Small Apples

2 Peter 19b

For a man is a slave to whatever has mastered him.

Good morning Zebras,

Yesterday I had an epiphany, which was really not an epiphany at all, but more of a palm-to-the-forehead-“d’oh!” kind of moment.  And here it is: God has the right to tell me how to live, and that includes limiting and controlling what I eat.

From the very beginning God has controlled food.  The only restriction God put on Adam and Eve was “not to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.”  And He has been restricting people’s food ever since.

The Israelites were fed manna in the desert and then they were given a boatload of dietary restrictions when they went into the Promised Land.   Elijah was fed bread and meat by the ravens when God sat him by the stream.   And of course Daniel, probably the most famous “diet” of the Bible, ate only vegetables.

So what do all of these food plans have in common?  Obedience to God!

For years, God and I have been going back and forth on a certain food item, which for health reasons I need to avoid.  The food itself doesn’t matter, what matters is my reluctance to obey God’s clear instructions and my half-hearted promises to reform.

When Saul disobeyed “just a little” God sent Samuel to him with a scathing rebuke.   And God has been rebuking me as well.

Verses like these started finding their way into my quiet time more frequently:

Hebrews 12:15–16 (NIV84)  See to it that no one misses the grace of God...or is godless like Esau, who for a single meal sold his inheritance rights as the oldest son.

Deuteronomy 23:21 (ESV) “If you make a vow to the Lord your God, you shall not delay fulfilling it, for the Lord your God will surely require it of you, and you will be guilty of sin.

Ecclesiastes 5:4 (ESV) When you vow a vow to God, do not delay paying it, for he has no pleasure in fools. Pay what you vow.

1 Samuel 15:22–23 (NIV84) But Samuel replied: “Does the Lord delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obeying the voice of the Lord? To obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed is better than the fat of rams. For rebellion is like the sin of divination, and arrogance like the evil of idolatry.

But I still kept ignoring God.

Then, two weeks ago, at Founder’s Week, Jill Briscoe said, “there are no small apples” and God, in His grace, showed me what this “little” disobedience was going to cost me.  And it is too early to tell for sure, I’m thinking that this particular battle may be finally over, and although I’ve “lost” I actually won.

Love,

Jill