow with one another, but they are just tools to lead us closer to the one true source that can provide all of the nourishment we need to live as women of God.

I encourage YOU, Created Woman, to keep reading these devotionals, but don’t stop there! Pick up your Bible, look up the verses referenced, read them for yourself and see how God speaks to YOU through them!

We tend to spend much of our time every day worrying about what we are feeding our bodies for optimum health. Maybe it’s time we shift our mindset and worry more about what we are feeding our souls.

Reflection

Where can you find a few quiet minutes during your day to nourish your mind and spirit by reading the Word of God?
Why do you think women tend to worry more about what they are feeding their bodies than by what they are feeding their souls? How can we begin to change this pattern?
Do you follow any specific diet plan? If so, how can you integrate your daily food intake goals with a daily Bible reading goal?

Goals

Go back and read an old CW devotional for the next three days and then look up the referenced scriptures in your Bible. Read the whole passage that the verse is a part of and share three things you learned by reading these scriptures.

"But he answered, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”

(Matthew 4:4 ESV)

Like newborn babies, you must crave pure spiritual milk so that you will grow into a full experience of salvation. Cry out for this nourishment, now that you have had a taste of the Lord’s kindness. (1 Peter 2:2-3 NLT)