Wilderness 101: food for thought

We don't need a degree in medicine to know that a diet of pizza, doughnuts and energy drinks is going to give us a few more health issues than the average five-fruit-and-veg-a-day regimen. A few thousand years ago, millions of people wandered through a desert for years, with no doctors or hospital, and only bread to eat. But, not only were they not dropping like flies, they were all strong in health. If the bread - manna - eaten every day is air-dropped straight from Heaven, it's probably going to be pretty nourishing.

The obvious lesson is to rely on God and ask him to provide us with good health. But God does want more for us than just to look to him. He also wants us to listen to what he tells us. God told Israel, 'Serve the Lord... and he will bless your bread and your water... take sickness away from the midst of you... [and] fulfil the number of your days' (Exodus 23:25-26 NKJV), and he gave them dietary laws to keep them from disease.

One of the apostle Paul's many letters instructs us: 'Your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God... You are not your own' (1 Corinthians 6:19 NIV). This means we have a responsibility for how we treat our bodies. God wants to bless us and wants us to make healthy choices.



So what now? Make sure you get your five-a-day today and, as you eat, thank God for giving you both food and your health.





— SCRIPTURE —

'And there was none feeble among his tribes.' Psalm 105:37 NKJV
— SOULFOOD —

1 Ki 18:16-20:43, Luke 12:35-48, Ps 66:13-20, Pro 6:23-25